Helia LMI Policy for Mortgage Brokers 2026

Helia lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) lets a lender insure an eligible high loan-to-value ratio (LVR) mortgage against a loss after borrower default. For a broker, the file must satisfy the lender’s policy and the Helia rules that apply to its borrower, loan purpose and property. A lender’s willingness to lend doesn’t settle the insurer’s decision.

Start by confirming the insurer for the chosen loan, then apply the correct product limits before you quote a premium. Helia’s current underwriting page identifies the guidelines effective 10 August 2026. Its published requirements are minimum submission standards, with proposals outside them considered on individual merit.

Which Lenders Insure With Helia

Confirm Helia from the lender’s current application disclosures and the insurer recorded for your particular loan. An old lender list or a prior client’s approval doesn’t establish who will insure a new application.

Bank of Queensland (BOQ) names Helia Insurance Pty Limited in its Privacy Collection and Credit Reporting Notice, as at October 2026. That is a published lender relationship. The notice identifies the insurer for applications requiring LMI.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is a reason to avoid relying on historical relationships. Helia’s 2025 annual report, published in 2026, records the loss of its CBA contract for new business from 2026. Existing insured loans and new submissions need separate treatment.

For another lender, use this sequence before applying Helia’s limits to the file.

1. Read the current application or credit-reporting disclosure for the mortgage insurer’s legal name.
2. Ask the lender’s credit team which insurer or internal insurance arrangement applies to that product and scenario.
3. Record the response with the product, application reference and date. Match it to the insurer named on the decision advice when that arrives.

A captive arrangement is insurance provided through the lender’s own insurance entity. If the loan uses another insurer or a captive arrangement, use that insurer’s requirements. The LMI policy guides help you distinguish the insurer routes.

Reading Older Genworth Documents

Helia Insurance Pty Limited is the former Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Pty Limited. The Australian Business Register’s name history, checked in October 2026, records the change on 16 November 2022. Older Australian Genworth references identify the former name of this insurer.

The name change doesn’t make an old policy document current. Keep an older document for the period or existing policy it governs, and use the current rules for a new proposal.

Borrower and Loan Criteria

Assess the borrower against the insurer’s eligibility rules, then add any narrower lender requirements. Helia’s 10 August 2026 guidelines cover borrower types and residency in section 3, loan purpose in section 4 and employment and income in section 5.

Part of the file	Helia requirement	What to put in the file
Individual borrower	Adults who are Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents living in either country are acceptable. Australian expatriates are also listed	Identity and residency evidence matching the actual applicant
Australian permanent resident	Current visa or passport evidence of permanent residency	Evidence of the current status, checked against the visa category
Temporary visa or non-resident applicant	Generally unacceptable, with specified spouse or de facto exceptions for eligible citizens or permanent residents	Identify the qualifying partner and applicable residency exception before referral
Employment and income	The lender verifies employment and repayment capacity under its own policy	Employment evidence, accepted income calculation and liabilities used in servicing
Self-employed income	Two financial years of trading, with a possible 12-month exception supported by two years’ prior employment in a similar field	Trading history and income evidence, plus prior employment evidence for an exception
Excluded income	Workers’ compensation, boarder income, unemployment benefit and sickness allowance are unacceptable	Remove those amounts from the insurer assessment and recalculate capacity

The residency exceptions cover a spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen living in Australia or New Zealand, or an Australian expatriate. A spouse or de facto partner also qualifies when their partner is an Australian or New Zealand permanent resident living in either country.

An acceptable borrower type doesn’t mean every loan structure is acceptable. For companies or trusts, identify the legal borrower and required guarantees before treating the proposal as an ordinary individual application.

Self-Employed and Low-Doc Files

A self-employed borrower with full income evidence can be assessed under Standard LMI. A low-doc file has reduced income documentation, so establish the insurer product before using the standard high-LVR limits.

Helia’s Business Select product accepts certain self-employed borrowers without current financial information. Its published maximum is 80% LVR and a $1,000,000 loan. Investment refinancing, debt consolidation and cash out are excluded from that product.

That makes a proposed 90% low-doc purchase a separate problem from a 90% full-documentation purchase. More deposit or usable full income evidence changes the assessment. Labelling the client self-employed doesn’t give the reduced-documentation file Standard LMI treatment.

For full-documentation files, Helia permits its specified two-year tax notice method of income verification. Collect the final notices of assessment, redact tax file numbers and follow the rules for authenticity and fluctuating income. Keep the lender’s own documentation requirements alongside the insurer method.

Loan Purpose and Lender Overlays

An overlay is an extra lender requirement or a tighter limit applied above the insurer’s requirements. Keep it separate in your assessment so the client can see which condition prevents submission.

For example, a fictional lender might require a longer trading history than Helia’s baseline. Passing the insurer’s trading-history rule would still leave that lender’s requirement unmet. Bulma can retrieve the lender’s LMI and self-employed policy wording so you can retain it beside the insurer requirement.

Helia’s Standard LMI covers eligible residential purchases and refinances, subject to purpose-specific rules.

Debt consolidation and cash out have a 90% base LVR maximum. Bridging has an 85% base maximum, with premium capitalisation excluded from both limits. Development finance and vendor finance are excluded.

An investment scenario also needs the premium-inclusive limit in the next section. Apply the relevant purpose and property rules together, rather than copying the highest percentage from the product summary.

Property, LVR and Valuation Evidence

The property and valuation decide both the security’s eligibility and the LVR used for the insurance proposal. Under Helia’s 10 August 2026 guidelines, a purchase uses the lower of the contract price and valuation. Refinancing and equity release use the valuation.

Calculate the base LVR as the loan before the premium divided by the accepted property value. Then calculate the total LVR after adding any financed premium and duty. Capitalising means adding those costs to the loan.

Standard LMI has a 95% base maximum for owner-occupied loans. For investment loans, the 95% limit includes premium capitalisation. A lower product, purpose or security limit still applies.

When the Valuation Comes in Lower

This fictional investment purchase shows why the premium and valuation belong in the same calculation. The assumed $10,000 premium and duty total is for arithmetic only, not a Helia quote.

Calculation	Valuation matches the $600,000 price	Valuation is $580,000
Base loan	$552,000	$552,000
Base LVR	92%	95.17%
Loan after assumed $10,000 premium and duty	$562,000	$562,000
Total LVR	93.67%	96.90%
Result against the 95% investment ceiling	Within this ceiling, before other checks	Above the ceiling

At a $580,000 valuation, 95% is $551,000. Keeping the assumed $10,000 financed cost would leave $541,000 for the base loan, $11,000 less than the original proposal. The actual premium must be recalculated for the revised loan.

A higher contract price doesn’t repair a lower valuation. Rework the client’s contribution and loan amount before asking the lender to update the insurer referral.

Property Restrictions and Valuation Records

Check the exact address against the security category, including special apartment types and location restrictions. Helia’s listed single-industry postcodes have a maximum 90% LVR including premium capitalisation, or a lower product or purpose limit.

A postcode restriction changes the amount you can finance, even when the borrower passes the income checks. Using the fictional $600,000 property and $562,000 total loan above, the total LVR is 93.67%. That exceeds a 90% postcode ceiling, so the lender needs a revised loan structure or a specific referral decision.

Keep the contract and valuation with the application. The valuation must identify the actual property type and any condition that affects saleability, such as repairs or restricted use. For short-form and long-form reports, Helia requires a report less than 90 days old when acceptance advice is issued and recent settled comparable sales.

If the report describes a serviced apartment or another restricted security, assess that actual category. A residential address alone doesn’t settle eligibility. Send a lower valuation or changed property description back through the lender before relying on the previous insurance position.

Getting a Premium and Handling a Decline

Obtain the current premium through the chosen lender using the actual application inputs. Helia’s fee estimator, as at October 2026, gives an indication. Helia calculates the actual premium when the lender applies for LMI.

The public estimator displays amounts including goods and services tax (GST) and excluding stamp duty. Helia’s eLMI portal information, as at October 2026, describes lender-customised premium calculators. Use the lender’s quote for the client, including any applicable duty and product arrangement.

Record these assumptions with the quote so a changed figure has an explanation.

• The base loan and the property value used to calculate LVR.
• Occupancy and loan purpose, including an investment or refinance proposal.
• Borrower type and any first home buyer classification.
• Loan term and the property category.
• GST, insurance duty and the total passed on to the borrower.
• Whether the cost is paid upfront or added to the loan.

Explain the cash required at settlement separately from the debt after capitalisation. Helia’s LMI overview, as at October 2026, describes both payment options. Adding the cost to the loan raises the amount owing and the interest paid.

The general LMI guide explains the broader cost and funding choice. If the client qualifies for a profession-based concession, assess the LMI waiver route before finalising an insured loan.

Conditional Approval or Decline

Act on the insurer’s written decision, separately from the lender’s credit decision. Helia’s 10 August 2026 guidelines define conditional approval advice as subject to satisfactory valuation only. The advice lasts 90 days, while acceptance advice lasts 180 days.

For conditional approval, obtain the required valuation and have the lender address any change in value or security. Return changed borrower financial information for reassessment as well. An information request is a request to complete the assessment, not an acceptance.

After a decline, identify the reason through the lender before changing the application. Correct factual errors with supporting documents. For a genuine policy mismatch, consider whether a lower loan or different acceptable structure addresses that reason.

Helia’s current underwriting page allows individual-merit consideration for proposals outside its guidelines. Ask the lender whether it will sponsor that referral and what evidence supports it. A referral is an assessment route, not approval.

Moving to a lender with a different insurer is another option when that lender and insurer accept the actual scenario. Confirm the new insurer first, then reassess the borrower and property under that route. Present the new premium and any changed settlement funds before the client proceeds.

Keep the original decline and the reason for the new lender choice in the file. Send the next proposal with the changed facts explained, rather than assuming a new lender name removes the insurer’s concern.