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A redesigned comparison tool has been launched to help brokers and lenders guide clients through complex deposit scenarios.
ASX-listed lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) provider Helia has relaunched its deposit comparison tool, with a range of features to help brokers and lenders guide borrowers through different scenarios.
Available immediately, Helia’s new Home Loan Estimator is an evolution of the LMI provider’s original comparison tool (first launched in 2022) and was designed in response to feedback from brokers.
Notable features include clearer visuals and resources that simplify LMI concepts and how they can be applied for borrowers.
The LMI provider said brokers using the new tool would benefit from an “enhanced user experience” with navigation streamlined to explore five different borrower deposit scenarios:
- Delay and save a 20 per cent deposit.
- Buy with LMI.
- Buy with LMI Family Assistance.
- Buy with support from a guarantor.
- Buy with the First Home Guarantee.
Brokers will also have the ability to generate personalised insights based on a borrower’s financial profile and access additional integrated explainer resources such as video and fact sheets.
Greg McAweeney, Helia’s chief commercial officer, said the insurer was excited to be bringing the enhanced tool to market.
“We’re excited to launch our enhanced Home Deposit Estimator, a more powerful tool to help brokers and lenders quickly compare deposit options and help clients toward achieving their home buying goals without the barrier of a 20 per cent deposit,” McAweeney said.
“By enhancing the tool, we’re empowering brokers and lenders with a more user-friendly tool to better guide their clients through an increasingly complex property market.”
Clearer proposition
In February 2024, Helia released research with the Mortgage & Finance Association (MFAA) to better understand broker sentiment regarding LMI.
One of the key insights from the survey of 256 brokers, compiled by CoreData, was the need to promote greater understanding of LMI among borrowers, particularly first home buyers.
More than two-thirds (67 per cent) of respondents said that they would benefit from estimator and calculator tools to effectively compare the cost benefits of LMI for their clients, with 77 per cent stating that this would be most beneficial on aggregator websites.
At the time, the LMI provider said that there was a clear need for better education on the benefits of LMI, which “can enable [home buyers] to enter the market sooner, and buy the home they love with the deposit they have available now”.
“The research highlights the critical role of mortgage brokers in building home buyers’ understanding of the options and pathways available to them, including LMI,” McAweeney said.
“As trusted advisers, mortgage brokers can help bridge the knowledge gap by providing a clear explanation of LMI and how it can benefit home buyers to get into their home sooner.”
McAweeney also spoke about uptake of LMI in a recent episode of The Adviser’s In Focus podcast, saying it can provide significant value to borrowers and brokers in the right circumstances.
“The great thing about LMI is it gives you the opportunity to get out of this trap of ‘I can’t save enough for a deposit’. You can be quite forlorn if you know you’re never going to get 20 per cent and you don’t have BOMAD to bail you out. LMI bridges that gap for you,” McAweeney said.
“I think it’s really optimistic for home buyers to have an option for them because prices keep rising, the gap’s getting bigger.
“So, you don’t want to keep paying dead money in rent. LMI provides that pathway for you. I see LMI really as an investment and not a cost.”
To listen to the full episode, click here.
[Related: First home buyers increasingly turning to brokers: Helia]
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