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In order to provide mortgage lenders and their investors ""unprecedented"" assurances of appraisal quality and value accuracy, ""Solidifi U.S."":http://www.solidifi.com/us_en/, a New York-based provider of[IMAGE] ""full fee"" appraisal services, recently launched the Solidifi CoverageMAX and Solidifi CoveragePLUS insurance programs.
Created in conjunction with Companion Specialty Insurance Group and ""Wells Fargo Special Risks, Inc."":https://wfis.wellsfargo.com/WFSR/Pages/default.aspx, these appraisal warranty insurance programs aim to attend to the risk mitigation concerns of mortgage lenders and their investors. According to Solidifi, the programs are specifically designed to address weaknesses in previous appraisal insurance coverage concepts that have been tried without significant success in protecting lenders and those who buy their loans.
""These new programs are unique in that they cover repurchase and special claims losses in the event of default,"" said Griff Straw, president of Solidifi U.S. ""Having a highly rated specialty insurance company working with Solidifi to offer these important coverages brings needed credibility and real protection for the mortgage industry.""
The process starts with the highest possible quality appraisal, enabled by the Solidifi's innovative approach of paying full fees to its appraisers and attracting the most qualified professionals to perform the valuations, the company said. Once this is completed, one of the two coverage levels is selected based on the needs of the lender and its investors, Solidifi explained.
Solidifi CoverageMAX protects lenders against loss incurred on foreclosures and most repurchase requests cause by valuation inaccuracies. Solidifi said this insurance program is available for virtually all loan types at various levels of loan-to-value ratio, credit score, and loan amount.
The second program, Solidifi CoveragePLUS, similarly protects lenders against losses incurred on repurchases and foreclosure similarity, but with some limitations and lower premiums, Solidifi said.
According to Solidifi, its new coverages are portable, so investors and other assignees are protected. In addition, the company said these programs are designed to reduce the barriers in claiming losses that have made previous insurance programs all but irrelevant.
""When you look at the other appraisal insurance concepts out there, you realize that they leave investors with little or no coverage at all,"" Straw said. ""These highly affordable programs have the combined result of protecting lenders from losses caused by faulty appraisals and covering those who buy their loans, too. They provide new levels of confidence in mortgages to the capital markets system and will help bring greater liquidity to the industry.""
Solidifi said it expects response to these new programs to be ""prompt and enthusiastic,"" particularly as new signs of life are being seen in the conventional mortgage-backed securities arena.
