How to cancel mortgage insurance in Florida

Mortgage insurance protects the lender, not you, and on most loans it isn't meant to last forever. On a conventional loan, federal law sets two dates when it has to come off, and the loan investor's rules can let it come off sooner when your home has gained value. FHA loans follow a different rule set by HUD, and for most FHA borrowers the only way out is a refinance. This guide covers each path, with the balances worked out in dollars, so you can tell where you stand and what to ask your servicer for.

First, which kind of mortgage insurance do you have?

Look at your Closing Disclosure (page 1, "Mortgage Insurance") and your monthly statement. The rules depend on the loan type:

• Conventional loan with borrower-paid PMI. Private mortgage insurance billed monthly as part of your payment. This is the kind the Homeowners Protection Act covers, and the kind you can cancel.
• Conventional loan with lender-paid MI. The lender bought the coverage at closing and recovered the cost through the loan's pricing. There is no separate premium to cancel.
• FHA loan. An upfront premium at closing plus an annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) collected monthly. HUD's rules decide how long it lasts, not the Homeowners Protection Act.
• VA or USDA loan. VA loans have no monthly mortgage insurance. USDA loans carry an annual fee for the life of the loan.

The two federal dates for conventional PMI

The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C. 4901-4902) applies to borrower-paid PMI on a single-family home that is your principal residence, on loans closed on or after July 29, 1999. It measures everything against the home's original value: the lesser of the contract sales price and the appraised value when you bought. On a refinance, it is the appraised value the lender relied on for the refinance.

You can ask at 80 percent

Once your loan balance reaches 80 percent of the original value, you can ask your servicer in writing to cancel PMI. The date counts whether you got there on the original payment schedule or sooner with extra principal payments. To qualify you must:

• make the request in writing,
• have a good payment history: no payment 30 or more days late in the last 12 months, and none 60 or more days late in the 12 months before that,
• be current on the loan,
• if the servicer asks, show that the home's value hasn't fallen below the original value, and
• certify that there is no second mortgage or other subordinate lien on the home.

It ends on its own at 78 percent

When the balance is scheduled to reach 78 percent of the original value under the original amortization schedule, PMI terminates automatically, as long as you are current. If you're behind on that date, it ends on the first day of the month after you catch up. Extra principal payments don't move the automatic date, since it follows the original schedule. If you've paid ahead, send the written request at 80 percent instead of waiting.

On a home bought for $400,000, you can ask when the balance reaches $320,000, and PMI ends on its own when the schedule says the balance reaches $312,000:

The backstop: halfway through the term

Even if neither line has been reached, PMI can't be required past the first day of the month after the midpoint of the loan's amortization period. On a 30-year loan that is the month after the 15-year mark, provided you are current. This final termination matters most on loans with interest-only or other unusual schedules.

Once it's cancelled

No PMI payments can be charged more than 30 days after cancellation or termination, and the servicer must return any unearned premiums within 45 days. Your servicer also has to send you a yearly statement of these rights. The Act's 80 and 78 percent dates don't apply to loans the investor classed as high-risk at closing. For a high-risk loan that isn't a conforming loan, PMI ends when the scheduled balance reaches 77 percent of the original value ($308,000 on the same home), and the midpoint rule still applies.

Dropping PMI sooner when your home is worth more

The federal dates use the value when you bought. If your Florida home has gained value since then, the investor that owns the loan may let you drop PMI based on today's value instead. Most conventional loans are owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae's rules (Servicing Guide B-8.1-04) for a one-unit principal residence or second home are:

• the loan must be at least two years old, unless you've made substantial improvements that added value,
• from two to five years, the balance can be no more than 75 percent of today's value,
• after five years, or after substantial improvements, no more than 80 percent,
• no payment 30 or more days late in the last 12 months and none 60 or more days late in the last 24 months, and you must be current, and
• the servicer confirms the value with an appraisal or broker price opinion based on an interior and exterior inspection.

At three years, that home qualifies once the balance is at or below $360,000. Substantial improvements means work that adds value and marketability, such as a kitchen or bathroom renovation or added square footage. Repairs and upkeep don't count. For two- to four-unit homes and investment properties the limit is 70 percent of today's value.

Until recently Fannie Mae's servicers could only act when the borrower asked. In September 2026 Fannie Mae (Lender Letter LL-2026-07) began allowing servicers to contact borrowers who may qualify on current value. Freddie Mac already allowed that. You don't need to wait for the letter: you can ask your servicer which investor owns the loan and what its current-value rules are. Values in parts of Florida have come down from their peaks, so a new appraisal can also come in lower than you expect. Check recent nearby sales first with the home value estimate.

FHA mortgage insurance: the 11-year rule

FHA loans don't follow the Homeowners Protection Act. Under HUD Mortgagee Letter 2013-04, for FHA case numbers assigned on or after June 3, 2013, the annual MIP lasts:

• 11 years if the loan started at 90 percent of the home's value or less, and
• the life of the loan if it started above 90 percent.

HUD measures that starting ratio with the base loan amount, before any financed upfront premium, against the lesser of the purchase price and the appraised value. Most FHA purchases start above 90 percent, so most FHA borrowers pay annual MIP for as long as they keep the loan. Paying the balance down doesn't change that, and an FHA streamline refinance keeps the MIP.

The way out is a refinance into a conventional loan. If your balance is at or under 80 percent of the new appraised value, the conventional loan needs no mortgage insurance at all. Above that, it carries PMI that can later be cancelled under the rules above. A refinance has its own closing costs, so compare them with what you'd save; the closing cost worksheet prices a Florida refinance, including the state's mortgage stamp and intangible taxes. If you refinance one FHA loan into another within three years, part of the original upfront premium is credited toward the new one.

Older FHA loans (case numbers assigned before June 3, 2013, closed in 2001 or later) follow the earlier rule: annual MIP ends when the balance reaches 78 percent of the original value, and on terms longer than 15 years only after at least five years of premiums.

Step by step: asking your servicer to cancel PMI

Under Fannie Mae's rules, a servicer that turns down a current-value request must send the reasons within 30 days, including the appraisal or broker price opinion result, so you can see how far you are from the line. Your payment has other moving parts too: the property taxes after buying guide explains the escrow analysis that resets taxes and insurance each year, and the first-time homebuyer guide covers the rest of the purchase.

This guide is general information about federal law and investor rules as of October 2026, not legal advice. Your servicer applies the rules for your specific loan.

Quick answers

When can I stop paying PMI on a conventional loan?

You can ask in writing once the balance reaches 80 percent of the original value, and PMI ends on its own when the schedule reaches 78 percent (Homeowners Protection Act). On a home bought for $400,000, that is $320,000 and $312,000.

Can I remove PMI because my home's value went up?

Often, yes. Fannie Mae allows it on today's value when the balance is 75 percent of that value or less at two to five years, or 80 percent or less after five years or after substantial improvements. The servicer orders a valuation to confirm it.

Does FHA mortgage insurance ever go away?

For FHA loans with case numbers from June 3, 2013 on, annual MIP lasts 11 years if the loan started at 90 percent of value or less, and for the life of the loan otherwise. Refinancing to a conventional loan is the usual way to end it.

Can I cancel lender-paid mortgage insurance?

No. Lender-paid MI is built into the loan's pricing, so there is no separate premium to cancel. It ends only when the loan is refinanced or paid off.