Skip to main content
Search the Guide:

B-2-01, Property Insurance Requirements Applicable to All Property Types (02/14/2024)

Introduction
This topic contains the following:

Overview

This topic describes additional requirements only applicable to servicers.

Refer to Selling Guide B7-3-01, General Property Insurance Requirements for All Property Types for general property insurance requirements, including

  • property insurer rating requirements, 
  • exceptions to insurer rating requirements, and
  • other exceptions to property insurance requirements.

Refer to Selling Guide B7-3-07, Evidence of Property Insurance for information on evidence of property insurance.

Also, see Acceptable Evidence of Master Insurance Policies in B-2-03, Master Property Insurance Requirements for Project DevelopmentsB-2-03, Master Property Insurance Requirements for Project Developments.


Servicer Responsibilities Related to Property Insurance for First Lien Mortgage Loans

The servicer must have policies and procedures in place to ensure that required property insurance is continuously maintained on the subject property. The following table lists the servicer’s responsibilities applicable to all first lien mortgage loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae unless otherwise noted.

The servicer must...
 

Verify at least annually that the selected insurer, policy amount and type of coverage meet Fannie Mae’s requirements as described in Selling Guide B7-3, Property and Flood Insurance.

 

Ensure requirements contained in any negotiated contract are met.

 

Ensure property insurance premiums are paid. See B-1-01, Administering an Escrow Account and Paying ExpensesB-1-01, Administering an Escrow Account and Paying Expenses for additional information.

 

Obtain lender-placed insurance in response to notification that coverage is being cancelled, non-renewed, reduced, or otherwise modified in a manner resulting in coverage that no longer meets Fannie Mae’s requirements, in accordance with  B-6-01, Lender-Placed Insurance RequirementsB-6-01, Lender-Placed Insurance Requirements.

 

Contact its Fannie Mae Servicing Representative (see  F-4-02, List of ContactsF-4-02, List of Contacts) to determine if additional coverage is needed as described in Selling Guide B7-3-05, Additional Insurance Requirements.

 

Change the insurance coverage for a mortgage loan when it is inadequate to protect Fannie Mae’s interests or, in the instance of lender-placed insurance, causes Fannie Mae to be over-insured. Examples include properties that become vacant and home renovation loans. See Selling Guide B7-3-05, Additional Insurance Requirements for additional information.


Servicer Responsibilities Related to Property Insurance for Second Lien Mortgage Loans

The following table lists the servicer’s responsibilities applicable to all second lien mortgage loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae.

The servicer must...
 

Obtain and review a copy of the property insurance policy annually to determine if the insurance coverage meets Fannie Mae’s requirements.

 

Require the borrower to obtain appropriate endorsements that will bring the coverage in line with Fannie Mae’s requirements if the existing property insurance policy does not provide the amount of coverage Fannie Mae requires and send a copy of these endorsements to the servicer of the first-lien mortgage loan.

  Ensure property insurance premiums are paid, see B-1-01, Administering an Escrow Account and Paying ExpensesB-1-01, Administering an Escrow Account and Paying Expenses for additional information.
  Obtain lender-placed insurance in response to notification that coverage is being cancelled, non-renewed, reduced, or otherwise modified in a manner resulting in coverage that no longer meets Fannie Mae’s requirements, in accordance with  B-6-01, Lender-Placed Insurance RequirementsB-6-01, Lender-Placed Insurance Requirements

Recent Related Announcements

The table below provides references to recently issued Announcements that are related to this topic.

Announcements Issue Date
Announcement SVC-2024-01 February 14, 2024
Announcement SVC-2022-08 December 21, 2022
Announcement SVC-2021-09 December 8, 2021
Announcement SVC-2020-07 December 9, 2020