With the Labor Party romping back to a second term of government, Helia, the market leader in the niche segment of lenders mortgage insurance, is taking the opportunity to dispute the government’s signature housing policy.
In a ‘strategic update’ on Friday, Helia said it “notes that the Labor party announced proposed policy changes in relation to the Home Guarantee Scheme as part of the current Federal election campaign.
“If implemented in the form proposed, changes to existing income caps, property price
limits and an uncapped number of places are likely to significantly expand the existing program for eligible First Home Buyers (FHB).”
The existing Home Guarantee Scheme, Helia said “has seen the volume of FHB using LMI decline in recent years.”
FHBs accounted for approximately 25-30% of Helia’s GWP in 2024.
“Both Helia and the Insurance Council of Australia are of the view that the proposed policies are counter-productive to improving accessibility for home ownership in Australia and introduce unnecessary risk to the stability of the financial sector and the ability of many Australians to access the home market.
“Government has undertaken to consult with the Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) industry and Helia will engage with Government as part of this process with the aim of seeing the policy modified to ensure an ongoing vibrant LMI industry that can continue to support home ownership in Australia.”
Helia on Friday also took the unusual step of publishing a summary of its quarterly trading performance for its main operating subsidiaries.
These show gross written premium in the March 2025 quarter was $51 million, up from $38 million in the same quarter in 2024.
“GWP is up on the previous corresponding period, driven by increased levels of industry new housing loans written above an 80% LVR as well as an increase in Helia’s market share [but] GWP continues to be negatively impacted by the Home Guarantee Scheme and higher levels of lender self-insurance.”