Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

Overview

Based on insights from interviews and our data warehouse, we identified an opportunity to help homeowners realize potential savings on private mortgage insurance (PMI) and enable our customers to build trust as their advisors. We estimated that around one million US homeowners using our product, Homebot, were eligible to remove PMI early, which could save them around $195 per month. By building this feature, we could help these homeowners save an accumulative total of around $200 million per month.

Background

• Home prices rose faster than ever in 2021. The typical home gained $50,000 in value
• Nearly Two-Thirds Of U.S. Households Struck By COVID-19 Face Financial Trouble‍
• PMI helps borrowers without a 20% downpayment access homeownership. It can be removed once the loan-to-value ratio falls below 80% of the original appraised value, or sooner if the home's value appreciates.

Action

• I sketched ideas and rapidly prototyped, including variations on copy, infographics, visualizations, and ways to connect with loan officers and realtors.
• I conducted usability sessions with 20 participants, landing on a design that received a 4.8/5 rating in response to questions about its value and confidence in removal.
• I worked with engineering team leads to break down the designs into four sprints, with each representing the smallest chunk of deliverable value.

Outcome

• Within the first sprint, we received over 500 requests to learn more about PMI cancellation, saving them around $97,500 per month. 
• The project was presented using the Double Diamond framework to the entire company, connecting colleagues to our mission, educating them on how the product org works, and building excitement for the feature.