Dallas-based home down payment protection insurance provider ValueInsured has received a $6.5 million injection of capital from longtime partners Everest Re Group Ltd. and Houston International Insurance Group.

The capital raise will give ValueInsured — the only provider of homebuyer down payment protection — the resources to “continue its aggressive distribution partnership strategy, expanding channel presence, and enhancing the features” of its proprietary +Plus product, the company said in a release.

“Today’s homebuyers are not going to be in the same house for 30 years.”
Joe Melendez

Everest, a global reinsurer, and HIIG a domestic property and casualty underwriter began their relationships with ValueInsured in 2014, providing an initial $6.5 million in seed money. 

Currently, the +Plus program is available nationwide in conjunction with a network of select retail loan officers, correspondent lenders, and wholesalers.

ValueInsured CEO Joe Melendez said the new funding will mean the +Plus program can be expanded to more mortgage originators which, in turn, will be able to extend the innovative program to more home buyers.

ValueInsured’s +Plus program covers a homebuyer’s down payment against the risk of loss for seven years after the house is bought. The protection allows the homebuyer to receive up to a full reimbursement, even if he or she has to sell the house in a down market.

The +Plus program is distributed through mortgage institutions and lenders, and is embedded into a homeowner’s mortgage. The program is geared to reduce homeownership risk, especially among younger homebuyers.

“Today’s homebuyers are not going to be in the same house for 30 years,” Melendez said in a recent interview. 

He said that younger homeowners will end up being in up to five or six houses throughout that three-decade period, and the current industry “doesn’t let them own a home, while still enjoying mobility and flexibility.”

The upshot is that homeowners are exposed to the risk of market fluctuations, should they need to sell when the local housing market is slow.

The +Plus program helps mitigate the issue by protecting and reimbursing the down payment, giving homeowners greater peace of mind, even in a negative market, Melendez said in a release.

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