Mortgage Insurance in Singapore: MRTA vs Level Term vs HPS, Costs and How Much Cover

The short answer

Mortgage insurance pays off, or helps pay off, your home loan if you die, are diagnosed with a terminal illness or become totally and permanently disabled. HDB flat owners paying with CPF are covered by CPF’s Home Protection Scheme unless they opt out with private cover. Private property owners have no compulsory scheme, so cover is their choice: a mortgage reducing term policy, often called MRTA, or a level term life plan. We checked all premiums and product details on 18 October 2026. We are not an insurer or financial adviser, so check each policy’s wording and get your own quote before you buy.

MRTA vs level term vs HPS

All three protect the loan against the same events. They differ in what the payout does and whether it shrinks.

Insurers write their reducing plans in different ways. Manulife’s ManuProtect Decreasing II runs 10 to 35 years, with the sum assured falling 1% to 5% a year. Income’s Mortgage Term runs 5 to 35 years at 1% to 7%. Etiqa’s ePROTECT Mortgage runs 6 to 40 years, or to age 75, at 1% to 4%, and you pay for 90% of the term. Home & Decor’s March 2025 roundup notes that AIA’s MRTA charges for 75% of the term, and that Prudential’s PRUMortgage and Tokio Marine’s plan waive the last 3 years.

Who needs mortgage insurance

Anyone whose family would struggle to keep paying the loan without their income. The rules only force the question for HDB owners.

If you own an HDB flat and pay with CPF, HPS is compulsory unless CPF Board approves an exemption. To get one, your private policies must cover your share of the outstanding loan against death, terminal illness and TPD until the loan ends or you turn 65.

For a condo or landed home, the position is different. CPF’s HPS handbook covers HDB flats only, so there is no default cover on a private property loan. Banks require fire insurance on the property, sometimes as a Mortgagee Interest Policy that mainly protects the bank, as MoneySmart explains. Insuring your own life against the loan is up to you.

Co-owners face a second question. If two incomes service the loan, losing either can be a problem. Each owner can insure their share, or a couple can buy joint-life cover. Of the plans in SmartWealth’s September 2026 comparison, only Manulife’s ManuProtect Decreasing II offered joint lives.

Typical costs, with sourced examples

The best published comparison we found is SmartWealth’s, with quotes accurate as of 11 September 2026. Its assumptions: age 30 next birthday, non-smoker, non-hazardous job, no pre-existing conditions, cover to 65 or for 35 years, a 3% reducing rate on the mortgage plans, and perpetual discounts included. Figures are annual, for S$1 million of death and TPD cover.

Two things stand out. Several term plans cost about the same as the two reducing plans, or less, and SmartWealth notes that level term has gained popularity for its cost and flexibility. Adding critical illness cover also roughly doubles the bill on most plans.

For smaller loans, DBS shows its online eDecreasingTerm, underwritten by Manulife, from S$7.11 a month for a non-smoking man aged 18 with S$150,000 of cover reducing at 1% over 10 years. The plan covers S$150,000 to S$500,000 and asks three health questions instead of a medical check. Its sister plan sold through DBS planners, ManuProtect Decreasing II, goes through full medical underwriting and offers optional riders. DBS defines terminal illness as an expected survival of 12 months or less, and pays that benefit as a lump sum.

On the HDB side, PropertyGuru’s example for a 30-year-old woman with a S$300,000, 25-year HDB concessionary loan is about S$180 a year under HPS, paid for 22 years. That is the default many HDB owners compare a private quote against.

How to size cover to the loan

Match the cover to the debt, then decide if you want more.

1. Sum assured: start with your loan amount on the day cover begins. Our mortgage calculator shows the balance year by year.
2. Term: match the loan tenure, or stop at the age you expect the loan to be cleared. HPS stops at 65 regardless.
3. Reducing rate: on an MRTA, pick the rate closest to your loan’s interest rate. If rates rise above it, your loan falls more slowly than your cover, and a gap opens.
4. Shares: co-owners should insure at least the share of the instalment each pays, the same rule CPF uses for HPS. Some couples insure 100% each, at a higher premium, so the survivor owes nothing.
5. Extras: decide whether you want critical illness cover. HPS has none.

Refinancing changes the picture. A new loan can have a different balance, rate and tenure from the one your MRTA was sized for, and CPF requires you to apply again for an HPS exemption after you refinance. Check your cover each time you refinance your home loan.

Mortgage insurance protects the loan. For the home itself, see our home insurance guide and the home insurance calculator.

Read next

Guide

Home Protection Scheme (HPS): Who Must Have It, Exemptions, Premiums and Claims

CPF's Home Protection Scheme pays off your HDB loan if you die or become disabled. Who must have HPS, exemptions, co-owner shares, premium examples and claims.

Tool

Mortgage Calculator Singapore: Monthly Repayment, TDSR and How Much You Can Borrow

Work out your monthly home loan repayment in Singapore, then check it against the TDSR, MSR and LTV limits banks use to decide how much they'll lend you.

Tool

Refinance Home Loan Singapore: Calculator for Savings, Costs and Today's SORA

See how much refinancing or repricing your home loan saves each month, when the switching costs pay back, and what a SORA-pegged package charges today.

Guide

Home Insurance in Singapore: Fire vs Contents vs Building Cover, and 2026 Premiums Compared

How home insurance works in Singapore: fire vs contents vs building cover, what HDB, condo and landed owners need, and published premiums from 8 insurers.