Westpac LMI Calculator (Independent Estimate)

Free · No sign-up · Checked 29 September 2026

How much is LMI on a Westpac loan?

Rows marked rougher guide are larger than the biggest loan lenders publish an LMI example for.

The Westpac group's own LMI figures

Which insurer does Westpac use for LMI?

Arch insures Westpac group home loans. Westpac sold its own insurer, Westpac Lenders Mortgage Insurance (WLMI), to Arch. The sale was announced on 18 March 2021 and completed on 31 August 2021, with a 10-year exclusive agreement "for Arch to provide Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) to the Group". Arch had reinsured WLMI since 2011, and the insurer now operates as Arch Lenders Mortgage Indemnity. What LMI is, and why it protects the bank rather than you, is in our lenders mortgage insurance guide.

Westpac's LMI page calls it only "the LMI provider" and says "Westpac does not receive a commission from the LMI provider." Fitch's note of 10 September 2026 still describes Arch's "historically high reliance on Westpac Banking Corporation". The same insurer took on new CommBank loans in 2026, covered on our CBA LMI calculator page.

St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA

All three are divisions of Westpac Banking Corporation. None of their sites names Arch, but the 2021 agreement covers "the Group", so they use Arch through the group agreement. Where we could check, their LMI rules match Westpac's.

St.George adds three points of its own. It uses "the lesser of either the assessed value or purchase price" to work out LVR, it says investors "may pay a higher LMI premium", and it states that "LMI premiums are not transferrable" if you refinance to another bank.

The 0.30% rate margin above 80% LVR

Above 80% LVR, the Westpac group charges more interest as well as LMI. Westpac's rates page says "There will be an additional 0.30% p.a. on top of our standard interest rate if you're borrowing over 80% of Westpac's property valuation", and that it "applies to all new loans". St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA print the same 0.30% in their rate tables.

The rate is set on your LVR when the loan starts, and Westpac says it does not change "as your LVR/equity changes over the life of your loan". On a $540,000 loan, 0.30% p.a. is about $1,620 of extra interest in the first year (our arithmetic on the starting balance). Westpac does not say whether the margin applies when LMI is waived, so ask before you rely on it.

Can you get part of Westpac LMI back?

Yes, if you repay within two years. Westpac's LMI fact sheet, and St.George's in the same words, refund 40% of the premium if all insured loans are repaid and discharged within 12 months of settlement, and 20% from 12 to 24 months. The loans must never have been in arrears, the refund must clear a minimum threshold that Westpac does not publish, and stamp duty on the premium is never refunded. If the premium on a $540,000 loan were our typical $10,800, repaying within 12 months would return about $4,320.

LMI can also apply again. Westpac says you "may also be asked to pay for LMI if you're refinancing, restructuring a home loan, or topping one up, where the limit of the loan is greater than 80% of the value of the security." If you move house, Westpac lets you swap the security for a property of equal or greater value, and St.George limits a temporary term deposit security to 3 months when the loan has LMI.

Which professions does Westpac waive LMI for?

Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA publish the same lists:

• Up to 95% LVR, no minimum income: dentists, GPs, hospital-employed doctors (interns, residents, registrars and staff specialists) and medical specialists. Westpac's broker policy caps the loan at $5 million, or $7.5 million of total lending with the waiver.
• Up to 90% LVR, at least $90,000 a year: audiologists, chiropractors, midwives, occupational therapists, optometrists, osteopaths, pharmacists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists, radiographers, registered nurses, sonographers, speech pathologists and veterinary practitioners. Casual income is counted over 52 weeks.
• Up to 90% LVR, at least $120,000: accountants with IPA, CA ANZ or CPA membership (CFA Institute Australia and FIAA members are also listed), and lawyers, solicitors and barristers with a practising certificate dated within the last 12 months.

Westpac introduces the lists as "healthcare & emergency service professionals", but no police, paramedic or firefighter role is on them. Compare lenders in our LMI waiver guide, or see home loans for nurses.

Family Security Guarantee and Family Pledge

Westpac's Family Security Guarantee lets a parent, legal guardian, sibling or child over 18 use equity in their home, or cash in a term deposit, to guarantee up to 50% of your loan. Westpac says this can take your LVR under 80%, "which means you won't need to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance". St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA call theirs Family Pledge. Unlike CBA, Westpac describes a guarantor as an alternative to LMI "(or in addition to it)". More on how these work: guarantor home loan.

Westpac and the 5% Deposit Scheme

Westpac, St George Bank, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA are all Participating Lenders in the 5% Deposit Scheme as at 29 September 2026. Without the scheme, Westpac says that "if you pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), you might only need a 5% deposit". With it, an eligible first home buyer can buy with 5% (2% for an eligible single parent) and pay no LMI, because the government guarantees part of the loan. On a $600,000 home that avoids a typical $24,000 of LMI at 95%, or up to $33,300 in SA once duty is added.

The scheme sets the guarantee, not the interest rate: the rate and fees are agreed with the lender, so ask whether the 0.30% margin applies to a scheme loan. None of the four brands is a Help to Buy lender. Every other route is in how to avoid LMI.

Sources