East Tennessee Flooding

If your home or place of employment have been impacted by the historic flooding, please contact us to help navigate your assistance options. Call 1-844-865-7378; Email custserv@volservicing.com or escrow@volservicing.com Additional resources and information can be found here:

Insurance

Homeowner's Insurance

All homes with a VMLS serviced mortgage are required to have insurance. VMLS will manage the escrow account on your mortgage to pay your annual homeowner's insurance policy.

Thinking about changing insurance companies or changing your insurance policy?

Contact your insurance company directly to make any changes to your policy. If your insurance company is not providing the coverage you want or you want to try and lower your monthly housing payment, you can shop around for new homeowner's insurance.

Make sure there is not a lapse in coverage when starting your new policy and cancelling your previous policy.
Provide notice to VMLS of the change in policy or providers. Email: escrow@volservicing.com
VMLS will need a copy of your new or updated insurance Declaration Page.
The new insurance company will need to us as the Mortgagee to the policy.
MORTGAGEE CLAUSE:
Tennessee Housing Development Agency
and its successors and/or assigns as their interests may appear
502 Deaderick Street, 3rd Floor
Nashville, TN 37243

What is force-placed insurance?

Insurance companies may terminate a policy based on claim history, credit score, or housing condition. If your homeowner's insurance is cancelled and you are unable to obtain coverage or if you are not carrying enough insurance, VMLS will add Force-Placed Insurance. This will cover the structure of the home for the amount of your Principal balance. This coverage will not include any personal property, will not pay on the value or rebuild cost, and is held by VMLS to protect the mortgaged property.

If force-placed insurance is added to your mortgage, you will receive 3 letters mailed in advance of purchasing the coverage. The cost of force-placed insurance is added to your escrow account and paid annually to our force-placed insurance carrier. This cost may be more expensive than your previous insurance policy.

Need to file an insurance claim for damage?

If you sustain damages to your home, contact your insurance agent to determine if you should file a claim. Your insurance agent will help you file the claim. Notify VMLS of the claim filing by Email: escrow@volservicing.com or Phone: 844-865-7378.
If you are on force-placed insurance, contact VMLS to file the claim as we hold the policy.

A claims check will include Tennessee Housing Development Agency/Volunteer Mortgage Loan Servicing as the mortgagee. All parties listed on the check will need to endorse the check and send the fully endorsed check to VMLS for processing. Include the Insurance Adjuster's Report with the claims check.

VMLS will not endorse a check and return it. All insurance claim checks are deposited and placed in your mortgage account's Loss Draft balance. An escrow representative will contact you to review any additional information needed to release the funds.

Your claim funds will either be returned to you in full as a non-monitored claim, or paid in 3 installments to you and your licensed contractor hired to complete the repairs as a monitored claim. You will receive notice by mail of a non-monitored or monitored claim status. Click here to review the checklist of items needed for a Monitored Insurance Claim. Once all items on the checklist are received, VMLS will release 1/3 of the claim funds to begin the repairs. At 50% completion of the repairs, another 1/3 of the claim funds will be released. At completion of the repairs, the remaining 1/3 balance of the claim funds will be released.

Flood Insurance

Some properties will be required to have Flood Insurance depending on the Flood Zone assigned to your location. If you are not in a FEMA designated Flood Zone, you may still want to consider obtaining flood insurance. National meteorologists are forecasting above average rainfall across a large portion of the U.S including most of the Mississippi and Cumberland river basins, which could include a significant portion of Tennessee. Flooding is the most common disaster in the U.S. and has occurred in every region of Tennessee. One inch of water in a home can cause an estimated $25,000 in damage according to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). To obtain flood insurance, talk to a licensed flood insurance agent.

Visit TDCI’s Weather Disasters 101 page for more information about flood insurance. For flood resources and preparedness, visit TEMA’s Flood Preparedness page.

Mortgage Insurance

Most THDA mortgages carry mortgage insurance (MI). This is an insurance that protects the lender in the event of foreclosure or loss mitigation efforts. MI is paid through your escrow account either monthly or annually. The most important factor that determines your MI is the type of mortgage you have and the percent down payment.

FHA Insured Loan: FHA is more flexible with their lending requirements, however FHA loans require a monthly mortgage insurance premium. FHA loans endorsed after June 3, 2013 require life of loan MI. The only way to cancel the FHA MIP on a life of loan premium is to re-finance into a different loan type. FHA loans endorsed prior to June 3, 2013 will continue to pay MI until the pre-determined cancellation date. To request an early cancellation, Email: escrow@volservicing.com or Phone: 844-865-7378. You must have 22% equity based on the original value and have a clean payment history.
USDA Insured Loan: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires Guaranteed Annual Fee for the life of the loan if closing occurred after 2011. The only way to cancel the USDA Annual Fee is to re-finance into a different loan type.
Conventional loans: Most lenders require MI if your down payment is less than 20%. The mortgage insurance will continue until the total equity reaches 20%.
VA Loans: The Veterans Administration offers zero down payment mortgages to qualified veterans. VA loans require an upfront funding fee, and no ongoing MI premiums.