The main concern with respect to competition is about prices. You have talked a lot about products but it all strikes me as being rather theoretical. I know people who recently bought a house and I'm thinking of doing the same thing myself. We have talked about many things such as which bank to deal with and where to buy. However, in terms of mortgage insurance, nobody has spoken to us about after sales service, etc.
The most important point... [technical difficulties] ... allowing new competitors could truly change the selection process and give more people access. Is it not the banks and the credit unions that are mainly responsible for selection? Thus, once a borrower has made it through that stage, he almost automatically find an insurer to guarantee the mortgage.