Genworth has announced a new agreement with the West Brom Building Society to be its provider of mortgage insurance for a minimum period of two years.

The intention is for the policies to enable the West Brom to provide a range of higher loan to value mortgage products to its customers.

David Taylor, the West Brom’s head of products, said: “Partnering with a recognised and trusted provider such as Genworth ensures we can deliver a broad range of mortgage products to satisfy different customer needs, including first time buyers.

“It is an important part of our plan to grow the West Brom as a leading mortgage lender, focusing both on local customer needs through our branch network and having a competitive offering available to borrowers throughout England and Wales via our direct channel and intermediaries.”

Simon Crone, vice president of mortgage insurance Europe at Genworth, said: “We are extremely pleased to be able to announce this new relationship with the West Brom; it is a particularly proud moment as not only did we take part in a highly competitive tender process with all our UK competitors but we also managed to complete the entire process – from tender and negotiation to final signing – in only just over two months. We believe this shows the strength of our proposition and our commitment to offering lenders like the West Brom insurance arrangements which provide greater flexibility in terms of cover and premium options than they would find elsewhere.

“The West Brom has been a strong proponent of the need for private mortgage insurance for many years and by opting for Genworth it can continue to provide a range of products to its customers while ensuring strong mitigation of risk. Building societies like the West Brom have certainly led the way in this regard, especially in terms of their provision of higher LTV loans and their ability to support first-time buyers. With this new relationship we fully anticipate the West Brom remaining at the forefront of the mortgage market.”