11.   Long thinks that the rebound in area housing prices is making private mortgage insurance more of an exception than the rule these days.

12.   Mortgages on co-op studios are often rejected by private mortgage insurers because they represent a higher risk of default.

13.   Premiums for private mortgage insurance vary depending on down payment size and the length and type of mortgage.

14.   Private mortgage insurance has been controversial since its inception during the depression.

15.   Private mortgage insurance protects lenders if borrowers default.

16.   Private mortgage insurance is one of the more annoying aspects of being a homeowner.

17.   Private mortgage insurers like Triad Guaranty, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, want state regulators, not the U.S. Department of Housing to oversee their industry.

18.   Private mortgage lending policies favor new suburban homes over city homes -- and now often over older suburban homes, too.

19.   Rep. James Hansen, a Utah Republican, said he introduced the measure after he had trouble canceling the private mortgage insurance he paid on his own home.

20.   Private mortgage insurance reimburses only the lender for any loss incurred in taking back and selling the home.