The lender has to automatically end your mortgage insurance when you get to a loan-to-value ratio of 78%, or when you reach the halfway point for your mortgage loan, even if you didn’t yet get to 78% of the value of your home. So if you have a 30-year mortgage, the longest you’d have to make payments is 15 years.
But that doesn’t apply to FHA loans. If you had a down payment of 10% or more, you’ll usually have to pay mortgage insurance for 11 years, but if it’s under 10% you’ll be paying for insurance till you sell your home, pay off the loan entirely, or refinance to a non-FHA loan.