HERMIT Technology Platform Finally Arrives

By Shankar Pandiath
TMCnet Contributor

After a long hiatus, the HERMIT (Home Equity Reverse Mortgage Information Technology) platform has finally arrived. The new HERMIT software claims to improve and augment the procedures allied to the approval, claim, and servicing of the reverse mortgage. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has welcomed the overhaul of the system with open arms.

This new software is the brain child of the joint venture between Reverse Mortgage Solutions (RMS) and QSSI. HERMIT is the foremost technology upgrade since 1989, when Insurance Accounting Collection Systems (IACS) was launched. The improved online system will serve the HUD department. It will dole out as a centralized repository of data for managing collection records of mortgage insurance premiums and supervising operations related to reimbursing of insurance claims and customer service.

Kevin Gherardi, chief information officer, RMS, said that they were delighted to assist HUD for improving their operations and business functions. He added that with HERMIT, they will be able to mechanize their procedures for HECM endorsement, claim processing, and servicing.

HERMIT will be integrated with HUD’s national servicing center, and thus will automate all the business processes executed by the department, especially the claims process done manually. The home owners will now be able to file their mortgage claims faster, and receive their dues on time. Meanwhile, the Housing department will be able to handle the scattered and paper based mortgage records efficiently via the online platform.   

Gherardi further said that the innovative HERMIT integrates the manual and disjointed processes into a solo, unified web based solution for the HECM industry. He went on to add that despite its late launch, the system has begun to reflect positive changes.

Both the HUD and HUD’s national servicing center have greeted the ingenious solutions warmly, and they are confident of witnessing more improvements over the next few months. Now, the department is actively engaged into broadcasting the benefits of this online platform amongst the home owners.