(a) General rule. HEAL insurance covers the unpaid balance of principal and interest on an eligible HEAL loan, less the amount of any judgment collected pursuant to default proceedings commenced by the eligible lender or holder involved. In determining whether to approve an insurance claim for payment, the Secretary considers legal defects affecting the initial validity or insurability of the loan. The Secretary also deducts from a claim any amount that is not a legally enforceable obligation of the borrower except to the extent that the defense of infancy applies. The Secretary further considers whether all holders of the loan have complied with the requirements of the HEAL regulations, including those concerned with the making, servicing, and collecting of the loan, the timely filing of claims, and the submission of documents with a claim.

(b) Special rules for loans acquired by assignment. If a claim is filed by a lender or holder that obtained a loan by assignment, that lender or holder is not entitled to any payment under this section greater than that to which a previous holder would have been entitled. In particular, the Secretary deducts from the claim any amounts that are attributable to payments made by the borrower to a prior holder of the loan before the borrower received proper notice of the assignment of the loan.

(c) Special rules for loans made by school lenders. (1) If the loan for which a claim is filed was originally made by a school and the claim is filed by that school, the Secretary deducts from the claim an amount equal to any unpaid refund that the school owes the borrower.

(2) If the loan for which a claim is filed was originally made by a school but the claim is filed by another lender of holder that obtained the note by assignment, the Secretary deducts from the claim an amount equal to any unpaid refund that the school owed the borrower prior to the assignment.

(d) Circumstances under which defects in claims may be cured or excused. The Secretary may permit a lender or holder to cure certain defects in a specified manner as a condition for payment of a default claim. The Secretary may excuse certain defects if the holder submitting the default claim satisfies the Secretary that the defect did not contribute to the default or prejudice the Secretary's attempt to collect the loan from the borrower. The Secretary may also excuse certain defects if the defect arose while the loan was held by another lender or holder and the holder submitting the default claim satisfies the Secretary that the assignment of the loan was an arm's length transaction, that the present holder did not know of the defect at the time of the sale and that the present holder could not have become aware of the defect through an examination of the loan documents.

(e) Payment of insured interest. The payment on an approved claim covers the unpaid principal balance and interest that accrues through the date the claim is paid, except:

(1) If the lender or holder failed to submit a claim within the required period after the borrower's default; death; total and permanent disability; or filing of a petition in bankruptcy under chapter 11 or 13 of the Bankruptcy Act, or under chapter 7 where the borrower files a complaint to determine the dischargeability of the HEAL loan; the Secretary does not pay interest that accrued between the end of that period and the date the Secretary received the claim.

(2) If the Secretary returned the claim to the lender or holder for additional documentation necessary for the approval of the claim, the Secretary pays interest only for the first 30 days following the return of the claim to the lender or holder.