There are 2 types of insurance on mortgages. There is life insurance (if purchased) and then there is PMI (Personal Mortgage Insurance). If you are referring to PMI, that only protects you in the event that a lien pops up that was not originally disclosed on the title insurance. As far as general life insurance, there would have been a separate document signed at the time of the mortgage stating if it was joint or individual. Even though you both were borrowers, it could still have been only an individual policy which would have covered the first borrower only. Locate your documents to find out.