MTG Mgic Investment Corp - 10-K
0000876437-26-000010Year-over-year tone shift - average net-tone change across Risk Factors and MD&A vs the prior 10-K. This filing is -0.16pp more bearish than last year's.
Why YoY instead of absolute: the LM lexicon has ~6.6× more negative words than positive (legal/risk-disclosure language is heavy on hedging), so every 10-K reads bearish on raw tone. Year-over-year change strips that bias and surfaces the actual shift in management's framing.
Tone shift by section
The two components the gauge averages: how Risk Factors and MD&A each shifted in net tone versus last year's 10-K. The headline above is their average, so a green needle over a soft section just means the other section carried it.
Sentence-level sentiment highlighting with category and subcategory filters is coming once the snippet-scoring pipeline lands. For now, dig into the actual section text on the Sections tab.
Language change vs prior 10-K
Risk Factors (Item 1A) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase- adverse+3
- failure+3
- severity+2
- default+2
- termination+2
- advancements+2
- profitability+1
- adequately+1
- benefited+1
Risk Factors (Item 1A)
12,473 words
Item 1A. Risk Factors
As used below, “we,” “our” and “us” refer to MGIC Investment Corporation’s consolidated operations or to MGIC Investment Corporation, as the context requires; and “MGIC” refers to Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation.
Risk Factors Relating to the Mortgage Insurance Industry and its Regulation
Economic downturns and/or declines in home prices may lead to increased losses.
Our business is sensitive to general macroeconomic conditions and fluctuations in the housing market. Events such as recession, unemployment, reduction in household income, decreases in home prices, inflation, shifts in the comparative cost of renting versus owning a home, and changes in family status may affect a borrower’s ability or willingness to make mortgage payments. Such events are outside of our control, difficult to predict, and generally increase loan delinquencies and claims. The U.S. economy may be vulnerable to an array of factors, including inflation, geopolitical tensions and/or conflicts, rising national debt, ongoing fiscal deficits, and disruptions to international trade. Additionally, economic conditions may differ from region to region. Information about the geographic dispersion of our risk in force and delinquency inventory can be found in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
A decline in home prices may make it more difficult for borrowers to sell or refinance their homes, increasing the risk of default. A decline in home prices may occur even absent a deterioration in economic conditions, such as changes in buyers’ perceptions of the potential for future appreciation, restrictions on and the cost of mortgage credit due to more stringent underwriting standards, elevated interest rates, increased cost of homeowners insurance, changes to the tax deductibility of mortgage interest, decreases in the rate of household formations, or other factors. A decline in home prices may result in loan balances exceeding home values, discouraging borrowers from continuing to make payments. Although the rate of home price appreciation recently reached historically high rates, the rate of growth is moderating: according to the seasonally-adjusted Purchase-Only U.S. Home Price Index of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (the “FHFA”), which is based on single-family properties whose mortgages have been purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, home prices increased by 1.4% from January 2025 through November 2025, after increasing 4.8% and 6.7% in 2024 and 2023, respectively. The national average price-to-income ratio exceeds its historical average, in part as a result of recent home price appreciation outpacing increases in income. Elevated home prices have contributed to affordability constraints, which may lead to reduced demand and downward pressure on prices at both regional and national levels.
Changes in the business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ("the GSEs"), federal legislation that changes their charters or a restructuring of the GSEs could reduce our revenues or increase our losses.
The substantial majority of our new insurance written ("NIW") is for loans purchased by the GSEs; therefore, the business practices of the GSEs greatly impact our business. The GSEs possess substantial market power, which enables them to influence our business and the mortgage insurance industry in general. In 2008, the housing market was in severe decline, which damaged the financial condition of the GSEs. FHFA placed the GSEs into conservatorship on September 7, 2008 and the FHFA has the authority to control and direct their operations. Given that the Director of the FHFA serves at the pleasure of the President, the agency's agenda, policies and actions may be influenced by the then-current administration.
Changes in the status, powers, or supervision of the GSEs, whether through legislation or administrative action, that impact private mortgage insurers could have an adverse effect on our business, revenue, results of operations and financial condition. Business practices of the GSEs that affect the mortgage insurance industry include:
• The GSEs' private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements ("PMIERs"), the financial requirements of which are discussed in our risk factor titled “We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility.”
• The capital and collateral requirements for participants in the GSEs' alternative forms of credit enhancement discussed in our risk factor titled "The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance."
• The level of private mortgage insurance coverage, subject to the limitations of the GSEs’ charters, when private mortgage insurance is used as the required credit enhancement on low down payment mortgages (the GSEs generally require a level of mortgage insurance coverage that is higher than the level of coverage required by their charters; any change in the required level of coverage will impact our new risk written).
• The amount of loan level price adjustments and guaranty fees (which result in higher costs to borrowers) that the GSEs assess on loans that require private mortgage insurance. The requirements of the new GSE capital framework may lead the GSEs to increase their guaranty fees. In addition, the FHFA has indicated that it is reviewing the GSEs' pricing in connection with preparing them to exit conservatorship and to ensure that pricing subsidies benefit only affordable housing activities.
• Whether the GSEs select or influence the mortgage lender’s selection of the mortgage insurer providing coverage.
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• The underwriting standards that determine which loans are eligible for purchase by the GSEs, which can affect the quality of the risk insured by the mortgage insurer and the availability of mortgage loans.
• The terms on which mortgage insurance coverage can be canceled before reaching the cancellation thresholds established by law and the business practices associated with such cancellations. If the GSEs or other mortgage investors change their practices regarding the timing of cancellation of mortgage insurance due to home price appreciation, policy goals, changing risk tolerances or otherwise, we could experience an unexpected reduction in our insurance in force ("IIF"), which would negatively impact our business and financial results. For more information, see the discussion below regarding the GSEs' Equitable Housing Plans and our risk factor titled “ The length of time our insurance policies remain in force has a significant impact on our results. "
• The programs established by the GSEs intended to avoid or mitigate loss on insured mortgages and the circumstances in which mortgage servicers must implement such programs.
• The terms that the GSEs require to be included in mortgage insurance policies for loans that they purchase, including limitations on the rescission rights of mortgage insurers.
• The extent to which the GSEs intervene in mortgage insurers’ claims paying practices, rescission practices or rescission settlement practices with lenders.
• The maximum loan limits of the GSEs compared to those of the Federal Housing Administration ("FHA") and other investors.
• Benchmarks established by the FHFA for loans to be purchased by the GSEs, which can affect the loans available to be insured.
• The establishment, modification, or termination of programs intended to promote affordable housing for low-income borrowers.
To the extent the business practices and policies of the GSEs regarding mortgage insurance coverage, costs and cancellation change, such changes may negatively impact the mortgage insurance industry and our financial results.
Congress and executive branch officials have periodically proposed various plans for the reform of the GSEs, including through privatization and/or termination of FHFA's conservatorship. However, it is unclear what reforms will ultimately be implemented, if any, and what the time frame for any such reforms will be. The potential impact of any such plan on our business and financial results remains uncertain.
It is uncertain what role the GSEs, FHA and private capital, including private mortgage insurance, will play in the residential housing finance system in the future. The timing and impact on our business of any resulting changes are uncertain. For changes that would require Congressional action to implement it is difficult to estimate when Congressional action would be final and how long any associated phase-in period may last.
We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility.
We must comply with a GSE's PMIERs to be eligible to insure loans delivered to or purchased by that GSE. The PMIERs include financial requirements, as well as business, quality control and certain transaction approval requirements. The PMIERs provide that the GSEs may amend any provision of the PMIERs or impose additional requirements with an effective date specified by the GSEs.
The financial requirements of the PMIERs require a mortgage insurer’s “Available Assets” (generally only the most liquid assets of an insurer) to equal or exceed its “Minimum Required Assets” (which are generally based on an insurer’s book of risk in force and calculated from tables of factors with several risk dimensions, reduced for credit given for risk ceded under reinsurance agreements). MGIC is in compliance with the PMIERs and eligible to insure loans purchased by the GSEs; however, if our Available Assets fall below our Minimum Required Assets, we would not be in compliance with the PMIERs. Our ability to continue to comply with PMIERS financial requirements could be affected by several factors, including:
• Amendments to PMIERs, or changes to the way the GSEs interpret the existing PMIERs.
• An increase in the number of loan delinquencies. The PMIERs generally require us to hold significantly more Minimum Required Assets for delinquent loans than for performing loans, and the Minimum Required Assets required to be held increases as the number of payments missed on a delinquent loan increases. If we are required to hold more capital relative to our insured loans it could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
• The credit we receive for the investments in our investment portfolio. Under PMIERs, specified assets are excluded, limited or haircut for purposes of being counted as Available Assets.
• Changes to the amount of credit we receive for risk ceded under our QSR and XOL reinsurance transactions, which are discussed in our risk factors titled "Our underwriting practices and the mix of business we write affects our Minimum Required Assets under the PMIERs, our premium yields and the likelihood of claims" and " Reinsurance may be unavailable at current levels and prices, and/or the GSEs may reduce the amount of capital credit we receive for our reinsurance transactions ."
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• Failure to meet certain transactional approval conditions imposed by PMIERs. Such failure may restrict or delay us from taking certain actions that would be advantageous to our investors.
The PMIERs provide a list of remediation actions for a mortgage insurer's non-compliance, with additional actions possible in the GSEs' discretion. At the extreme, the GSEs may suspend or terminate our eligibility to insure loans purchased by them. Such suspension or termination would significantly reduce the volume of our NIW, the substantial majority of which is for loans delivered to or purchased by the GSEs.
Should capital be needed by MGIC in the future, capital contributions from our holding company may not be available due to competing demands on holding company resources.
Because loss reserve estimates are subject to uncertainties, paid claims may be substantially different than our loss reserves.
When we establish case reserves, we estimate our ultimate loss on delinquent loans by estimating the number of such loans that will result in a claim payment (the "claim rate"), and further estimating the amount of the claim payment (the "claim severity"). Changes to our claim rate and claim severity estimates could have a material impact on our future results, even in a stable economic environment. Our estimates incorporate anticipated cures, loss mitigation activity, rescissions and curtailments. The establishment of loss reserves is subject to inherent uncertainty and requires significant judgment by management. Our actual claim payments may differ substantially from our loss reserve estimates. Our estimates could be affected by several factors, including a change in regional or national economic conditions as discussed in these risk factors and a change in the length of time loans are delinquent before claims are received. Generally, the longer a loan is delinquent before a claim is received, the greater the severity. Forbearance programs intended to preserve homeownership for borrowers at risk of foreclosure increase the average time it takes to receive claims. Generally, losses follow a seasonal trend in which the first half of the year has stronger credit performance than the second half, with higher cure rates and lower new delinquency notice activity. The state of the economy, local housing markets, pandemics, natural disasters, and various other factors, may result in delinquencies not following the typical pattern.
We are subject to comprehensive regulation and other requirements, which we may fail to satisfy.
We are subject to comprehensive regulation, including by state insurance departments. Many regulations are designed for the protection of our insured policyholders and consumers, rather than for the benefit of investors. Mortgage insurers, including MGIC, have in the past been involved in litigation and regulatory actions related to alleged violations of the anti-referral fee provisions of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), and the notice provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"). While these proceedings in the aggregate did not result in material liability for MGIC, there can be no assurance that the outcome of future proceedings, if any, under these laws or others would not have a material adverse effect on us.
In the past we have provided contract underwriting services, including on loans for which we are not providing mortgage insurance. These services are subject to contractual obligations and federal and state regulation. Our failure to meet the standards set forth in the applicable contracts or regulations would subject us to potential litigation or regulatory action. To the extent that we are construed to have made independent credit decisions in connection with our contract underwriting activities, we also could be subject to increased regulatory requirements under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA"), FCRA, and other laws. Under relevant laws, examination may also be made of whether a mortgage insurer's underwriting decisions have a disparate impact on persons belonging to a protected class in violation of the law.
Although their scope varies, state insurance laws generally grant broad supervisory powers to agencies or officials to examine insurance companies and enforce rules or exercise discretion affecting almost every significant aspect of the insurance business, including payment for the referral of insurance business, establishing premium rates, discrimination in pricing and underwriting, and minimum capital requirements. The increased use by the private mortgage insurance industry of risk-based pricing systems that establish premium rates based on more attributes than previously considered, and of algorithms, artificial intelligence and data and analytics, has led to additional regulatory scrutiny of these and other matters such as data privacy and access to insurance. For more information about state capital requirements, see our risk factor titled “ State capital requirements may prevent us from continuing to write new insurance on an uninterrupted basis .” For information about regulation of data privacy, see our risk factor titled “ We could be materially adversely affected by a cybersecurity breach or failure of information security controls .” For more details about the various ways in which our subsidiaries are regulated, see “Business - Regulation” in Item 1 of our Annual Report in this Form 10-K.
While we have established policies and procedures to comply with applicable laws and regulations, many such laws and regulations are complex and it is not possible to predict the eventual scope, duration or outcome of any reviews or investigations. A regulatory action against us could have an adverse material adverse effect on our reputation, business and financial results.
The effects of pandemics, severe weather events, or other disasters may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Pandemics and other disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and floods, or other events related to climate change, could trigger an economic downturn in the affected areas, or in areas with similar risks, which could result in a decrease in home prices, an increased claim rate and increased claim severity in those areas. Due to the increased frequency and severity of natural disasters, some homeowners' insurers are increasing premium rates or withdrawing from certain states or areas that they deem to be high risk. Even though we do not generally insure losses related to property damage, the inability of a borrower to obtain hazard and/or
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flood insurance, or the increased cost of such insurance, could lead to a decrease in home prices in the affected areas and an increase in delinquencies and our incurred losses.
The PMIERs require us to maintain significantly more "Minimum Required Assets" for delinquent loans than for performing loans. See our risk factor titled "We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility."
Pandemics and other disasters could also lead to increased reinsurance rates or reduced availability of reinsurance. This may cause us to retain more risk than we otherwise would and could negatively affect our compliance with the financial requirements of State Capital Requirements and the PMIERs. Similarly, pandemics and other disasters may impact the value of and cause volatility in our investment portfolio, which could also negatively affect our compliance with the financial requirements of PMIERs.
To the extent that government authorities, including FHFA and the GSEs, change their approach to the management of climate risk (including through GSE guideline or mortgage insurance policy changes) those changes could affect the volume and characteristics of our NIW (including its policy terms), and home prices and defaults in certain areas, in turn impacting our business and financial results.
Reinsurance may be unavailable at current levels and prices, and/or the GSEs may reduce the amount of capital credit we receive for our reinsurance transactions.
We have in place QSR and XOL reinsurance transactions providing various amounts of coverage on our risk in force as of December 31, 2025. Refer to Part II, Item 8, Note 7 – “Reinsurance” and Part II, Item 7 “Consolidated Results of Operations – Reinsurance Transactions” of our Annual Report in this Form 10-K, for more information about coverage under our reinsurance transactions. The reinsurance transactions reduce the tail-risk associated with stress scenarios. As a result, they reduce the risk-based capital that we are required to hold to support the risk and they allow us to earn higher returns on risk-based capital for our business than we would without them. However, market conditions impact the availability and cost of reinsurance. Reinsurance may not always be available to us, or available only on terms or at costs that we consider unacceptable. If we are not able to obtain reinsurance we will be required to hold additional capital to support our risk in force.
Reinsurance transactions subject us to counterparty risk, including the financial capability of the reinsurers to make payments for losses ceded to them under the reinsurance agreements. As reinsurance does not relieve us of our obligation to pay claims to our policyholders, our inability to recover losses from a reinsurer could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
Additionally, the GSEs may change the credit they allow under the PMIERs for risk ceded under our reinsurance transactions. In addition, we may not receive the same level of credit under future reinsurance transactions that we receive under existing transactions. Refer to “Consolidated Results of Operations – Reinsurance Transactions” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report in this Form 10-K for information about the calculated PMIERs credit for our XOL transactions. At present, the GSE capital framework provides more capital credit for transactions with higher rated counterparties, as well as those who are diversified. If the GSEs were to reduce the credit that we receive for reinsurance under the PMIERs, it could result in decreased returns absent an increase in our premium rates. An increase in our premium rates to adjust for a decrease in reinsurance credit may lead to a decrease in our NIW and net income.
Because we establish loss reserves only upon a loan delinquency rather than based on estimates of our ultimate losses on risk in force, losses may have a disproportionate adverse effect on our earnings in certain periods.
In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, we establish case reserves for insurance losses and loss adjustment expenses only when delinquency notices are received for insured loans that are two or more payments past due and for loans we estimate are delinquent but for which delinquency notices have not yet been received (which we include in “IBNR”). Losses that may occur from loans that are not delinquent are not reflected in our financial statements, except when a "premium deficiency" is recorded. A premium deficiency would be recorded if the present value of expected future losses and expenses exceeds the present value of expected future premiums, anticipated investment income, and already established loss reserves on the applicable loans. As a result, future losses incurred on loans that are not currently delinquent may have a material impact on future results as delinquencies emerge.
State capital requirements may prevent us from continuing to write new insurance on an uninterrupted basis.
The insurance laws of 16 jurisdictions, including Wisconsin, MGIC's domiciliary state, require a mortgage insurer to maintain a minimum amount of statutory capital relative to its risk in force (or a similar measure) in order for the mortgage insurer to continue to write new business. We refer to these requirements as the “State Capital Requirements.” While they vary among jurisdictions, the most common State Capital Requirements allow for a maximum risk-to-capital ratio of 25 to 1. A risk-to-capital ratio will increase if (i) the percentage decrease in capital exceeds the percentage decrease in insured risk, or (ii) the percentage increase in capital is less than the percentage increase in insured risk. Wisconsin does not regulate capital by using a risk-to-capital measure but instead requires a minimum policyholder position (“MPP”). MGIC's “policyholder position” includes its net worth, or surplus, and its contingency reserve.
Our risk-to-capital ratio and MPP reflect credit for the risk ceded under our reinsurance agreements with unaffiliated reinsurers . If MGIC is not allowed an agreed level of credit under the State Capital Requirements, MGIC may terminate the reinsurance transactions, without penalty.
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In 2023, the NAIC adopted a revised Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Model Act. The updated Model Act includes requirements relating to, among other things: (i) capital and minimum capital requirements, and contingency reserves; (ii) restrictions on mortgage insurers’ investments in notes secured by mortgages; (iii) prudent underwriting standards and formal underwriting guidelines; (iv) the establishment of formal, internal “Mortgage Guaranty Quality Control Programs” with respect to in-force business; and (v) reinsurance and prohibitions on captive reinsurance arrangements. It is uncertain when the revised Model Act will be adopted in any jurisdiction. The provisions of the Model Act, if adopted in their final form, are not expected to have a material adverse effect on our business. It is unknown whether any changes will be made by state legislatures prior to adoption, and the effect changes, if any, will have on the mortgage guaranty insurance market generally, or on our business. Wisconsin, where MGIC is domiciled, has begun the process to replace current mortgage insurance regulations with the Model Act; however it is expected that modifications will be made before formal adoption.
While MGIC currently meets the State Capital Requirements of Wisconsin and all other jurisdictions, it could be prevented from writing new business in the future in all jurisdictions if it fails to meet the State Capital Requirements of Wisconsin, or it could be prevented from writing new business in a particular jurisdiction if it fails to meet the State Capital Requirements of that jurisdiction, and in each case if MGIC does not obtain a waiver of such requirements. It is possible that regulatory action by one or more jurisdictions, including those that do not have specific State Capital Requirements, may prevent MGIC from continuing to write new insurance in such jurisdictions. If we are unable to write business in a particular jurisdiction, lenders may be unwilling to procure insurance from us anywhere. In addition, a lender’s assessment of the future ability of our insurance operations to meet the State Capital Requirements or the PMIERs may affect its willingness to procure insurance from us. In this regard, see our risk factor titled “Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and/or increase our losses.” A possible future failure by MGIC to meet the State Capital Requirements or the PMIERs will not necessarily mean that MGIC lacks sufficient resources to pay claims on its insurance liabilities. You should read the rest of these risk factors for information about matters that could negatively affect MGIC’s compliance with State Capital Requirements and its claims paying resources.
If the volume of low down payment home mortgage originations declines, the amount of insurance that we write could decline.
The factors that may affect the volume of low down payment mortgage originations include the health of the U.S. economy; conditions in regional and local economies and the level of consumer confidence; the health and stability of the financial services industry; restrictions on mortgage credit due to more stringent underwriting standards, liquidity issues or risk-retention and/or capital requirements affecting lenders; the level of home mortgage interest rates; housing affordability; new and existing housing availability; the rate of household formation, which is influenced, in part, by population and immigration trends; homeownership rates; the rate of home price appreciation, which in times of heavy refinancing can affect whether refinanced loans have LTV ratios that require private mortgage insurance; the extent to which the GSEs' business practices shift the market away from the GSEs to the FHA, other government execution channels, or lender portfolios; tax policy; and government housing policy. A decline in the volume of low down payment home mortgage originations could decrease demand for mortgage insurance and limit our NIW. For other factors that could decrease the demand for mortgage insurance, see our risk factor titled “The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance.”
The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance.
Alternatives to private mortgage insurance include:
• investors using risk mitigation and credit risk transfer techniques other than private mortgage insurance, or accepting credit risk without credit enhancement;
• lenders and other investors holding mortgages in portfolio and self-insuring;
• lenders using FHA, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") and other government mortgage insurance programs; and
• lenders originating mortgages using piggyback structures to avoid private mortgage insurance, such as a first mortgage with an 80% loan-to-value ("LTV") ratio and a second mortgage with a 10%, 15% or 20% LTV ratio rather than a first mortgage with a 90%, 95% or 100% LTV ratio that has private mortgage insurance.
The GSEs’ charters generally require credit enhancement for a low down payment mortgage loan (a loan in an amount that exceeds 80% of a home’s value) in order for such loan to be eligible for purchase by the GSEs. Private mortgage insurance generally has been purchased by lenders in primary mortgage market transactions to satisfy this credit enhancement requirement. In 2018, the GSEs initiated secondary mortgage market programs with loan level mortgage default coverage provided by various (re)insurers that are not mortgage insurers governed by PMIERs, and that are not selected by the lenders. These programs, which currently account for a small percentage of the low down payment market, compete with traditional private mortgage insurance and, due to differences in policy terms, they may offer premium rates that are below prevalent single premium lender-paid mortgage insurance ("LPMI") rates. We participate in these programs from time to time. See our risk factor titled “ Changes in the business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ("the GSEs"), federal legislation that changes their charters or a restructuring of the GSEs could reduce our revenues or increase our losses” for a discussion of various business practices of the GSEs that may be changed, including through expansion or modification of these programs.
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The GSEs (and other investors) have also used other forms of credit enhancement that did not involve traditional private mortgage insurance, such as engaging in credit-linked note transactions executed in the capital markets, or using other forms of debt issuances or securitizations that transfer credit risk directly to other investors, including competitors and an affiliate of MGIC; using other risk mitigation techniques in conjunction with reduced levels of private mortgage insurance coverage; or accepting credit risk without credit enhancement.
Government-supported mortgage insurance programs are not subject to the same capital requirements, risk tolerance or business objectives as private mortgage insurance companies and generally have greater financial flexibility in setting their pricing, guidelines and capacity, which could put us at a competitive disadvantage. If the FHA or other government-supported mortgage insurance programs increase their share of the mortgage insurance market, our business could be affected. Factors that influence market share include relative rates and fees, underwriting guidelines and loan limits of the FHA, VA, private mortgage insurers and the GSEs; changes to the GSEs' business practices; lenders' perceptions of legal risks under FHA versus GSE programs; flexibility for the FHA to establish new products as a result of federal legislation and programs; returns expected to be obtained by lenders for Ginnie Mae securitization of FHA-insured loans compared to those obtained from selling loans to the GSEs for securitization; and differences in policy terms, such as the ability of a borrower to cancel insurance coverage under certain circumstances.
The FHA's share of the low down payment residential mortgages that were subject to FHA, VA, USDA or primary private mortgage insurance was 34.3% in 2025, 33.5% in 2024, and 33.2% in 2023. Since 2012, the FHA’s market share has been as low as 23.4% (2020) and as high as 42.1% (in 2012). Generally, we expect FHA market share to increase in environments with lower origination volume.
The VA's share of the low down payment residential mortgages that were subject to FHA, VA, USDA or primary private mortgage insurance was 26.8% in 2025, 24.5% in 2024, and 21.5% in 2023. Since 2012, the VA's market share has been as high as 30.9% (in 2020). The VA's 2023 market share was the lowest since 2013 (22.8%). The VA program offers 100% LTV ratio loans for qualifying borrowers.
In July 2023, the Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed a revised regulatory capital rule, known as the Basel III End Game, that would impose higher capital standards on large U.S. banks. Under the proposed regulation's new expanded risk-based approach, it was interpreted that affected banks would no longer receive risk-based capital relief for mortgage insurance on loans held in their portfolios. In September 2024, it was announced that regulators may revise the proposed rule, including by lowering the proposed-risk weighting for loans secured by residential real estate. In November 2024, it was announced that the proposed rule will be placed on hold. It is possible that in the future the proposed rule could be re-proposed or an entirely different proposal could be made.
The length of time our insurance policies remain in force has a significant impact on our results.
The premium from a single premium policy is collected upfront and generally earned over the estimated life of the policy. In contrast, premiums from monthly and annual premium policies are received each month or year, as applicable, and earned each month over the life of the policy. In each year, most of our premiums earned are from insurance that has been written in prior years. As a result, the length of time insurance remains in force, which is generally measured by annual persistency (the percentage of our insurance remaining in force from one year prior), is a significant determinant of our revenues. A higher than expected persistency rate may decrease the profitability from single premium policies because they will remain in force longer and may increase the incidence of claims that was estimated when the policies were written. A low persistency rate on monthly and annual premium policies will reduce future premiums but may also reduce the incidence of claims, while a high persistency on those policies will increase future premiums but may increase the incidence of claims.
Our persistency rate is primarily affected by the level of current mortgage interest rates compared to the mortgage coupon rates on our insurance in force, which affects the vulnerability of the IIF to refinancing; and the current amount of equity that borrowers have in the homes underlying our insurance in force. The amount of equity affects persistency in the following ways:
• Borrowers with significant equity may be able to refinance their loans without requiring mortgage insurance.
• The Homeowners Protection Act (“HOPA”) requires servicers to cancel mortgage insurance when a borrower’s LTV ratio meets or is scheduled to meet certain levels, generally based on the original value of the home and subject to various conditions and exclusions.
• The GSEs’ mortgage insurance cancellation guidelines apply more broadly than HOPA and also consider a home’s current value. For more information about the GSEs' guidelines and business practices, and how they may change, see our risk factor titled “ Changes in the business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ("the GSEs") , federal legislation that changes their charters or a restructuring of the GSEs could reduce our revenues or increase our losses. ”
We are susceptible to disruptions in the servicing of mortgage loans that we insure and we rely on third-party reporting for information regarding the mortgage loans we insure.
We depend on reliable, consistent third-party servicing of the loans that we insure. An increase in delinquent loans may result in liquidity issues for servicers. When a mortgage loan that is collateral for a mortgage-backed security ("MBS") becomes delinquent, the servicer is usually required to continue to pay principal and interest to the MBS investors, generally for four months, even though the servicer is not receiving payments from borrowers. This may cause liquidity issues, especially for non-bank servicers (who service approximately 59% of the loans underlying our IIF as of December 31, 2025) because they do not have the same sources of liquidity that bank
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servicers have. Consolidation in the mortgage servicing market may also lead to increased risk as a large servicer's operational failures, system outages, or policy changes could affect a larger portion of our IIF.
Servicers who experience future liquidity issues may be less likely to advance premiums to us on policies covering delinquent loans or to remit premiums on policies covering loans that are not delinquent. Our policies generally allow us to cancel coverage on loans that are not delinquent if the premiums are not paid within a grace period.
An increase in delinquent loans or a transfer of servicing resulting from liquidity issues, may increase the operational burden on servicers, cause a disruption in the servicing of delinquent loans and reduce servicers’ abilities to undertake mitigation efforts that could help limit our losses.
We have delegated authority to the GSEs to implement certain loss mitigation options (e.g., modifications, short sales, and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure) on certain loans we insure. The GSEs in turn have delegated such authority to most of their approved servicers, pursuant to delegation agreements. Servicers who service GSE-owned loans are required to operate under the GSEs' required standards in accepting certain loss mitigation alternatives. We rely on these servicers to appropriately make decisions to mitigate our exposure to loss. In some cases, loss mitigation decisions may not be favorable to us and may increase the incidence and/or severity of paid claims. Ineffective delegation procedures or the failure of servicers to operate pursuant to required standards may increase our losses and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. We may terminate delegation of some of these loss mitigation decisions to the GSEs; however, such termination may adversely affect our relationships with the GSEs and servicers.
The information presented in this report and on our website with respect to the mortgage loans we insure is based on information reported to us by third parties, including the servicers and originators of the mortgage loans, and information presented may be subject to lapses or inaccuracies in reporting from such third parties. In many cases, we may not be aware that information reported to us is incorrect until such time as a claim is made against us under the relevant insurance policy. We do not consistently receive monthly policy status information from servicers for single premium policies and may not be aware that the mortgage loans insured by such policies have been repaid. We periodically attempt to determine if coverage is still in force on such policies by asking the last servicer of record or through the periodic reconciliation of loan information with certain servicers. It may be possible that our reports continue to reflect, as active, policies on mortgage loans that have been repaid.
Risk Factors Relating to Our Business Generally
If our risk management programs are not effective in identifying, controlling or mitigating the risks we face, or if the models we use are inaccurate, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our enterprise risk management program, described in "Business - Our Products and Services - Risk Management" in Item 1 of our Annual Report in this Form 10-K, may not be effective in identifying, or adequate in controlling or mitigating, the risks we face in our business.
We employ proprietary and third-party models for a wide range of purposes, including the following: projecting losses, premiums, expenses, and returns; pricing products; determining the techniques used to underwrite insurance; estimating reserves; evaluating risk; determining internal capital requirements; procuring automated valuations; and performing stress testing. These models rely on estimates, projections, and assumptions that are inherently uncertain and may not always operate as intended. This can be especially true when extraordinary events occur, such as wars, periods of extreme inflation, pandemics, or environmental disasters related to changing climatic conditions. In addition, our models are continuously updated over time. Changes in models or model assumptions could lead to material changes in our future expectations, returns, or financial results. The models we employ are complex, which could increase our risk of error in their design, implementation, or use. Also, the associated input data, assumptions, and calculations may not always be correct or accurate and the controls we have in place to mitigate these risks may not be effective in all cases. The risks related to our models may increase when we change assumptions, methodologies, or modeling platforms. Moreover, we may use information we receive through enhancements to refine or otherwise change existing assumptions and/or methodologies.
Failed, disrupted, or inadequate information technology systems may materially impact our operations and/or adversely affect our financial results.
We are heavily dependent on our information technology systems to conduct our business. Our ability to efficiently operate our business depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of our systems and technology. The failure of our systems and technology, or our disaster recovery and business continuity plans, to operate effectively could affect our ability to provide our products and services to customers, reduce efficiency, or cause delays in operations. Significant capital investments might be required to remediate any such problems. We are also dependent on our ongoing relationships with key technology providers, including provisioning of their services, products and technologies, and their ability to support those products and technologies. The inability of these providers to successfully provide and support those products could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
From time to time we upgrade, automate or otherwise transform our information systems, business processes, risk-based pricing system, and our system for evaluating risk. Certain information systems have been in place for a number of years and it has become increasingly difficult to support their operation. The implementation of technological and business process improvements, as well as their integration with customer and third-party systems when applicable, is complex, expensive and time consuming.
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Technological advancements are occurring at a rapid pace. If we are unable to effectively deploy technology such as artificial intelligence ("AI"), our business and results of operations may be materially affected. Technological advancements must also be implemented in compliance with applicable laws, exposing us to regulatory action or legal liability that may have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to timely and successfully implement and integrate new technology systems, if third party providers upon which we are reliant do not perform as expected, if our legacy systems fail to operate as required, or if the upgraded systems and/or transformed and automated business processes do not operate as expected, it could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
We could be materially adversely affected by a cybersecurity breach or failure of information security controls.
As part of our business, we maintain large amounts of confidential and proprietary information both on our own servers and those of cloud computing services. This includes personal information of consumers and our employees. Personal information is subject to an increasing number of federal and state laws and regulations regarding privacy and data security, as well as contractual commitments. Any failure or perceived failure by us, or by the vendors with whom we share this information, to comply with such obligations may result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, litigation, increased costs, regulatory penalties or customer dissatisfaction.
All information technology systems are potentially vulnerable to damage or interruption from a variety of sources, including by cyber attacks, such as those involving ransomware. We regularly defend against threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks, unauthorized access, system failures and disruptions. Threats have the potential to jeopardize the information processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks and otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations, which could result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, litigation, increased costs, regulatory penalties or customer dissatisfaction. We could be similarly affected by threats against our vendors and/or third-parties with whom we share information.
Globally, attacks are expected to continue accelerating in both frequency and sophistication with increasing use by actors of tools and techniques that may hinder our ability to identify, investigate and recover from incidents. The development and use of AI may increase our information security risks. For example, it may be more difficult to defend against cybersecurity breaches if AI is used to create attacks or bypass security measures. The relative newness of AI technology, and the lack of uniform laws, regulations or standards governing its use may also increase the risk of misuse by us or by third parties with whom we do business. Cyber attacks may additionally increase as a result of retaliation by threat actors against actions taken by the U.S. and other countries in connection with wars and other global events. We operate under a hybrid workforce model and such model may be more vulnerable to security breaches.
While we have information security policies and systems in place to secure our information technology systems and to prevent unauthorized access to or disclosure of sensitive information, there can be no assurance with respect to our systems and those of our third-party vendors that unauthorized access to the systems or disclosure of sensitive information, either through the actions of third parties or employees, will not occur. Due to our reliance on information technology systems, including ours and those of our customers and third-party service providers, and to the sensitivity of the information that we maintain, unauthorized access to the systems or disclosure of the information could adversely affect our reputation, severely disrupt our operations, result in a loss of business and expose us to material claims for damages and may require that we provide free credit monitoring services to individuals affected by a security breach.
Should we experience an unauthorized disclosure of information or a cyber attack, including those involving ransomware, some of the costs we incur may not be recoverable through insurance, or legal or other processes, and this may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our underwriting practices and the mix of business we write affects our Minimum Required Assets under the PMIERs, our premium yields and the likelihood of claims.
The Minimum Required Assets under the PMIERs are, in part, a function of the direct risk-in-force and the risk profile of the loans we insure, considering LTV ratio, credit score, vintage, Home Affordable Refinance Program ("HARP") status and delinquency status; and whether the loans were insured under lender-paid mortgage insurance policies or other policies that are not subject to automatic termination consistent with the Homeowners Protection Act requirements for borrower-paid mortgage insurance. Therefore, if our direct risk-in-force increases through increases in NIW, or if our mix of business changes to include loans with higher LTV ratios or lower credit scores, for example, all other things equal, we will be required to hold more Available Assets in order to maintain GSE eligibility.
As discussed in our risk factor titled " Reinsurance may be unavailable at current levels and prices, and/or the GSEs may reduce the amount of capital credit we receive for our reinsurance transactions ," we have in place various QSR transactions. Although the transactions reduce our premiums, they have a lesser impact on our overall results, as losses ceded under the transactions reduce our losses incurred and the ceding commissions we receive reduce our underwriting expenses. The effect of the QSR transactions on the various components of pre-tax income will vary from period to period, depending on the level of ceded losses incurred. We also have in place various XOL reinsurance transactions under which we cede premiums. Under the XOL reinsurance transactions, for the respective
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reinsurance coverage periods, we retain the first layer of aggregate losses and the reinsurers provide second layer coverage up to the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount.
In addition to the effect of reinsurance on our premiums, if credit performance remains strong and loss ratios remain low, we expect a decline in our in force portfolio yield over time as competition in the industry results in lower premium rates. Refinance transactions on single premium policies benefit the yield due to the impact of accelerated earned premium from cancellation prior to their estimated life. Recent low levels of refinance transactions have reduced that benefit.
Our ability to rescind insurance coverage became more limited for new insurance written beginning in mid-2012, and it became further limited for new insurance written under our revised master policy that became effective March 1, 2020. These limitations may result in higher losses paid than would be the case under our previous master policies.
From time to time, in response to market conditions, we change the types of loans that we insure. We also may change our underwriting guidelines, including by agreeing with certain approval recommendations from a GSE automated underwriting system. We also make exceptions to our underwriting requirements on a loan-by-loan basis and for certain customer programs. Our underwriting requirements are available on our website at http://www.mgic.com/underwriting.
Even when home prices are stable or rising, mortgages with certain characteristics have higher probabilities of claims. In general, these characteristics include mortgages with high LTV and DTI ratios, low credit scores, mortgages with limited underwriting, and/or mortgages with limited borrower documentation. Each of these attributes is determined at the time of loan origination. Certain loans we insure may have more than one of these attributes. When home prices increase, interest rates increase and/or the percentage of our NIW from purchase transactions increases, our NIW on mortgages with higher LTV ratios and higher DTI ratios may increase. Our NIW on mortgages with LTV ratios greater than 95% was 15% in 2025 and 14% in 2024. Our NIW on mortgages with DTI ratios greater than 45% was 27% in 2025 and 29% in 2024. Our NIW on mortgages with borrowers having FICO scores less than 680 was 4% in 2025 and 4% in 2024.
From time to time, we change the processes we use to underwrite loans. For example: we rely on information provided to us by lenders that was obtained from certain of the GSEs’ automated appraisal and income verification tools, which may produce results that differ from the results that would have been determined using different methods; we accept GSE appraisal waivers for certain loans; and we accept GSE appraisal flexibilities that allow property valuations in certain transactions to be based on appraisals that do not involve an onsite or interior inspection of the property. Our acceptance of automated GSE appraisal and income verification tools, GSE appraisal waivers and GSE appraisal flexibilities may affect our pricing and risk assessment. We also continue to further automate our underwriting processes and it is possible that our automated processes result in our insuring loans that we would have insured at a different premium rate or not otherwise have insured under our prior processes.
Approximately 70% of our NIW in 2025 and 71% of our 2024 NIW was originated under delegated underwriting programs pursuant to which the loan originators had authority on our behalf to underwrite the loans for our mortgage insurance. For loans originated through a delegated underwriting program, we depend on the originators' compliance with our guidelines and rely on the originators' representations that the loans being insured satisfy the underwriting guidelines, eligibility criteria and other requirements. While we have established systems and processes to monitor whether certain aspects of our underwriting guidelines were being followed by the originators, such systems may not ensure that the guidelines were being strictly followed at the time the loans were originated.
The widespread use of risk-based pricing systems by the private mortgage insurance industry (discussed in our risk factor titled "Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and / or increase our losses" ) makes it more difficult to compare our premium rates to those offered by our competitors. We may not be aware of industry rate changes until we observe that our mix of new insurance written has changed and our mix may fluctuate more as a result.
The premiums we charge may not be adequate to compensate us for our liabilities for losses and as a result any inadequacy could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our premium rates are calculated using proprietary models that assess likely performance of the insured risk over the long term. These models leverage historical data and incorporate factors such as geographic location, LTV, DTI and credit score. There can be no assurance that our premium rates adequately reflect increased risk that may arise in periods of economic recession, high unemployment, slowing home price appreciation or home price declines, or when extraordinary events occur, such as pandemics, wars, periods of extreme inflation, or environmental disasters related to changing climactic conditions. Generally, we cannot cancel mortgage insurance coverage or adjust renewal premiums during the life of a policy. As a result, changes in economic conditions or the practices of the GSEs, higher than anticipated claims, or other unexpected events generally cannot be addressed by premium increases on policies in force or mitigated by our non-renewal or cancellation of insurance coverage. Our premiums are subject to approval by state regulatory agencies, which can delay or limit our ability to increase premiums on future policies. In addition, our customized rate plans may delay our ability to increase premiums on future policies covered by such plans. The premiums we charge, the investment income we earn and the amount of reinsurance we carry may not be adequate to compensate us for the risks and costs associated with the insurance coverage provided to customers. An increase in the number or size of claims, compared to what we anticipated when we set the premiums, could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. For a discussion of the risks associated with our models, see our risk factor titled " If our risk management programs are not effective in identifying, controlling or mitigating the risks we face, or if the models we use are inaccurate, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. "
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Our premium rates are also based in part on the amount of capital we are required to hold against the insured risk. If the amount of capital we are required to hold increases from the amount we were required to hold when we set the premiums, our returns may be lower than we assumed. For a discussion of the amount of capital we are required to hold, see our risk factor titled " We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility ."
If state or federal regulations or statutes are changed in ways that ease mortgage lending standards and/or requirements, or if lenders seek ways to replace business in times of lower mortgage originations, it is possible that more mortgage loans could be originated with higher risk characteristics than are currently being originated, such as loans with lower credit scores and higher DTI ratios. Lenders could pressure mortgage insurers to insure such loans, which are expected to experience higher claim rates. Although we attempt to incorporate these higher expected claim rates into our underwriting and pricing models, there can be no assurance that the premiums earned and the associated investment income will be adequate to compensate for actual losses paid even under our current underwriting requirements.
Actual or perceived instability in the financial services industry or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties could materially impact our business.
Limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry with which we do business, or concerns or rumors about the possibility of such events, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. Such conditions may negatively impact our results and/or financial condition. While we are unable to predict the full impact of these conditions, they may lead to among other things: disruption to the mortgage market, delayed access to deposits or other financial assets; losses of deposits in excess of federally-insured levels; reduced access to, or increased costs associated with, funding sources and other credit arrangements adequate to finance our current or future operations; increased regulatory pressure; the inability of our counterparties and/or customers to meet their obligations to us; economic downturn; and rising unemployment levels. Refer to our risk factor titled “ Economic downturns and/or declines in home prices may lead to increased losses. ” for more information about the potential effects of a deterioration of economic conditions on our business.
We routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including commercial banks, brokers and dealers, investment banks, reinsurers, and our customers. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk and losses in the event of a default by a counterparty or customer. Any such losses could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on our management team and our business could be harmed if we are unable to retain qualified personnel or successfully develop and/or recruit their replacements.
Our success depends, in part, on the skills, working relationships and continued services of our management team and other key personnel. The unexpected departure of key personnel or inadequate succession planning could adversely affect the conduct of our business. In such event, we would be required to obtain other personnel to manage and operate our business. In addition, we will be required to replace the knowledge and expertise of our aging workforce as our workers retire. In either case, there can be no assurance that we would be able to develop or recruit suitable replacements for the departing individuals; that replacements could be hired, if necessary, on terms that are favorable to us; or that we can successfully transition such replacements in a timely manner. We currently have not entered into any employment agreements with our officers or key personnel. Volatility or lack of performance in our stock price may affect our ability to retain our key personnel or attract replacements should key personnel depart. Without a properly skilled and experienced workforce, our costs, including productivity costs and costs to replace employees may increase, and this could negatively impact our earnings.
Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and / or increase our losses.
The mortgage insurance industry is highly competitive. We expect competition to increase from both existing competitors and new market entrants. Our competitors primarily include other private mortgage insurers and governmental agencies, principally the FHA and VA. We believe we currently compete with other private mortgage insurers based on premium rates, underwriting requirements, financial strength (including based on credit or financial strength ratings), customer relationships, name recognition, reputation, strength of management teams and field organizations, the ancillary products and services provided to lenders, and the effective use of technology and innovation in the delivery and servicing of our mortgage insurance products.
Recently reported increases in the credit quality of borrowers, and the relative financial results of the existing mortgage insurance companies, may encourage new entrants into the private mortgage insurance industry, which could further increase competition in our business. Based on public disclosures, a potential new market entrant intends to begin writing mortgage insurance in 2026. Changes in the competitive landscape, including as a result of this or other new market entrants, may adversely impact our results.
Our relationships with our customers, which may affect the amount of our NIW, could be adversely affected by a variety of factors, including if our premium rates are higher than those of our competitors, our underwriting requirements are more restrictive than those of our competitors, our customers are dissatisfied with our claims-paying practices (including insurance policy rescissions and claim curtailments), or the availability of alternatives to mortgage insurance.
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In recent years, pricing has become a key competitive factor in the private mortgage insurance market, with an increasing number of customers prioritizing the lowest premium rate available for any particular loan. The industry has materially reduced its use of standard rate cards, which were fairly consistent among competitors, and correspondingly increased its use of (i) pricing systems that use a spectrum of filed rates to allow for formulaic, risk-based pricing based on multiple attributes that may be quickly adjusted within certain parameters, and (ii) customized rate plans pursuant to which rates may be available to customers for a defined period of time. The widespread use of risk-based pricing systems by the private mortgage insurance industry makes it more difficult to compare our rates to those offered by our competitors. We may not be aware of industry rate changes until we observe that our volume of NIW has changed. In addition, business under customized rate plans is awarded by certain customers for only limited periods of time. As a result, our NIW may fluctuate more than it has in the past. Failure to maintain our business relationships and business volumes with our largest customers could materially impact our business. Regarding the concentration of our new business, our top ten customers accounted for approximately 32% and 37% in 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our largest customer accounted for approximately 16% and 21% of our NIW for 2025 and 2024, respectively. That customer accounted for approximately 11% and 10% of our direct earned premiums in each of 2025 and 2024, respectively. Loss of business from a significant customer may have a material adverse affect on our NIW, business, and results of operations.
We monitor various competitive and economic factors while seeking to balance both profitability and market share considerations in developing our pricing strategies. Our premium yield is expected to decline over time as older insurance policies with premium rates that are generally higher run off and new insurance policies with premium rates that are generally lower remain on our books.
Additionally, technological advancements and innovation are occurring at a rapid pace that may continue to accelerate. Our competitive position could be impacted if we are unable to develop and maintain technologies to meet changing customer preferences. Failure to utilize, in a cost effective and competitive manner, technology such as AI and machine learning may have an adverse effect on our customer relationships, results of operations, and financial condition.
Certain of our competitors have access to capital at a lower cost than we do (including, through off-shore intercompany reinsurance vehicles, which have tax advantages that may increase if U.S. corporate income taxes increase). As a result, they may be able to achieve higher after-tax rates of return on their NIW compared to us, which could allow them to leverage reduced premium rates to gain market share, and they may be better positioned to compete outside of traditional mortgage insurance, including by participating in alternative forms of credit enhancement pursued by the GSEs discussed in our risk factor titled "The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance ."
Adverse rating agency actions could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Financial strength and credit ratings are important to maintaining public confidence in our mortgage insurance coverage and our competitive position. PMIERs requires approved insurers to maintain at least one financial strength rating with a rating agency acceptable to the respective GSEs. Downgrades in our financial strength and/or credit ratings could materially affect our business and results of operations, including in the ways described below:
• Our failure to maintain a rating acceptable to the GSEs could impact our eligibility as an approved insurer under PMIERs.
• A downgrade in our financial strength ratings could result in increased scrutiny of our financial condition by the GSEs and/or our customers, potentially resulting in a decrease in the amount of our NIW.
• If we are unable to compete effectively in the future as a result of the financial strength ratings assigned to our insurance subsidiaries, our future NIW could be negatively affected.
• Our ability to participate in the non-GSE residential mortgage-backed securities market could depend on our ability to maintain and improve our investment grade ratings for our insurance subsidiaries. We could be competitively disadvantaged with some market participants because the financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries are lower than at least one of our competitors and some of our competitors have financial strength ratings from rating agencies that do not rate our insurance subsidiaries.
• Financial strength ratings may also play a greater role if the GSEs no longer operate in their current capacities, for example, due to legislative or regulatory action. In addition, although the PMIERs do not require minimum financial strength ratings, the GSEs consider financial strength ratings to be important when using forms of credit enhancement other than traditional mortgage insurance, as discussed in our risk factor titled " The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance." Although we are currently unaware of a direct impact on MGIC, this could potentially become a competitive disadvantage in the future.
• Downgrades to our ratings or the ratings of our mortgage insurance subsidiary could adversely affect the terms and cost of funds, liquidity, and access to capital markets .
We are subject to the risk of legal proceedings.
We operate in a highly regulated industry that is subject to the risk of litigation and regulatory proceedings, including related to our claims paying practices. From time to time, we are a party to material litigation and are also subject to legal and regulatory claims,
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assertions, actions, reviews, audits, inquiries and investigations. Additional lawsuits, legal and regulatory proceedings and inquiries or other matters may arise in the future. The outcome of future legal and regulatory proceedings, inquiries or other matters could result in adverse judgments, settlements, fines, injunctions, restitutions or other relief which could require significant expenditures or have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. See our risk factor titled " We are subject to comprehensive regulation and other requirements, which we may fail to satisfy" for additional information about risks related to government enforcement actions .
From time to time, we are involved in disputes and legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. In our opinion, based on the facts known at this time, the ultimate resolution of these ordinary course disputes and legal proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Under ASC 450-20, until a loss associated with settlement discussions or legal proceedings becomes probable and can be reasonably estimated, we do not accrue an estimated loss. When we determine that a loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated, we record our best estimate of our probable loss. In those cases, until settlement negotiations or legal proceedings are concluded it is possible that we will record an additional loss.
Our investment portfolio is subject to credit and interest rate risk, may suffer reduced or low returns, and/or material realized or unrealized losses.
Investment returns are an important part of our overall profitability. Our investments are subject to market risks and risks inherent in individual securities. Our investment performance is highly sensitive to many factors, including interest rates, inflation, monetary and fiscal policies, tax laws, and domestic and international political conditions. Additionally, realized and unrealized losses in our investment portfolio reduce our book value, and if material, could affect our ability to conduct business.
Changes in interest rates could impact the performance of the investment portfolio which could have an adverse effect on our investment income and operating results. A decline in interest rates reduces the returns available on short-term investments and new fixed investments, including those purchased to re-invest maturities from the existing portfolio, thereby negatively impacting our net investment income on a going-forward basis. Conversely, rising interest rates reduce the market value of existing fixed income investments, thereby negatively impacting our book value. The value of our fixed income investments and short-term investments is also subject to the risk that certain investments may default or become impaired due a deterioration in the financial condition of one or more issuers of the securities held in our portfolio, or due to a deterioration in the financial condition of an insurer that guarantees an issuer’s payments on such investments. Such defaults or impairments could reduce our net investment income and result in realized investment losses. During an economic downturn, fixed income and short-term investments could be subject to a higher risk of default.
A significant portion of our fixed income investment portfolio is invested in obligations of states, municipalities and political subdivisions. Our state and municipal investments could be subject to higher risk of default or impairment due to declining municipal tax bases and revenue. State and local governments may operate under deficits or projected deficits, the severity and duration of which could have an adverse impact on both the valuation of our state and municipal fixed income investments and the issuers ability to perform its obligations thereunder.
Our investment portfolio has benefited from certain tax exemptions (such as those related to interest from municipal bonds) and other tax laws. Changes in these laws could adversely impact the value of our investment portfolio.
Our investment portfolio may include: residential mortgage-backed securities; collateralized loan obligations; asset-backed securities; and commercial mortgage-backed securities, all of which could be adversely impacted by declines in real estate valuations. Some of our fixed income investments, such as mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities, also carry prepayment risk as a result of interest rate fluctuations.
Our investment portfolio is also subject to increased valuation uncertainties when investment markets are illiquid. The valuation of investments is more subjective when markets are illiquid, thereby increasing the risk that estimated fair values reflected in our financial statements is different than actual market prices. For additional information about the methodologies, estimates and assumptions we use in determining the fair value of our investments refer to Note 6 - "Fair Value Measurements" of Item 8 in Part II our Annual Report in this Form 10-K.
For the significant portion of the investment portfolio that is held by MGIC, insurance regulations limit the type and extent of the investments we can make and are generally more restrictive for those investments with more credit risk or less liquidity. Similarly, under the PMIERs, our Available Assets are reduced by exclusions, limitations and haircuts related to our investment portfolio composition. These reductions are generally higher for those investments with more credit risk or less liquidity.
The inability of our insurance subsidiaries to pay dividends in sufficient amounts would harm our ability to meet our obligations, pay future shareholder dividends and/or make future share repurchases.
MGIC Investment Corporation is the holding company for our insurance operating subsidiaries. At the holding company level, our principal assets are the shares of capital stock of our insurance company subsidiaries and cash and investments. Dividends and other permitted distributions from MGIC are the holding company's primary source of funds used to meet ongoing cash requirements, including future debt service payments, repurchases of its shares, payment of dividends to our shareholders, and other expenses. Other sources of holding company cash inflow include investment income and raising capital in the public markets. The payment of dividends from MGIC is subject to regulatory approval as described in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K. In general, dividends in excess of prescribed limits are deemed “extraordinary” and may not be paid if disapproved by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of the
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State of Wisconsin ("OCI"). The prescribed limits are based on a rolling 12-month period, and as such, the impact of the limitations will vary over time. Dividend payments from MGIC to the holding company are determined in consultation with the Board of Directors, and after considering any updated estimates about our business, subject to regulatory approval.
The long-term debt obligations are owed by the holding company and not its subsidiaries. The inability of MGIC to pay dividends (or other intercompany amounts due) in an amount sufficient to enable us to meet our cash requirements at the holding company level could have an adverse effect on our operations, and our ability to repay debt, repurchase shares and/or pay dividends to shareholders.
If any capital contributions to our subsidiaries are required, such contributions would decrease our holding company cash and investments.
Your ownership in our company may be diluted by additional capital that we raise.
As noted above under our risk factor titled “We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility,” although we are currently in compliance with the requirements of the PMIERs, there can be no assurance that we would not seek to issue additional debt capital or to raise additional equity or equity-linked capital to manage our capital position under the PMIERs or for other purposes. Any future issuance of equity securities may dilute your ownership interest in our company. In addition, the market price of our common stock could decline as a result of sales of a large number of shares or similar securities in the market or the perception that such sales could occur.
The price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, which may make it difficult for holders to resell common stock when they want or at a price they find attractive.
The market price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly. In addition to the risk factors described herein, the following factors may have an adverse impact on the market price for our common stock: changes in general conditions in the economy or the housing market, the mortgage insurance industry or the financial stability of markets and financial services industry; announcements by us or our competitors of acquisitions or strategic initiatives; our actual or anticipated quarterly and annual operating results; changes in expectations of future financial performance (including incurred losses on our insurance in force); changes in estimates of securities analysts or rating agencies; actual or anticipated changes in our share repurchase program or dividends; changes in operating performance or market valuation of companies in the mortgage insurance industry; the addition or departure of key personnel; failure to establish and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting, changes in tax law; and adverse press or news announcements affecting us or the industry. In addition, ownership by certain types of investors may affect the market price and trading volume of our common stock. For example, ownership in our common stock by investors such as index funds and exchange-traded funds can affect the stock’s price when those investors must purchase or sell our common stock because the investors have experienced significant cash inflows or outflows, the index to which our common stock belongs has been rebalanced, or our common stock is added to and/or removed from an index (due to changes in our market capitalization, for example).
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Language change vs prior 10-K
MD&A (Item 7) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase- failure+5
- adverse+4
- inadequate+4
- severe+3
- failed+3
- positive+3
- strength+2
- advancements+2
- profitability+1
- enhance+1
MD&A (Item 7)
44,664 words
Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
MGIC
Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, a subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corporation
MAC
MGIC Assurance Corporation, a subsidiary of MGIC
Minimum Required Assets
The minimum amount of Available Assets that must be held under the PMIERs, which is based on an insurer's book of RIF and is calculated from tables of factors with several risk dimensions, reduced for credit given for risk ceded under reinsurance transactions, and subject to a floor of $400 million
MPP
Minimum Policyholder Position, as required under certain state requirements. The “policyholder position” of a mortgage insurer is its net worth or surplus, contingency reserve and a portion of the reserves for unearned premiums.
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Not applicable for the period presented
NAIC
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners
NIW
New Insurance Written, is the aggregate original principal amount of the mortgages that are insured during a period.
Data, or calculation, deemed not meaningful for the period presented
NPL Settlement
The commutation of coverage on non-performing loans, which are delinquent loans, at any stage in their delinquency.
OCI
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of the State of Wisconsin
PMI
Private Mortgage Insurance (as an industry or product type)
PMIERs
Private Mortgage Insurer Eligibility Requirements issued by each of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to set forth requirements that an approved insurer must meet and maintain to provide mortgage guaranty insurance on loans delivered to or acquired by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, as applicable
Premium Rate
The contractual rate charged for coverage under our insurance policies
Premium Yield
The ratio of premium earned divided by the average IIF outstanding for the period measured
Primary Insurance
Insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans
Profit Commission
Payments we receive from reinsurers under each of our quota share reinsurance transactions if the annual loss ratio is below levels specified in the quota share reinsurance transaction
QSR Transaction
Quota share reinsurance transaction with a group of unaffiliated reinsurers
RESPA
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
RIF
Risk in force, which for an individual loan insured by us, is equal to the unpaid loan principal balance, as reported to us, multiplied by the insurance coverage percentage. RIF is sometimes referred to as exposure.
Risk-to-capital
Under certain state regulations, the ratio of RIF, net of reinsurance and exposure on policies currently in default and for which loss reserves have been established, to the level of statutory capital
RMBS
Residential mortgage-backed securities
State Capital Requirements
Under certain state regulations, the minimum amount of statutory capital relative to risk in force (or similar measure)
TILA
Truth in Lending Act
Traditional XOL Transaction
Excess-of-loss reinsurance transaction with a group of unaffiliated reinsurers
Underwriting expense ratio
The ratio, expressed as a percentage, of other underwriting and operating expenses, net and amortization of DAC to net premiums written
Underwriting profit
Net premiums earned minus losses incurred, net and other underwriting and operating expenses, net
USDA
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
MGIC Investment Corporation 2025 Form 10-K | 6
VIE
Variable interest entity
XOL Transactions
Excess-of-loss reinsurance transactions executed through the Home Re Transactions and the Traditional XOL Transactions
MGIC Investment Corporation 2025 Form 10-K | 7
Item 1. Business
See the "Glossary of terms and acronyms" for definitions and descriptions of terms used throughout this annual report.
A. General
We are a holding company and through wholly-owned subsidiaries we provide private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services. In 2025, our total revenues were $1.2 billion and our primary NIW was $60.2 billion. As of December 31, 2025, our direct primary IIF was $303.1 billion and our direct primary RIF was $81.2 billion. For further information about our results of operations, see our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 and our MD&A in Item 7 . As of December 31, 2025, our principal mortgage insurance subsidiary, MGIC, was licensed in all 50 states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. During 2025, we wrote new insurance in each of those jurisdictions.
2026 Business Strategies
Our business strategies are to 1) maximize the value we create through our mortgage credit enhancement activities; 2) differentiate ourselves through our customer experience; 3) advance our competitive advantage through our digital and analytical capabilities; 4) excel at acquiring, managing and distributing mortgage credit risk and the related capital; 5) maintain financial strength through economic cycles; and 6) foster an environment that attracts and retains the best talent and positions our people to succeed.
2025 Accomplishments
Following are several of our 2025 accomplishments that furthered our business strategies.
• Earned $738 million of net income ($3.14 per diluted share) for the year, compared to $763 million ($2.89 per diluted share) in 2024.
• Paid $800 million of cash dividends from MGIC to our holding company, a 7% increase from the $750 million paid in 2024.
• Maintained financial strength and capital flexibility while returning approximately $915 million in capital to shareholders:
▪ Ended 2025 with $1.1 billion of cash and investments at the holding company.
▪ Repurchased 12% of our shares outstanding at the beginning of the year.
▪ Paid shareholder dividends of $0.56 per share, a 14% increase from the $0.49 per share in 2024.
▪ MGIC's Financial Strength Rating was upgraded by Moody's from A3 to A2. Additionally, S&P revised its outlook to positive from stable on MGIC Investment Corporation and its core operating subsidiaries, including MGIC.
• Further expanded our reinsurance program by executing reinsurance transactions that provide protection from losses for both our existing and future NIW. We also renegotiated a seasoned reinsurance transaction to recapture attractive risk and reduce future ceded premium. These transactions enhance our risk management practices and diversify our sources of capital.
• Sustainably reduced operating expenses through streamlining operations, changing processes and workflow optimization. Total underwriting and other expenses, net decreased 8% in 2025 when compared with 2024.
• Retired legacy data platforms, and identified and established a new environment for MI operations technology.
Overview of the Private Mortgage Insurance Industry and its Operating Environment
We established the modern PMI industry in 1957 to provide a private market alternative to federal government insurance programs. PMI covers losses from homeowner defaults on residential mortgage loans, reducing, and in some instances eliminating, the loss to the insured institution.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ("the GSEs") have been the major purchasers of the mortgage loans underlying new insurance written by private mortgage insurers. The GSEs purchase residential mortgage loans as part of their governmental mandate to provide liquidity in the secondary mortgage market. The GSEs cannot buy low down payment mortgage loans without certain forms of credit enhancement. Private mortgage insurance has generally been purchased by lenders in primary mortgage market transactions to satisfy this credit enhancement requirement. Therefore, PMI facilitates the sale of low down payment mortgages in the secondary mortgage market to the GSEs and plays an important role in the housing finance system by assisting consumers, especially first-time and low- and medium-wealth homebuyers, to finance homes with low down payment mortgages. PMI also reduces the regulatory capital that depository institutions are required to hold against certain low down payment mortgages that they hold as assets.
Because the GSEs have been the major purchasers of the mortgages underlying new insurance written by private mortgage insurers, the PMI industry in the U.S. is defined in large part by the requirements and practices of the GSEs. These requirements and practices, as well as those of the federal regulators that oversee the GSEs and lenders, impact the operating results and financial performance of private mortgage insurers. In 2008, the federal government took control of the GSEs through a conservatorship process. The FHFA is the conservator of the GSEs and has the authority to control and direct their operations.
It is uncertain what role the GSEs, FHA and private capital, including private mortgage insurance, will play in the residential housing finance system in the future. Congress and executive branch officials have periodically proposed various plans for the reform of the GSEs, including through privatization and/or termination of FHFA's conservatorship. Some reforms would require Congressional action
MGIC Investment Corporation 2025 Form 10-K | 8
to implement and it is difficult to estimate when any action would be final and how long any associated phase-in period may last. The timing and impact on our business of any potential reforms is uncertain.
The GSEs have private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements, or "PMIERs", for private mortgage insurers that insure loans delivered to or purchased by the GSEs. The financial requirements of the PMIERs require a mortgage insurer’s Available Assets to equal or exceed its Minimum Required Assets. MGIC is in compliance with the PMIERs and eligible to insure loans purchased by the GSEs. In calculating Minimum Required Assets, MGIC receives significant credit for risk ceded under reinsurance transactions. See " Reinsurance " in this Item 1 for information about our reinsurance transactions and " Regulation – Direct Regulation" in this Item 1 for information about our compliance with the financial requirements of the PMIERs.
The private mortgage insurance industry is greatly impacted by macroeconomic conditions that affect home loan originations and credit performance of home loans, including recession, unemployment rates, home prices, restrictions on mortgage credit due to underwriting standards, interest rates, household formations and homeownership rates. During the years leading up to the financial crisis of the 2000s, the mortgage lending industry increasingly made home loans with higher risk profiles. In certain sections of this Annual Report, we discuss our insurance written in 2005-2008 separately from our insurance written in earlier and later years. Beginning in 2007, job creation slowed and the housing markets began slowing in certain areas, with declines in certain other areas. In 2008 and 2009, employment in the U.S. decreased substantially and nearly all geographic areas in the U.S. experienced home price declines. Together, these conditions resulted in significant adverse developments for us and our industry. The operating environment for private mortgage insurers materially improved after the financial crisis, as the economy recovered.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a material impact on our 2020 financial results. The increased level of unemployment and economic uncertainty resulted in an increase in our delinquency inventory for which we recorded increased loss reserves. Over time, our mortgage delinquency inventory decreased and has largely returned to the levels seen immediately before the onset of the pandemic. The decline in the delinquency inventory in the years immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in favorable loss reserve development and resulted in decreased losses incurred and increased net income. More recently, the level of new notices and our delinquency rate are normalizing and are similar to the years prior to the onset of COVID-19.
In 2025, $311 billion of mortgages were insured with primary coverage by private mortgage insurers, compared to $299 billion in 2024, and $284 billion in 2023.
For most of our business, we and other private mortgage insurers compete directly with federal and state governmental and quasi-governmental agencies that sponsor government-backed mortgage insurance programs, principally the FHA, VA and USDA. The publication Inside Mortgage Finance estimates that in 2025, the FHA accounted for 34.3% of low down payment residential mortgages that were subject to FHA, VA, USDA or primary private mortgage insurance, compared to 33.5% in 2024 and 33.2% in 2023. Since 2012, the FHA’s market share has been as low as 23.4% (2020) and as high as 42.1% (in 2012). Factors that influence the FHA’s market share include relative rates and fees, underwriting guidelines and loan limits of the FHA, VA, private mortgage insurers and the GSEs; lenders' perceptions of legal risks under FHA versus GSE programs; flexibility for the FHA to establish new products as a result of federal legislation and programs; returns expected to be obtained by lenders for Ginnie Mae securitization of FHA-insured loans compared to those obtained from selling loans to the GSEs for securitization; and differences in policy terms, such as the ability of a borrower to cancel insurance coverage under certain circumstances.
Inside Mortgage Finance estimates that in 2025, the VA accounted for 26.8% of all low down payment residential mortgages that were subject to FHA, VA, USDA or primary private mortgage insurance, compared to 24.5% in 2024 and 21.5% in 2023. Since 2012, the VA's market share has been as high as 30.9% (in 2020). The VA's 2023 market share was the lowest since 2013 (22.8%). The VA program offers 100% LTV loans for qualifying borrowers.
The private mortgage insurance industry also competes with alternatives to mortgage insurance, such as investors using risk mitigation and credit risk transfer techniques other than PMI, including capital market transactions entered into by the GSEs and banks; lenders and other investors holding mortgages in portfolio and self-insuring; and “piggyback loans,” which combine a first lien loan with a second lien loan. In 2018, the GSEs initiated secondary mortgage market programs with loan level mortgage default coverage provided by various (re)insurers that are not mortgage insurers governed by PMIERs, and that are not selected by the lenders. While we view these programs as competing with traditional private mortgage insurance, we participate in them through an affiliate of MGIC.
The GSEs (and other investors) have also used other forms of credit enhancement that did not involve traditional private mortgage insurance, such as engaging in credit-linked note transactions executed in the capital markets, and using other forms of debt issuances or securitizations that transfer credit risk directly to other investors, including competitors and an affiliate of MGIC; and using other risk mitigation techniques in conjunction with reduced levels of private mortgage insurance coverage.
In addition to the FHA, VA, other governmental agencies and the alternatives to mortgage insurance discussed above, we compete with other mortgage insurers. The level of competition, including price competition, within the private mortgage insurance industry has remained intense over the past several years. See " Our Products and Services – Sales and Marketing and Competition – Competition" below for more information about the impact on our business of competition in the private mortgage insurance industry.
In addition to being subject to the requirements and practices of the GSEs, private mortgage insurers are subject to comprehensive, detailed regulation by state insurance departments. The insurance laws of 16 jurisdictions, including Wisconsin, MGIC's domiciliary state, require a mortgage insurer to maintain a minimum amount of statutory capital relative to the RIF (or a similar measure) in order
MGIC Investment Corporation 2025 Form 10-K | 9
for the mortgage insurer to continue to write new business. Additionally, in 2023 a revised Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Model Act was adopted by the NAIC. The revised Model Act includes requirements relating to, among other things: (i) capital and minimum capital requirements, and contingency reserves; (ii) restrictions on mortgage insurers’ investments in notes secured by mortgages; (iii) prudent underwriting standards and formal underwriting guidelines; (iv) the establishment of formal, internal “Mortgage Guaranty Quality Control Programs” with respect to in-force business; and (v) reinsurance and prohibitions on captive reinsurance arrangements. Wisconsin, where MGIC is domiciled, has begun the process to replace current mortgage insurance regulations with the Model Act; however it is expected that modifications will be made before formal adoption.
General Information About Our Company
We are a Wisconsin corporation organized in 1984. Our principal office is located at MGIC Plaza, 250 East Kilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 (telephone number (414) 347-6480). As used in this annual report, “we,” “our” and “us” refer to MGIC Investment Corporation’s consolidated operations or to MGIC Investment Corporation, as a separate entity, as the context requires, and “MGIC” refers to Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation.
Forward Looking Statements and Risk Factors
Our revenues and losses may be materially affected by the risk factors that are included in Item 1A of this annual report and are an integral part of this annual report. These risk factors may also cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by forward looking statements that we may make. Forward looking statements consist of statements that relate to matters other than historical fact. Among others, statements that include words such as we “believe,” “anticipate” or “expect,” or words of similar import, are forward looking statements. We are not undertaking any obligation to update any forward looking statements or other statements we may make even though these statements may be affected by events or circumstances occurring after the forward looking statements or other statements were made. No reader of this annual report should rely on these statements being current at any time other than the time at which this annual report was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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B. Our Products and Services
Mortgage Insurance
Primary Insurance
Primary insurance provides mortgage default protection on individual loans and covers a percentage of the unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest and certain expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure on the mortgage or sale of the underlying property (collectively, the “claim amount”). In addition to the loan principal, the claim amount is affected by the mortgage note rate and the time necessary to complete the foreclosure or sale process. The insurer generally pays the coverage percentage of the claim amount specified in the primary policy but has the option to pay 100% of the claim amount and acquire title to the property. Primary insurance is generally written on first mortgage loans secured by owner occupied "single-family" homes, which are one-to-four family homes and condominiums. Primary insurance can be written on first liens secured by non-owner occupied single-family homes, which are referred to in the home mortgage lending industry as investor loans, and on vacation or second homes. Primary coverage can be used on any type of residential mortgage loan instrument approved by the mortgage insurer.
References in this document to amounts of insurance written or in force, risk written or risk in force, and other historical data related to our insurance refer only to direct (before giving effect to reinsurance) primary insurance, unless otherwise indicated. Primary insurance may be written on a flow basis, in which loans are insured in individual, loan-by-loan transactions, or may be written on a bulk basis, in which each loan in a portfolio of loans is individually insured in a single, bulk transaction. Our NIW was $60.2 billion in 2025, compared to $55.7 billion in 2024 and $46.1 billion in 2023. The increase for the year ended December 31, 2025 reflects a higher expected market position compared with the same period in the prior year.
The following table shows, on a direct basis, our primary IIF and primary RIF as of December 31 for the years indicated.
Primary Insurance and Risk in Force
(In billions)
Primary IIF
Primary RIF
For loans sold to a GSE, the coverage percentage must comply with the requirements established by the particular GSE to which the loan is delivered. The GSEs have different loan purchase programs that allow different levels of mortgage insurance coverage. Under the “charter coverage” program, on certain loans lenders may choose a mortgage insurance coverage percentage that is less than the GSEs’ “standard coverage” and only the minimum required by the GSEs’ charters, with the GSEs paying a lower price for such loans. In 2025, a substantial majority of our volume was on loans with GSE standard or higher coverage.
For loans that are not sold to the GSEs, the lender determines the coverage percentage from those that we offer. Higher coverage percentages generally result in increased severity, which is the amount paid on a claim. We charge higher premium rates for higher coverage percentages. However, there can be no assurance that the higher premium rates adequately reflect the risks associated with higher coverage percentages. In accordance with GAAP for the mortgage insurance industry, loss reserves are only established for policies covering delinquent loans. Historically, because relatively few delinquencies occur in the early years of a book of business, the higher premium revenue from higher coverage has been recognized before any significant higher losses resulting from that higher coverage may be incurred. For more information, see “Exposure to Catastrophic Loss; Delinquencies; Claims; Loss Mitigation.”
In general, mortgage insurance coverage cannot be terminated by the insurer. However, subject to certain restrictions on our rescission rights as specified in our insurance policy, we may terminate or rescind coverage for, among other reasons, non-payment of premium, certain material misrepresentations and fraud in connection with the application for the insurance policy. Mortgage insurance coverage under monthly or annual premium plans are renewable at the option of the insured lender, at the renewal rate fixed when the loan was initially insured. Lenders may cancel insurance written on a flow basis at any time at their option or because of mortgage repayment, which may be accelerated because of the refinancing of mortgages.
In the case of a loan purchased by a GSE, a borrower may request termination of insurance based on the home’s current value if certain LTV ratio and seasoning requirements are met and the borrowers have an acceptable payment history. For loans seasoned between two and five years, the LTV ratio must be 75% or less, and for loans seasoned more than five years the LTV ratio must be 80% or less. If the borrower has made substantial improvements to the property, the GSEs allow for cancellation once the LTV ratio reaches 80% or less with no minimum seasoning requirement.
Mortgage insurance for loans secured by one-family, primary residences can be canceled under HOPA. In general, HOPA requires a servicer to cancel the mortgage insurance if a borrower requests cancellation when the principal balance of the loan is first scheduled to reach 80% of the original value of the property, or reaches that percentage through payments, if 1) the borrower is current on the loan and has a “good payment history” (as defined by HOPA), 2) if required by the mortgage owner, the borrower provides evidence that the value of the property has not declined below the original value, and 3) if required by the mortgage owner, the borrower certifies that the borrower’s equity in the property is not subject to a subordinate lien. Additionally, HOPA requires mortgage insurance to terminate automatically when the principal balance of the loan is first scheduled to reach 78% of the original value of the property and the borrower is current on loan payments or thereafter becomes current. Annually, servicers must inform borrowers of their right to cancel
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or terminate mortgage insurance. The provisions of HOPA described above apply only to borrower paid mortgage insurance, which is described below.
Coverage tends to continue for borrowers experiencing economic difficulties or living in areas experiencing home price depreciation. The persistency of coverage for those borrowers, coupled with cancellation of coverage for other borrowers, can increase the percentage of an insurer’s portfolio covering loans with more credit risk. This development can also occur during periods of heavy mortgage refinancing because borrowers experiencing property value appreciation are less likely to require mortgage insurance at the time of refinancing, while borrowers not experiencing property value appreciation are more likely to continue to require mortgage insurance at the time of refinancing or not qualify for refinancing at all (including if they have experienced economic difficulties) and thus remain subject to the mortgage insurance coverage.
The percentage of NIW on loans representing refinances was 9% for 2025, compared with 4% for 2024 and 2% for 2023. When a borrower refinances a mortgage loan insured by us by paying it off in full with the proceeds of a new mortgage that is also insured by us, the insurance on that existing mortgage is cancelled, and insurance on the new mortgage is considered to be NIW. Therefore, continuation of our coverage from a refinanced loan to a new loan results in both a cancellation of insurance and NIW. When a lender and borrower modify a loan rather than replace it with a new one or enter into a new loan pursuant to a loan modification program, our insurance continues without being cancelled, assuming that we consent to the modification or new loan. As a result, such modifications or new loans are not included in our NIW.
In addition to varying with the coverage percentage, our premium rates for insurance have varied depending upon the perceived risk of a claim on the insured loan and thus take into account the LTV ratio, the borrower’s credit score and DTI ratio, the number of borrowers, the property location, the mortgage term and whether the property is the borrower’s primary residence, among other things. In recent years, the mortgage insurance industry has materially reduced its use of standard rate cards, which were fairly consistent among competitors, and correspondingly increased its use of (i)"risk based pricing systems" that use a spectrum of filed rates to allow for formulaic, risk-based pricing based on multiple attributes that may be quickly adjusted within certain parameters, and (ii) customized rate plans pursuant to which rates may be available to customers for a defined period of time.
The borrower’s mortgage loan instrument may require the borrower to pay the mortgage insurance premium. Our industry refers to the related mortgage insurance as “borrower-paid” or BPMI. If the borrower is not required to pay the premium and mortgage insurance is required in connection with the origination of the loan, then the premium is paid by the lender, who may recover the premium through an increase in the note rate on the mortgage or higher origination fees. Our industry refers to the related mortgage insurance as “lender-paid” or LPMI. Most of our primary IIF is BPMI.
There are several payment plans available to the borrower, or lender, as the case may be. Under the single premium plan, the borrower or lender pays us in advance a single payment covering a specified term exceeding twelve months. Under the monthly premium plan, the borrower or lender pays us a monthly premium payment to provide only one month of coverage. Under the annual premium plan, an annual premium is paid to us in advance, with annual renewal premiums paid in advance thereafter.
During 2025, 2024 and 2023, the monthly premium plan represented approximately 97%, 98% and 96%, respectively, of our NIW. The single premium plan represented approximately 3%, 2% and 4%, respectively. The annual premium plan represented less than 1% of NIW in each of those years. Depending upon the actual life of a single premium policy and its premium rate relative to that of a monthly premium policy, a single premium policy may generate more or less premium than a monthly premium policy over its life.
CRT Programs
In connection with the GSEs' credit risk transfer programs, an insurance subsidiary of MGIC provides insurance and reinsurance covering portions of the credit risk related to certain reference pools of mortgages acquired by the GSEs. The amount of risk associated with these transactions was approximately $482 million and $392 million as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
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Mortgage Insurance Portfolio
Geographic Dispersion
The following tables reflect the percentage of primary RIF in the top 10 jurisdictions and top 10 metropolitan statistical areas at December 31, 2025.
Top 10 Jurisdictions – RIF
California
Texas
Florida
Pennsylvania
Illinois
New York
Virginia
Ohio
North Carolina
Maryland
Total
Top 10 Metropolitan-Based Statistical Areas – RIF
New York-Newark-Jersey City
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
Total
The percentages shown above for various metropolitan-based statistical areas can be affected by changes, from time to time, in the federal government’s definition of a core-based statistical area.
Product Characteristics
The following table reflects, at the dates and by the categories indicated, the total dollar amount of primary RIF and the percentage of that primary RIF, as determined on the basis of information available on the date of mortgage origination.
Characteristics of Primary Risk in Force
December 31, 2025
December 31, 2024
Primary RIF (In billions) :
Loan-to-Value Ratios:
95.01% and above
80% and below
Total
Debt-to-Income Ratios:
45.01% and above
38% and below
Total
Loan Type:
Fixed (1)
ARMs (2)
Total
Original Insured Loan Amount: (3)
Conforming loan limit and below
Non-conforming
Total
Mortgage Term:
15-years and under
Over 15 years
Total
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Characteristics of Primary Risk in Force
December 31, 2025
December 31, 2024
Property Type:
Single-family detached
Condominium/Townhouse/Other attached
Other (4)
Total
Occupancy Status:
Owner occupied
Second home
Investor property
Total
Documentation:
Full documentation
Reduced: (5)
Stated
Total
FICO Score: (6)
760 and greater
639 and less
Total
(1) Includes fixed rate mortgages with temporary buydowns (where in effect, the applicable interest rate is typically reduced by one or two percentage points during the first two years of the loan and then increased thereafter to the original interest rate), ARMs in which the initial interest rate is fixed for at least five years, and balloon payment mortgages (a loan with a maturity, typically five to seven years, that is shorter than the loan’s amortization period).
(2) Includes ARMs where payments adjust fully with interest rate adjustments. Also includes pay option ARMs and other ARMs with negative amortization features, which collectively at each of December 31, 2025 and 2024, represented 0.1% of primary RIF. As indicated in note (1), does not include ARMs in which the initial interest rate is fixed for at least five years. For both December 31, 2025 and 2024, ARMs with LTV ratios in excess of 90% represented 0.1%, of primary RIF, respectively.
(3) Loans within the conforming loan limit have an original principal balance that does not exceed the maximum original principal balance of loans that the GSEs will purchase. The conforming loan limit for one unit properties was $766,550 for 2024, $806,500 for 2025. The limit for high cost communities has been higher and was $1,149,825 in 2024 compared with $1,209,750 in 2025. Non-conforming loans are loans with an original principal balance above the conforming loan limit.
(4) Includes cooperatives and manufactured homes deemed to be real estate.
(5) Reduced documentation loans were originated prior to 2009 under programs in which there was a reduced level of verification or disclosure compared to traditional mortgage loan underwriting, including programs in which the borrower’s income and/or assets were disclosed in the loan application but there was no verification of those disclosures ("stated" documentation) and programs in which there was no disclosure of income or assets in the loan application ("no" documentation). In accordance with industry practice, loans approved by GSE and other automated underwriting (AU) systems under “doc waiver” programs that did not require verification of borrower income are classified by us as “full documentation.” We understand that the GSEs terminated their “doc waiver” programs in the second half of 2008.
(6) Represents the FICO score at loan origination. The weighted average “decision FICO score” at loan origination for NIW in 2025 was 748 compared to 747 in 2024. The FICO score for a loan with multiple borrowers is the lowest of the borrowers’ decision FICO scores. A borrower’s “decision FICO score” is determined as follows: if there are three FICO scores available, the middle FICO score is used; if two FICO scores are available, the lower of the two is used; if only one FICO score is available, it is used. A FICO score is a score based on a borrower’s credit history generated by a model developed by Fair Isaac Corporation.
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Customers
Originators of residential mortgage loans such as savings institutions, commercial banks, mortgage brokers, credit unions, mortgage bankers and other lenders have historically determined the placement of mortgage insurance written and as a result are our customers. To obtain primary insurance from us, a mortgage lender must first apply for and receive a mortgage guaranty master policy from us. Our largest customer accounted for approximately 11% and 10% of our direct earned premiums in 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our relationships with our customers could be adversely affected by a variety of factors, including if our premium rates are higher than those of our competitors, our underwriting requirements are more restrictive than those of our competitors, or our customers are dissatisfied with our claims-paying practices (including insurance policy rescissions and claim curtailments). Information about some of the other factors that can affect a mortgage insurer’s relationship with its customers can be found in our risk factor titled “Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and/or increase our losses” in Item 1A .
Sales and Marketing and Competition
Sales and Marketing
Our employees sell our insurance products throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
Competition
Our competition includes other mortgage insurers, governmental agencies and products designed to eliminate the need to purchase PMI. We and other private mortgage insurers compete directly with federal and state government and quasi-governmental agencies, principally the FHA and the VA. The FHA, VA and USDA sponsor government-backed mortgage insurance programs, and it is estimated that during 2025, they accounted for a combined approximately 62.0% of the total low down payment residential mortgages which were subject to FHA, VA, USDA or primary private mortgage insurance, compared to 58.9% in 2024. For more information about the market share of the FHA and the VA, see “Overview of the Private Mortgage Insurance Industry and its Operating Environment” above.
The PMI industry is highly competitive. We believe that we currently compete with other private mortgage insurers based on premium rates, underwriting requirements, financial strength (including based on credit or financial strength ratings), customer relationships, name recognition, reputation, strength of management teams and field organizations, and the effective use of technology and innovation in the delivery and servicing of our mortgage insurance products.
The U.S. PMI industry currently consists of six active mortgage insurers and their affiliates, including MGIC. Our market share (as measured by NIW) was 19.4% in 2025, compared to 18.6% in 2024. (source: Inside Mortgage Finance ).
If we are unable to compete effectively in the current or any future markets as a result of the financial strength ratings assigned to our insurance subsidiaries, our future new insurance written could be negatively affected. Our ability to participate in the non-GSE residential mortgage-backed securities market (the size of which has been limited since 2008, but may grow in the future), could depend on our ability to maintain and improve our investment grade ratings for our insurance subsidiaries. Although the current PMIERs of each of the GSEs do not require an insurer to maintain minimum financial strength ratings, the GSEs consider financial strength ratings to be important when using forms of credit enhancement other than traditional mortgage insurance.
In assigning financial strength ratings, in addition to considering the adequacy of the mortgage insurer’s capital to withstand very high claim scenarios under assumptions determined by the rating agency, we believe rating agencies review a mortgage insurer’s historical and projected operating performance, franchise risk, business outlook, competitive position, management, corporate strategy, enterprise risk management and other factors. The rating agency issuing the financial strength rating can withdraw or change its rating at any time. At the time that this annual report was finalized, the financial strength of MGIC was rated A (with a stable outlook) by A.M. Best, A2 (with a stable outlook) by Moody’s Investors Service and A- (with a positive outlook) by Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings.
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C. Risk Management
Enterprise Risk Management
The Company has an enterprise risk management (“ERM”) framework that it believes is commensurate with the size, nature and complexity of the Company’s business activities and strategies. Among the key objectives of the ERM framework are to have a clear and well documented shared understanding, by senior management and the Board, of the Company’s risk management philosophy and overall appetite for risk. The framework also aims to establish mechanisms for appropriate monitoring, management and reporting.
Risk Governance
The Company maintains a Senior Management Oversight Committee (“SMOC”) that, at the management level, serves as its primary business, operations, strategy, and risk management oversight committee. SMOC is the senior-most committee of management leadership and oversees the identification and governance of key risks and oversees the Company's ERM framework. SMOC manages the risks associated with strategic and business issues critical to the Company, such as those related to credit policy, the characteristics of the Company's new insurance and insurance in force, existing and proposed new regulation, product pricing, and capital structure. Relating specifically to ERM, SMOC oversees development and implementation of the Company's ERM framework, including the identification and governance of key risks, and monitoring of the Company's risk profile as it relates to those key risks. SMOC is chaired by the Company's Chief Executive Officer. Other members are the Company's President and Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, and Chief Financial and Risk Officer, who is the principal management liaison to the Risk Management Committee. SMOC also has sub-committees to assist in the effective discharge of its responsibilities for oversight and management of specific risk. These sub-committees create additional transparency across the major types of risk the Company manages, increase communication and collaboration, and develop talent.
The Board implements its risk oversight function as a whole and through delegation to its Committees which meet regularly and report back to the full Board. The Risk Management Committee coordinates with the Board and other Board Committees regarding the assignment to the Board and Committees of oversight responsibilities for risks considered to have the greatest potential to materially impact the Company's ability to accomplish its strategic goals. Each Committee's charter describes its principal responsibilities, including its oversight responsibility for applicable key risks, including:
• Risk Management Committee: Administration of the ERM framework and the management of key risks by the Company's Management team. Key risks for which the Risk Management Committee is responsible include those related to pricing, underwriting, and model risk, which includes risks related to artificial intelligence.
• Management Development, Nominating and Governance Committee: Executive compensation, succession planning, board composition, and corporate governance matters.
• Securities Investment Committee: Risks related to the Company's investment portfolio, such as market risk and liquidity risk, as well as capital structure, access to capital and credit rating matters.
• Audit Committee: Operational, legal and reserving risks, as well as disclosure controls and procedures relating to the Company's financial reports.
• Business Transformation and Technology Committee: Technology and cybersecurity risk
Corporate Sustainability Risk Governance
The Company maintains a Corporate Sustainability Executive Council that, at the management level, supports the Company's on-going commitment to environmental, health and safety, corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, sustainability, and other public policy matters relevant to the Company. In performing this general responsibility, the Council has discretion to: adopt the Company’s general strategy with respect to sustainability matters; identify current and emerging sustainability issues that may affect the Company’s business, strategy, operations, performance, or public image; make recommendations regarding policies, practices, procedures, or disclosures to address sustainability matters; oversee the Company’s corporate sustainability and related disclosures surrounding sustainability matters; and advise on material concerns of shareholders or stakeholders regarding sustainability matters.
Risk Management and Controls
The Company has established enterprise-wide policies, procedures and processes to allow it to identify, assess, monitor and manage the Company’s various risks. Management of these risks is an interdepartmental endeavor, with oversight by the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer, and the SMOC. The Company’s Internal Audit function, which reports to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, provides independent ongoing assessments of the Company’s management of certain enterprise risks and reports its findings to the Audit Committee.
Risk Identification and Assessment
On a regular basis, the Company monitors key risks with a focus on identifying risks or changes to risks with the greatest impact on the Company's ability to accomplish its strategic goals. In addition to the ongoing monitoring, the Company also identifies key risks in a bottom-up process facilitated through discussions during an annual compliance month forum with co-workers designated as "compliance coordinators" across a number of business functions. The outcomes of the discussions are presented to the Board's Audit Committee.
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Risk Reporting and Communication
The Company's Risk Management and Finance departments produce various analyses, reports and key risk indicators (“KRIs”) that are reported to the SMOC, the Risk Management Committee and the Board quarterly. For our largest risk exposure, pricing and underwriting for mortgage credit risk, these KRIs include risk factors for the Company’s NIW, IIF, quality control and claim activity, and the quarterly reports include performance monitoring. Each of the other Board Committees also receive regular reporting concerning the risks they oversee.
Although the Company has in place the ERM framework discussed above, it may not be effective in identifying, or adequate in controlling or mitigating, the risks we face. For more information, see our risk factor titled "If our risk management programs are not effective in identifying, controlling or mitigating, the risks we face, or if the models used in our businesses are inaccurate, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition" in Item 1A .
Pricing / Underwriting Risk
We believe that pricing/underwriting risk for mortgage insurance is materially affected by:
• the condition of the economy, including the direction of change in home prices and employment, in the area in which the property is located;
• the borrower’s credit profile, including the borrower’s credit history, DTI ratio and cash reserves, and the willingness of a borrower with sufficient resources to make mortgage payments when the mortgage balance exceeds the value of the home;
• the loan product, which encompasses the LTV ratio, the type of loan instrument, including whether the instrument provides for fixed or variable payments and the amortization schedule, the type of property (including its use) and the purpose of the loan;
• origination practices of lenders and the percentage of coverage on insured loans; and
• the size of insured loans.
We believe that, excluding other factors, claim incidence increases:
• during periods of national or regional economic contraction and home price depreciation, compared to periods of economic expansion and home price appreciation;
• for loans to borrowers with lower credit scores compared to loans to borrowers with higher credit scores;
• for loans to borrowers with higher DTI ratios compared to loans to borrowers with lower DTI ratios;
• for loans with less than full underwriting documentation compared to loans with full underwriting documentation;
• for loans with higher LTV ratios compared to loans with lower LTV ratios;
• for variable payment loans when the reset interest rate significantly exceeds the interest rate at the time of loan origination;
• for loans that permit the deferral of principal amortization compared to loans that require principal amortization with each monthly payment;
• for loans for which the subject property will be an investment property or second home as opposed to a borrower's primary residence; and
• for cash out refinance loans compared to rate and term refinance loans.
Other types of loan characteristics relating to the individual loan or borrower may also affect the risk potential for a loan. The presence of a number of higher-risk characteristics in a loan materially increases the likelihood of a claim on such a loan unless there are other characteristics to mitigate the risk.
We charge higher premium rates to reflect the increased risk of claim incidence that we perceive is associated with a loan. Not all higher risk characteristics are reflected in our premium rates; however, in 2019 we introduced MiQ, our risk-based pricing system that establishes our premium rates based on more risk attributes than were previously considered. There can be no assurance that our premium rates adequately reflect the increased risk, particularly in a period of economic recession, high unemployment, slowing home price appreciation or home price declines, or when extraordinary events occur, such as pandemics, wars, periods of extreme inflation, or environmental disasters related to changing climactic conditions. For additional information, see our risk factors in Item 1A , including the one titled “The premiums we charge may not be adequate to compensate us for our liabilities for losses and as a result any inadequacy could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.”
Underwriting Insurance Applications
Applications for mortgage insurance are submitted to us through both our delegated and non-delegated submission options. Under the delegated option, applications are submitted to us electronically and we rely upon the lender’s representations and warranties that the data submitted is true, accurate and consistent with the documents in the lender's loan origination file, when making our insurance decision. Non-delegated applications are submitted with documents from the lender’s loan origination file. Regardless of the submission option, we apply our underwriting requirements and premium rate plans to determine coverage eligibility and the premium rate. If the loan is eligible for coverage, we will issue a commitment to insure the loan.
Beginning in 2013, we aligned most of our underwriting requirements with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for loans that receive and are processed in accordance with certain approval recommendations from a GSE automated underwriting system. Our underwriting
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requirements are available on our website at http://www.mgic.com/underwriting. We may approve loans that do not meet all of our underwriting requirements under certain circumstances.
Exposure to Catastrophic Losses
The PMI industry experienced catastrophic losses in the mid-to-late 1980s, similar to the losses we experienced in 2007-2013. For background information about such losses in 2007-2013, as well as information about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, refer to “ General – Overview of Private Mortgage Insurance Industry and its Operating Environment” above.
Delinquencies
The claim cycle on PMI generally begins with the insurer’s receipt of notification of a delinquency on an insured loan from the loan servicer. For reporting purposes, a loan is generally considered to be delinquent when it is two or more payments past due. Most servicers report delinquent loans to us within this two month period. The incidence of delinquency is affected by, both macroeconomic conditions (e.g. unemployment rates, income growth rates, a decrease in home prices, etc.) and individual borrower situations (e.g. family status, health issues, income loss, credit worthiness, etc.) Delinquencies that are not cured result in a claim to us. See “– Claims.” Delinquencies may be cured by the borrower bringing current the delinquent loan payments or by a sale of the property and the satisfaction of all amounts due under the mortgage. In addition, when a policy is rescinded or a claim is denied we remove the loan from our delinquency inventory.
The following table shows the number of insured primary loans, the related number of delinquent loans, the percentage of loans delinquent (delinquency rate), and claims received inventory as of December 31, 2023-2025.
Delinquency Statistics for the MGIC Book
December 31,
Primary Insurance:
Insured loans in force
Delinquent inventory
Percentage of loans delinquent (delinquency rate)
Delinquent loans in our claims received inventory
Different geographical areas may experience different delinquency rates due to varying localized economic conditions from year to year and the amount of time it takes for foreclosures to be completed for uncured delinquencies. The primary delinquency rate for the top 15 jurisdictions (based on December 31, 2025 delinquency inventory) as of December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 appears in the table below.
Primary Delinquency Rate by Jurisdiction
Florida *
Texas
Illinois *
California
Pennsylvania *
Michigan
Ohio *
New York *
Georgia
Maryland
New Jersey *
North Carolina
Indiana
Minnesota
Virginia
All other jurisdictions
Note: Asterisk denotes jurisdictions in the table above that predominately use a judicial foreclosure process, which generally increases the amount of time it takes for a foreclosure to be completed.
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The primary delinquency inventory in those same jurisdictions at December 31, 2025 and 2024 appears in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Consolidated Results of Operations – Loss Reserves,” in Item 7 .
Claims
Claims result from delinquencies that are not cured. Whether a claim results from an uncured delinquency depends, in large part, on the willingness and ability of the borrower and lender to enter into a loan modification that provides for a cure of the delinquency and the borrower’s or the lender’s ability to sell the home for an amount sufficient to satisfy all amounts due under the mortgage. Various factors affect the frequency and size of claims, or “severity, including the amount of the mortgage loan, the coverage percentage on the loan, loss mitigation efforts, local home prices, employment levels, and interest rates. If a delinquency results in a paid claim, any renewal premiums collected to insure the loan for the time period following the last paid installment is returned to the servicer along with the claim payment. For information about our primary average claim paid, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Consolidated Results of Operations – Net Losses and LAE Paid,” in I tem 7 .
Under the terms of our master policy, the lender is required to file a claim for primary insurance with us within 60 days after it has acquired title to the underlying property (typically through foreclosure). Generally, the longer the period between delinquency and claim filing, the greater the severity. It is difficult to estimate how long it may take for current and future delinquencies that do not cure to develop into paid claims.
The majority of loans we insured prior to 2014 (which represent 24% of the loans in the delinquency inventory) are covered by master policy terms that, except under certain circumstances, do not limit the number of years of accumulated interest that an insured may include in a claim. Under our current master policy terms, an insured can include accumulated interest only for the first three years the loan is delinquent.
Within 60 days after a claim has been filed and all documents required to be submitted to us have been delivered, we generally have the option to either (1) pay the coverage percentage specified for the insured loan, with the insured retaining title to the underlying property and receiving all proceeds from the eventual sale of the property, (2) pay the loss on the sale of the property if it has already been sold (calculated by subtracting the sale proceeds from the claim amount) or (3) pay 100% of the claim amount in exchange for conveyance to us of good and marketable title to the property. After we receive title to a property, we sell it for our own account. If we fail to pay a claim timely, we are subject to additional interest expense.
Claim activity is not evenly spread throughout the coverage period of a book of primary business. Claims received are generally lower during the first two years following issuance of coverage on a loan. The highest level of claim activity has typically occurred in the third and fourth years after the year of loan origination. Thereafter, the number of claims received has typically declined at a gradual rate, although the rate of decline can be affected by conditions in the economy, including slowing home price appreciation or home price depreciation. Moreover, when a loan is refinanced, because the new loan replaces, and is a continuation of, an earlier loan, the pattern of claims frequency for that new loan may be different from the typical pattern for other loans. Annual Persistency, the condition of the economy, including unemployment, and other factors can affect the pattern of claim activity. As of December 31, 2025, 44% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2022, 61% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2021, and 80% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2020. See “ Our Products and Services – Mortgage Insurance – Primary Insurance In Force and Risk In Force by Policy Year” above.
Loss Mitigation
Before paying a claim, generally we review the loan and servicing files to determine the appropriateness of the claim amount. Our insurance policies generally provide that we can reduce or deny a claim if the servicer did not comply with its obligations under our insurance policy, including the requirement to mitigate our loss by performing reasonable loss mitigation efforts or, for example, diligently pursuing a foreclosure or bankruptcy relief in a timely manner. We call such reduction of claims submitted to us "curtailments.” In each of 2025 and 2024, curtailments reduced our average claim paid by approximately 5.3% and 4.7%, respectively.
When reviewing the loan file associated with a claim, we may determine that we have the right to rescind coverage on the loan. In our SEC reports, we refer to insurance rescissions and denials of claims as “rescissions” and variations of this term. The circumstances in which we are entitled to rescind coverage narrowed under more restrictive policy terms beginning in 2012. As a result of revised PMIERs requirements, we have revised our master policy effective for new insurance written beginning March 1, 2020. Our ability to rescind insurance coverage has become further limited for insurance we write under the new master policy, potentially resulting in higher losses than would be the case under our previous master policies. In recent years, an immaterial percentage of claims received during any one particular period have been resolved by rescissions.
Our loss reserving methodology incorporates our estimates of future rescissions, curtailments, and reversals of rescissions and curtailments. When we rescind coverage, we return all premiums previously paid to us under the policy and are relieved of our obligation to pay a claim under the policy. A variance between ultimate actual rescission, curtailment or reversal rates and our estimates, as a result of the outcome of litigation, settlements or other factors, could materially affect our losses.
When the insured disputes our right to rescind coverage or curtail a claim, we generally engage in discussions in an attempt to settle the dispute. If we are unable to reach a settlement, the outcome of a dispute ultimately may be determined by legal proceedings. Under ASC 450-20, until a loss associated with settlement discussions or legal proceedings becomes probable and can be reasonably
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estimated, we do not accrue an estimated loss. When we determine that a loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated, we record our best estimate of our probable loss.
Loss Reserves
A significant period of time typically elapses between the time when a borrower becomes delinquent on a mortgage payment, which is the event triggering a potential future claim payment by us, the reporting of the delinquency to us, the acquisition of the property by the lender (typically through foreclosure) or the sale of the property, and the eventual payment of the claim related to the uncured delinquency or a rescission. To recognize the estimated liability for losses related to outstanding reported delinquencies, we establish loss reserves by estimating the number of loans in our delinquency inventory that will result in a claim payment, which is referred to as the claim rate, and further estimating the amount of the claim payment, which is referred to as claim severity. Our loss reserve estimates are established primarily based upon historical experience, including rescission and curtailment activity. In accordance with GAAP for the mortgage insurance industry, we generally do not establish case reserves for future claims on insured loans that are not currently delinquent.
We also establish reserves to provide for the estimated costs of settling claims, general expenses of administering the claims settlement process, legal fees and other fees (“loss adjustment expenses”), and for losses and loss adjustment expenses from delinquencies that have occurred, but have not yet been reported to us (IBNR).
Our reserving process bases our estimates of future events on our past experience. For further information about our loss reserving methodology, refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Critical Accounting Estimates ,” in Item 7 . Estimation of loss reserves is inherently judgmental and conditions that have affected the development of the loss reserves in the past may not necessarily affect development patterns in the future, in either a similar manner or to a similar degree. For further information, see our risk factors in Item 1A , including the ones titled “Because we establish loss reserves only upon a loan delinquency rather than based on estimates of our ultimate losses on risk in force, losses may have a disproportionate adverse effect on our earnings in certain periods,” and “Because loss reserve estimates are subject to uncertainties, paid claims may be substantially different than our loss reserves.”
Our losses incurred were $48.9 million in 2025, compared with $(14.9) million and $(20.9) million in 2024 and 2023, respectively. For information about losses incurred from 2023 to 2025, including the amounts of losses incurred that are associated with delinquency notices received in the reporting year compared to losses incurred associated with delinquency notices received in prior years, see Note 8 – "Loss Reserves" to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 .
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D. Reinsurance Agreements
We have in place quota share reinsurance ("QSR") and excess of loss reinsurance ("XOL") transactions providing various amounts of coverage on our risk in force as of December 31, 2025. These transactions allow us to better manage our risk profile by reducing the amount of capital we are required to hold to comply with insurance regulatory requirements and the requirements of the GSEs' PMIERs. Our reinsurance strategy focuses on reinsuring our most recent or future NIW, while recapturing risk on attractive seasoned vintages.
Quota Share Transactions
Our QSR Transactions are with unaffiliated reinsurers. As of December 31, 2025, our QSR Transactions cover most of our insurance written from 2021 through 2025. The weighted average coverage percentage of our QSR Transactions was 32.9%, based on risk in force as of December 31, 2025.
At December 31, 2025 and 2024, approximately 73.8% and 68.2%, respectively, of our IIF was subject to QSR Transactions. In 2025 and 2024, approximately 87.2% and 86.9%, respectively, of our NIW was subject to QSR Transactions.
The structure of the QSR Transactions is a quota share of various percentages of the policies covered, with a ceding commission and a profit commission. The profit commission under our QSR Transactions varies inversely with the level of ceded losses incurred on a “dollar for dollar” basis and can be eliminated at ceded loss levels higher than what we have experienced on our QSR Transactions.
Excess of Loss Transactions
We have XOL Transactions with a panel of unaffiliated reinsurers executed through the traditional reinsurance market (“Traditional XOL") and with unaffiliated special purpose insurers (“Home Re") transactions. Our Home Re Transactions issued notes linked to the reinsurance coverage ("Insurance Linked Notes" or "ILNs"). Our XOL Transactions provide reinsurance coverage for a portion of the risk associated with certain mortgage insurance policies having insurance coverage in force dates from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2025.
For the reinsurance coverage periods, we retain the first layer of the respective aggregate losses, and the reinsurers will then provide second layer coverage up to the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount. We retain losses in excess of the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount. The aggregate XOL reinsurance coverage decreases over a period of either 10 or 12.5 years, depending on the transaction, subject to certain conditions, as the underlying covered mortgages amortize or are repaid, or mortgage insurance losses are paid.
The Home Re Entities financed the coverages with the proceeds of the ILNs in an aggregate amount equal to the initial reinsurance coverage amounts. Each ILN is non-recourse to any of our assets. The proceeds of the ILNs, which were deposited into reinsurance trusts for our benefit, will be the source of reinsurance claim payments to us and principal repayments on the ILNs.
Although reinsuring against possible loan losses does not discharge us from liability to a policyholder, it reduces the amount of capital we are required to retain against potential future losses for PMIERs, rating agency and insurance regulatory purposes. The calculated credit for XOL reinsurance transactions under PMIERs is generally based on the PMIERs requirement of the covered loans and the attachment and detachment point of the coverage, all of which fluctuate over time. PMIERs credit is haircut for the un-collateralized portion of the reinsured risk and is generally not given for the reinsured risk above the PMIERs requirement. The GSEs have discretion to further limit reinsurance credit under the PMIERs. The total credit for risk ceded under our reinsurance transactions is subject to periodic review by the GSEs.
For further information about our reinsurance agreements, including the Company's early termination rights, see Note 7 – “Reinsurance,” to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8, and our risk factor titled "Reinsurance may be unavailable at current levels and prices, and/or the GSEs may reduce the amount of capital credit we receive for our reinsurance transactions" in Item 1A .
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E. Investment Portfolio
Policy and Strategy
As of December 31, 2025, the fair value of our investment portfolio was approximately $5.8 billion. In addition, as of December 31, 2025, our total assets included approximately $369 million of cash and cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2025, approximately $1.1 billion of investments and cash and cash equivalents was held by our parent company, and the remainder was held by our subsidiaries, primarily MGIC.
As of December 31, 2025, approximately 93% of our investment portfolio (excluding cash and cash equivalents) was managed by two external investment managers, although we maintain overall control of investment policy and strategy. We maintain direct management of the remainder of our investment portfolio. Unless otherwise indicated, the remainder of the discussion regarding our investment portfolio refers to our investment portfolio only and not to cash and cash equivalents.
Our management is responsible for the execution of our investment strategy and compliance with the adopted investment policies, and review of investment performance and strategy with the Securities Investment Committee of the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis.
Our current strategy for the investment portfolio emphasizes the following: preservation of PMIERs assets, limiting portfolio volatility, maximizing total return with an emphasis on yield, and providing sufficient liquidity with minimal realized losses to meet expected and unexpected obligations. Consequently, our investment portfolio consists almost entirely of high-quality, investment grade, fixed income securities. Our investment portfolio strategy considers tax efficiency. The mix of tax-exempt municipal securities in our investment portfolio will be dependent upon their value, relative to taxable equivalent securities, determined in part by federal statutory tax rates. Our investment policies and strategies are subject to change depending upon regulatory, economic and market conditions and our existing or anticipated financial condition and operating requirements.
For information about the credit ratings of securities in our investment portfolio, see "Balance Sheet Review" in Item 7 .
Investment Operations
As of December 31, 2025, the sectors represented in our investment portfolio were as shown in the table below:
Investment Portfolio - Sectors
Percentage of Portfolio’s Fair Value
1. Corporate
2. Tax-Exempt Municipals
3. Taxable Municipals
4. Asset-Backed
5. U.S. government and agency debt
6. GNMA and other agency mortgage-backed securities
Total
We have no derivative financial instruments in our investment portfolio. Securities with stated maturities due within up to one year, after one year and up to five years, after five years and up to ten years, and after ten years, represented 13%, 28%, 28%, and 15%, respectively, of the total fair value of our fixed income investment securities. Asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities are not included in these maturity categories as most mortgage and asset-backed securities are not due at a single maturity date. Asset-backed securities represent 10% of the investment portfolio (CLOs represent 2%, CMBS represent 4% and other asset-backed securities represent 4%). Our pre-tax yield was 4.0%, 4.0%, and 3.7% for 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively, and our after-tax yield was 3.2%, 3.2%, and 3.0% for 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
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Our ten largest holdings at December 31, 2025 appear in the table below:
Investment Portfolio - Ten Largest Holdings
(In thousands)
Fair Value
Bank of America Corp
Wells Fargo & Company
Morgan Stanley
JP Morgan Chase
Chicago Transit Authority
Duke Energy
New York NY City Transitional
Louisiana St & Local Gov Envrnm
Anaheim CA Public Funding Auth
Regatta VI Funding Ltd.
Total
Note: This table excludes securities issued by the U.S. government or U.S. government agencies.
For further information concerning investment operations, see Note 5 – “Investments,” to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 .
F. Regulation
Direct Regulation
We are subject to comprehensive, detailed regulation by state insurance departments. These regulations are principally designed for the protection of our insured policyholders, rather than for the benefit of investors. Although their scope varies, state insurance laws generally grant broad supervisory powers to agencies or officials to examine insurance companies and enforce rules or exercise discretion affecting almost every significant aspect of the insurance business.
In general, regulation of our subsidiaries’ businesses relates to:
• minimum capital levels and adequacy ratios;
• requirements regarding contingency reserves;
• premium rates and discrimination in pricing;
• licenses to transact businesses;
• policy forms;
• insurable loans;
• annual and other reports on financial condition;
• the basis upon which assets and liabilities must be stated;
• reinsurance requirements;
• limitations on the types of investment instruments which may be held in an investment portfolio;
• privacy;
• deposits of securities;
• transactions among affiliates;
• restrictions on transactions that have the effect of inducing lenders to place business with the insurer;
• cybersecurity;
• limits on dividends payable (for a description of limits on dividends payable to us from MGIC, see Note 13 – “Statutory Information,” to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8);
• suitability of officers and directors; and
• claims handling.
Future regulation is expected to address the use of algorithms, artificial intelligence and data and analytics in underwriting to determine pricing and for other purposes.
Wisconsin, our domiciliary state, has adopted the Risk Management and Own Risk and Solvency Assessment Act, which requires, among other things, that we conduct an Own Risk and Solvency Assessment ("ORSA"), at least annually, to assess the material risks associated with our business and our current and estimated projected future solvency position; and maintain a risk management
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framework to assess, monitor, manage and report on material risks. Wisconsin has also adopted the annual enterprise risk reporting, group capital calculation, and "Corporate Governance Disclosure" requirements of the relevant NAIC model laws and regulations.
The insurance laws of 16 jurisdictions, including Wisconsin, our domiciliary state, require a mortgage insurer to maintain a minimum amount of statutory capital relative to the RIF (or a similar measure) in order for the mortgage insurer to continue to write new business. We refer to these requirements as the “State Capital Requirements.” While they vary among jurisdictions, currently the most common State Capital Requirements allow for a maximum risk-to-capital ratio of 25 to 1. Wisconsin does not regulate capital by using a risk-to-capital measure but instead requires a minimum policyholder position. MGIC's “policyholder position” includes its net worth or surplus and its contingency reserve.
At December 31, 2025, MGIC’s risk-to-capital ratio was 10.0 to 1, below the maximum allowed by the jurisdictions with State Capital Requirements, and its policyholder position was $3.6 billion above the required MPP of $2.2 billion.
In August 2023, the NAIC adopted a revised Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Model Act. The revised Model Act includes requirements relating to, among other things: (i) capital and minimum capital requirements, and contingency reserves; (ii) restrictions on mortgage insurers’ investments in notes secured by mortgages; (iii) prudent underwriting standards and formal underwriting guidelines; (iv) the establishment of formal, internal “Mortgage Guaranty Quality Control Programs” with respect to in-force business; and (v) reinsurance and prohibitions on captive reinsurance arrangements. It is uncertain when the revised Model Act will be adopted in any jurisdiction. The provisions of the Model Act, if adopted in their final form, are not expected to have a material adverse effect on our business. It is unknown whether any changes will be made by state legislatures prior to adoption, and the effect changes, if any, will have on the mortgage guaranty insurance market generally, or on our business. Wisconsin, where MGIC is domiciled, has begun the process to replace current PMI regulations with the Model Act; however it is expected that modifications will be made before formal adoption. See our risk factors “We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease as we are required to maintain significantly more capital in order to maintain our eligibility” and “ State Capital requirements may prevent us from continuing to write new insurance on an uninterrupted basis” in Item 1A, for information about regulations governing our capital adequacy and our expectations regarding our future capital position. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Capitalization" in Item 7 for information about our current capital position.
We are required to establish statutory accounting contingency loss reserves in an amount equal to 50% of earned premiums. These amounts cannot be withdrawn for a period of 10 years, except as permitted by insurance regulations. With regulatory approval, a mortgage insurance company may make early withdrawals from the contingency reserve when incurred losses exceed 35% of premiums earned in a calendar year. Although MGIC holds assets in excess of its minimum statutory capital requirements and its PMIERs financial requirements, the ability of MGIC to pay dividends is restricted by insurance regulation. In general, dividends in excess of prescribed limits are deemed “extraordinary” and may not be paid if disapproved by the OCI. The level of ordinary dividends that may be paid without OCI approval is determined on an annual basis. A dividend is extraordinary when the proposed dividend amount, plus dividends paid in the twelve months preceding the dividend payment date exceed the ordinary dividend level. In 2026, MGIC can pay $89 million of ordinary dividends without OCI approval, before taking into consideration dividends paid in the preceding twelve months. In 2025, MGIC paid $800 million in dividends to the holding company. For further information, see Note 13 – “Statutory Information,” to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8.
Mortgage insurance premium rates are subject to state regulation to protect policyholders against the adverse effects of excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory rates and to encourage competition in the insurance marketplace. Any increase in premium rates must be justified, generally on the basis of the insurer’s loss experience, expenses and future trend analysis. The general mortgage default experience may also be considered. Premium rates are subject to review and challenge by state regulators.
Mortgage insurers are generally single-line companies, restricted to writing residential mortgage insurance business only. Although we, as an insurance holding company, are prohibited from engaging in certain transactions with MGIC or our other insurance subsidiaries without submission to and, in some instances, prior approval by applicable insurance departments, we are not subject to insurance company regulation on our non-insurance businesses.
Wisconsin’s insurance regulations generally provide that no person may acquire control of us unless the transaction in which control is acquired has been approved by the OCI. The regulations provide for a rebuttable presumption of control when a person owns or has the right to vote more than 10% of the voting securities. In addition, the insurance regulations of other states in which MGIC is licensed require notification to the state’s insurance department a specified time before a person acquires control of us. If regulators in these states disapprove the change of control, our licenses to conduct business in the disapproving states could be terminated. For further information about regulatory proceedings applicable to us and our industry, see “We are subject to comprehensive regulation and other requirements, which we may fail to satisfy” in Item 1A .
The CFPB’s rules implementing laws that require mortgage lenders to make ability-to-pay determinations prior to extending credit affect the characteristics of loans being originated and the volume of loans available to be insured. We are uncertain whether the CFPB will issue any other rules or regulations that affect our business. Such rules and regulations could have a material adverse effect on us.
As the most significant purchasers and sellers of conventional mortgage loans and beneficiaries of private mortgage insurance, the GSEs impose financial and other requirements on private mortgage insurers in order for them to be eligible to insure loans sold to the GSEs (these requirements are referred to as the "PMIERs", as discussed above). These requirements are subject to change from time to
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time. Based on our application of the financial requirements of the PMIERs, as of December 31, 2025, MGIC’s Available Assets totaled $5.7 billion, or $2.5 billion in excess of its Minimum Required Assets. MGIC is in compliance with the requirements of the PMIERs and eligible to insure loans purchased by the GSEs. If MGIC ceases to be eligible to insure loans purchased by one or both of the GSEs, it would significantly reduce the volume of our new business writings. For information about matters that could negatively affect our compliance with the PMIERs, see our risk factor titled “We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease as we are required to maintain significantly more capital in order to maintain our eligibility” in Item 1A .
The FHFA has been the conservator of the GSEs since 2008 and has the authority to control and direct their operations. The increased role that the federal government has assumed in the residential housing finance system through the GSE conservatorship may increase the likelihood that the business practices of the GSEs change, including through administrative action. Such changes, or the release of the GSEs from conservatorship, could have a material adverse effect on us. For more information about the business practices of the GSEs that impact our business, see our risk factor titled " Changes in the business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ("the GSEs"), federal legislation that changes their charters or a restructuring of the GSEs could reduce our revenues or increase our losses . " in Item 1A .
Indirect Regulation
We are also indirectly, but significantly, impacted by regulations affecting purchasers of mortgage loans, such as the GSEs, and regulations affecting government insurers, such as the FHA and the VA, and lenders. Private mortgage insurers, including MGIC, are highly dependent upon federal housing legislation and other laws and regulations to the extent they affect the demand for private mortgage insurance and the housing market generally. From time to time, those laws and regulations have been amended in ways that affect competition from government agencies. Proposals are discussed from time to time by Congress and certain federal agencies to reform or modify the FHA and the Government National Mortgage Association, which securitizes mortgages insured by the FHA.
Mortgage insurance generally may be considered to be a “settlement service” for purposes of RESPA under applicable regulations. Subject to certain exceptions, in general, RESPA prohibits any person from giving or receiving any “thing of value” pursuant to an agreement or understanding to refer settlement services.
HOPA provides for the automatic termination, or cancellation upon a borrower’s request, of private mortgage insurance upon satisfaction of certain conditions. For more information, see " Our Products and Services " in Item 1.B.
FCRA imposes restrictions on the permissible use of credit report information. FCRA has been interpreted by some Federal Trade Commission staff and federal courts to require mortgage insurance companies to provide “adverse action” notices to consumers in the event an application for mortgage insurance is declined or offered at less than the best available rate for the loan program applied for on the basis of a review of the consumer’s credit.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have uniform guidelines on real estate lending by insured lending institutions under their supervision. The guidelines specify that a residential mortgage loan originated with loan-to-value ratios above certain levels should have appropriate credit enhancement in the form of mortgage insurance or readily marketable collateral, although no depth of coverage percentage is specified in the guidelines.
Lenders are subject to various laws, including the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Community Reinvestment Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, TILA, HOPA, the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act, FCRA, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the Fair Housing Act. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are subject to various laws, including laws relating to government sponsored enterprises, which may impose obligations or create incentives for increased lending to low and moderate income persons, or in targeted areas.
There can be no assurance that other federal laws and regulations affecting these institutions and entities will not change, or that new legislation or regulations will not be adopted which will adversely affect the private mortgage insurance industry.
Public Policy
Due to the evolving landscape of federal housing policy and extensive state-based regulation of insurance, we carefully consider issues related to public policy. As such, we support or are members of organizations whose missions are to increase access to homeownership in a responsible and prudent manner. We support research associations, industry trade associations, nonprofit organizations, advocacy professionals, and other groups that share our key priorities.
The MGIC Political Action Committee (MGIC-PAC) is a voluntary, nonpartisan PAC composed of eligible individual co-workers and members of our Board of Directors. MGIC-PAC activities are managed by our MGIC-PAC Board of Directors, composed of senior executives, and are reported to the Audit Committee of the MGIC’s Board. MGIC-PAC’s contributions generally focus on elected federal officials from Wisconsin, as well as officials who hold positions on congressional committees tasked with responsibility for housing finance policy. Individual candidate contributions made by the MGIC-PAC are approved by the Board of Directors of the MGIC-PAC. The MGIC-PAC seeks to maintain a balance in terms of its support of each of the two major political parties. The candidates supported by the MGIC-PAC are chosen based upon the relevance of their experience to our business or specific public policy objectives, although we may not agree with every position taken by a specific candidate.
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G. Human Capital
Our talent practices reflect a commitment to creating a positive co-worker experience. We continue to support our co-workers in their career journeys and work to further connect them to each other and the community.
As of December 31, 2025, we had 542 co-workers not including "on-call" and part-time co-workers. The number of “on-call” co-workers can vary substantially, primarily as a result of changes in demand for our services. In recent years, the number of “on-call” co-workers has ranged from fewer than 10 to more than 110.
Total Rewards and Talent Practices
Our total rewards program is designed to provide a competitive package of benefits and compensation elements that recognize the unique needs of our workforce and their families. All full-time MGIC co-workers are eligible to participate in our well-being program, in addition to a comprehensive medical, dental and vision plan. We also recognize financial health as part of well-being, and currently provide a 401(k) plan with a company match and discretionary annual profit-sharing contributions for qualifying employees.
Co-Worker Sentiment
MGIC conducts quarterly engagement surveys to gauge co-worker sentiment and connection to company values. Based on the survey results, we identify and share with our Board of Directors and executive leadership areas of strength and opportunity. For transparency, these strengths and opportunities are shared with all co-workers, and leaders at all levels of the company are expected to play an active role in taking meaningful action in response. Engagement surveys are complemented by additional quantitative, qualitative and passive listening mechanisms, ranging from new hire surveys to CEO-led focus groups.
Community Involvement
Our commitment to community is formalized under the banner of Giving Back, Together , and in 2025 included providing financial and in-kind support for organizations that support homeownership and strengthen the communities in which our co-workers live and work. We also provided paid time off for co-workers to volunteer or work at election polling places.
H. Website Access
We make available, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file these materials with the SEC. The reports and amendments are accessible at the “Reports & Filings” link on our website (http://mtg.mgic.com). The inclusion of our website address in this report is an inactive textual reference only and is not intended to include or incorporate by reference the information on our website into this report.
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Part I
Item 1A. Risk Factors
As used below, “we,” “our” and “us” refer to MGIC Investment Corporation’s consolidated operations or to MGIC Investment Corporation, as the context requires; and “MGIC” refers to Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation.
Risk Factors Relating to the Mortgage Insurance Industry and its Regulation
Economic downturns and/or declines in home prices may lead to increased losses.
Our business is sensitive to general macroeconomic conditions and fluctuations in the housing market. Events such as recession, unemployment, reduction in household income, decreases in home prices, inflation, shifts in the comparative cost of renting versus owning a home, and changes in family status may affect a borrower’s ability or willingness to make mortgage payments. Such events are outside of our control, difficult to predict, and generally increase loan delinquencies and claims. The U.S. economy may be vulnerable to an array of factors, including inflation, geopolitical tensions and/or conflicts, rising national debt, ongoing fiscal deficits, and disruptions to international trade. Additionally, economic conditions may differ from region to region. Information about the geographic dispersion of our risk in force and delinquency inventory can be found in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
A decline in home prices may make it more difficult for borrowers to sell or refinance their homes, increasing the risk of default. A decline in home prices may occur even absent a deterioration in economic conditions, such as changes in buyers’ perceptions of the potential for future appreciation, restrictions on and the cost of mortgage credit due to more stringent underwriting standards, elevated interest rates, increased cost of homeowners insurance, changes to the tax deductibility of mortgage interest, decreases in the rate of household formations, or other factors. A decline in home prices may result in loan balances exceeding home values, discouraging borrowers from continuing to make payments. Although the rate of home price appreciation recently reached historically high rates, the rate of growth is moderating: according to the seasonally-adjusted Purchase-Only U.S. Home Price Index of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (the “FHFA”), which is based on single-family properties whose mortgages have been purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, home prices increased by 1.4% from January 2025 through November 2025, after increasing 4.8% and 6.7% in 2024 and 2023, respectively. The national average price-to-income ratio exceeds its historical average, in part as a result of recent home price appreciation outpacing increases in income. Elevated home prices have contributed to affordability constraints, which may lead to reduced demand and downward pressure on prices at both regional and national levels.
Changes in the business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ("the GSEs"), federal legislation that changes their charters or a restructuring of the GSEs could reduce our revenues or increase our losses.
The substantial majority of our new insurance written ("NIW") is for loans purchased by the GSEs; therefore, the business practices of the GSEs greatly impact our business. The GSEs possess substantial market power, which enables them to influence our business and the mortgage insurance industry in general. In 2008, the housing market was in severe decline, which damaged the financial condition of the GSEs. FHFA placed the GSEs into conservatorship on September 7, 2008 and the FHFA has the authority to control and direct their operations. Given that the Director of the FHFA serves at the pleasure of the President, the agency's agenda, policies and actions may be influenced by the then-current administration.
Changes in the status, powers, or supervision of the GSEs, whether through legislation or administrative action, that impact private mortgage insurers could have an adverse effect on our business, revenue, results of operations and financial condition. Business practices of the GSEs that affect the mortgage insurance industry include:
• The GSEs' private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements ("PMIERs"), the financial requirements of which are discussed in our risk factor titled “We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility.”
• The capital and collateral requirements for participants in the GSEs' alternative forms of credit enhancement discussed in our risk factor titled "The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance."
• The level of private mortgage insurance coverage, subject to the limitations of the GSEs’ charters, when private mortgage insurance is used as the required credit enhancement on low down payment mortgages (the GSEs generally require a level of mortgage insurance coverage that is higher than the level of coverage required by their charters; any change in the required level of coverage will impact our new risk written).
• The amount of loan level price adjustments and guaranty fees (which result in higher costs to borrowers) that the GSEs assess on loans that require private mortgage insurance. The requirements of the new GSE capital framework may lead the GSEs to increase their guaranty fees. In addition, the FHFA has indicated that it is reviewing the GSEs' pricing in connection with preparing them to exit conservatorship and to ensure that pricing subsidies benefit only affordable housing activities.
• Whether the GSEs select or influence the mortgage lender’s selection of the mortgage insurer providing coverage.
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• The underwriting standards that determine which loans are eligible for purchase by the GSEs, which can affect the quality of the risk insured by the mortgage insurer and the availability of mortgage loans.
• The terms on which mortgage insurance coverage can be canceled before reaching the cancellation thresholds established by law and the business practices associated with such cancellations. If the GSEs or other mortgage investors change their practices regarding the timing of cancellation of mortgage insurance due to home price appreciation, policy goals, changing risk tolerances or otherwise, we could experience an unexpected reduction in our insurance in force ("IIF"), which would negatively impact our business and financial results. For more information, see the discussion below regarding the GSEs' Equitable Housing Plans and our risk factor titled “ The length of time our insurance policies remain in force has a significant impact on our results. "
• The programs established by the GSEs intended to avoid or mitigate loss on insured mortgages and the circumstances in which mortgage servicers must implement such programs.
• The terms that the GSEs require to be included in mortgage insurance policies for loans that they purchase, including limitations on the rescission rights of mortgage insurers.
• The extent to which the GSEs intervene in mortgage insurers’ claims paying practices, rescission practices or rescission settlement practices with lenders.
• The maximum loan limits of the GSEs compared to those of the Federal Housing Administration ("FHA") and other investors.
• Benchmarks established by the FHFA for loans to be purchased by the GSEs, which can affect the loans available to be insured.
• The establishment, modification, or termination of programs intended to promote affordable housing for low-income borrowers.
To the extent the business practices and policies of the GSEs regarding mortgage insurance coverage, costs and cancellation change, such changes may negatively impact the mortgage insurance industry and our financial results.
Congress and executive branch officials have periodically proposed various plans for the reform of the GSEs, including through privatization and/or termination of FHFA's conservatorship. However, it is unclear what reforms will ultimately be implemented, if any, and what the time frame for any such reforms will be. The potential impact of any such plan on our business and financial results remains uncertain.
It is uncertain what role the GSEs, FHA and private capital, including private mortgage insurance, will play in the residential housing finance system in the future. The timing and impact on our business of any resulting changes are uncertain. For changes that would require Congressional action to implement it is difficult to estimate when Congressional action would be final and how long any associated phase-in period may last.
We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility.
We must comply with a GSE's PMIERs to be eligible to insure loans delivered to or purchased by that GSE. The PMIERs include financial requirements, as well as business, quality control and certain transaction approval requirements. The PMIERs provide that the GSEs may amend any provision of the PMIERs or impose additional requirements with an effective date specified by the GSEs.
The financial requirements of the PMIERs require a mortgage insurer’s “Available Assets” (generally only the most liquid assets of an insurer) to equal or exceed its “Minimum Required Assets” (which are generally based on an insurer’s book of risk in force and calculated from tables of factors with several risk dimensions, reduced for credit given for risk ceded under reinsurance agreements). MGIC is in compliance with the PMIERs and eligible to insure loans purchased by the GSEs; however, if our Available Assets fall below our Minimum Required Assets, we would not be in compliance with the PMIERs. Our ability to continue to comply with PMIERS financial requirements could be affected by several factors, including:
• Amendments to PMIERs, or changes to the way the GSEs interpret the existing PMIERs.
• An increase in the number of loan delinquencies. The PMIERs generally require us to hold significantly more Minimum Required Assets for delinquent loans than for performing loans, and the Minimum Required Assets required to be held increases as the number of payments missed on a delinquent loan increases. If we are required to hold more capital relative to our insured loans it could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
• The credit we receive for the investments in our investment portfolio. Under PMIERs, specified assets are excluded, limited or haircut for purposes of being counted as Available Assets.
• Changes to the amount of credit we receive for risk ceded under our QSR and XOL reinsurance transactions, which are discussed in our risk factors titled "Our underwriting practices and the mix of business we write affects our Minimum Required Assets under the PMIERs, our premium yields and the likelihood of claims" and " Reinsurance may be unavailable at current levels and prices, and/or the GSEs may reduce the amount of capital credit we receive for our reinsurance transactions ."
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• Failure to meet certain transactional approval conditions imposed by PMIERs. Such failure may restrict or delay us from taking certain actions that would be advantageous to our investors.
The PMIERs provide a list of remediation actions for a mortgage insurer's non-compliance, with additional actions possible in the GSEs' discretion. At the extreme, the GSEs may suspend or terminate our eligibility to insure loans purchased by them. Such suspension or termination would significantly reduce the volume of our NIW, the substantial majority of which is for loans delivered to or purchased by the GSEs.
Should capital be needed by MGIC in the future, capital contributions from our holding company may not be available due to competing demands on holding company resources.
Because loss reserve estimates are subject to uncertainties, paid claims may be substantially different than our loss reserves.
When we establish case reserves, we estimate our ultimate loss on delinquent loans by estimating the number of such loans that will result in a claim payment (the "claim rate"), and further estimating the amount of the claim payment (the "claim severity"). Changes to our claim rate and claim severity estimates could have a material impact on our future results, even in a stable economic environment. Our estimates incorporate anticipated cures, loss mitigation activity, rescissions and curtailments. The establishment of loss reserves is subject to inherent uncertainty and requires significant judgment by management. Our actual claim payments may differ substantially from our loss reserve estimates. Our estimates could be affected by several factors, including a change in regional or national economic conditions as discussed in these risk factors and a change in the length of time loans are delinquent before claims are received. Generally, the longer a loan is delinquent before a claim is received, the greater the severity. Forbearance programs intended to preserve homeownership for borrowers at risk of foreclosure increase the average time it takes to receive claims. Generally, losses follow a seasonal trend in which the first half of the year has stronger credit performance than the second half, with higher cure rates and lower new delinquency notice activity. The state of the economy, local housing markets, pandemics, natural disasters, and various other factors, may result in delinquencies not following the typical pattern.
We are subject to comprehensive regulation and other requirements, which we may fail to satisfy.
We are subject to comprehensive regulation, including by state insurance departments. Many regulations are designed for the protection of our insured policyholders and consumers, rather than for the benefit of investors. Mortgage insurers, including MGIC, have in the past been involved in litigation and regulatory actions related to alleged violations of the anti-referral fee provisions of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), and the notice provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"). While these proceedings in the aggregate did not result in material liability for MGIC, there can be no assurance that the outcome of future proceedings, if any, under these laws or others would not have a material adverse effect on us.
In the past we have provided contract underwriting services, including on loans for which we are not providing mortgage insurance. These services are subject to contractual obligations and federal and state regulation. Our failure to meet the standards set forth in the applicable contracts or regulations would subject us to potential litigation or regulatory action. To the extent that we are construed to have made independent credit decisions in connection with our contract underwriting activities, we also could be subject to increased regulatory requirements under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA"), FCRA, and other laws. Under relevant laws, examination may also be made of whether a mortgage insurer's underwriting decisions have a disparate impact on persons belonging to a protected class in violation of the law.
Although their scope varies, state insurance laws generally grant broad supervisory powers to agencies or officials to examine insurance companies and enforce rules or exercise discretion affecting almost every significant aspect of the insurance business, including payment for the referral of insurance business, establishing premium rates, discrimination in pricing and underwriting, and minimum capital requirements. The increased use by the private mortgage insurance industry of risk-based pricing systems that establish premium rates based on more attributes than previously considered, and of algorithms, artificial intelligence and data and analytics, has led to additional regulatory scrutiny of these and other matters such as data privacy and access to insurance. For more information about state capital requirements, see our risk factor titled “ State capital requirements may prevent us from continuing to write new insurance on an uninterrupted basis .” For information about regulation of data privacy, see our risk factor titled “ We could be materially adversely affected by a cybersecurity breach or failure of information security controls .” For more details about the various ways in which our subsidiaries are regulated, see “Business - Regulation” in Item 1 of our Annual Report in this Form 10-K.
While we have established policies and procedures to comply with applicable laws and regulations, many such laws and regulations are complex and it is not possible to predict the eventual scope, duration or outcome of any reviews or investigations. A regulatory action against us could have an adverse material adverse effect on our reputation, business and financial results.
The effects of pandemics, severe weather events, or other disasters may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Pandemics and other disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and floods, or other events related to climate change, could trigger an economic downturn in the affected areas, or in areas with similar risks, which could result in a decrease in home prices, an increased claim rate and increased claim severity in those areas. Due to the increased frequency and severity of natural disasters, some homeowners' insurers are increasing premium rates or withdrawing from certain states or areas that they deem to be high risk. Even though we do not generally insure losses related to property damage, the inability of a borrower to obtain hazard and/or
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flood insurance, or the increased cost of such insurance, could lead to a decrease in home prices in the affected areas and an increase in delinquencies and our incurred losses.
The PMIERs require us to maintain significantly more "Minimum Required Assets" for delinquent loans than for performing loans. See our risk factor titled "We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility."
Pandemics and other disasters could also lead to increased reinsurance rates or reduced availability of reinsurance. This may cause us to retain more risk than we otherwise would and could negatively affect our compliance with the financial requirements of State Capital Requirements and the PMIERs. Similarly, pandemics and other disasters may impact the value of and cause volatility in our investment portfolio, which could also negatively affect our compliance with the financial requirements of PMIERs.
To the extent that government authorities, including FHFA and the GSEs, change their approach to the management of climate risk (including through GSE guideline or mortgage insurance policy changes) those changes could affect the volume and characteristics of our NIW (including its policy terms), and home prices and defaults in certain areas, in turn impacting our business and financial results.
Reinsurance may be unavailable at current levels and prices, and/or the GSEs may reduce the amount of capital credit we receive for our reinsurance transactions.
We have in place QSR and XOL reinsurance transactions providing various amounts of coverage on our risk in force as of December 31, 2025. Refer to Part II, Item 8, Note 7 – “Reinsurance” and Part II, Item 7 “Consolidated Results of Operations – Reinsurance Transactions” of our Annual Report in this Form 10-K, for more information about coverage under our reinsurance transactions. The reinsurance transactions reduce the tail-risk associated with stress scenarios. As a result, they reduce the risk-based capital that we are required to hold to support the risk and they allow us to earn higher returns on risk-based capital for our business than we would without them. However, market conditions impact the availability and cost of reinsurance. Reinsurance may not always be available to us, or available only on terms or at costs that we consider unacceptable. If we are not able to obtain reinsurance we will be required to hold additional capital to support our risk in force.
Reinsurance transactions subject us to counterparty risk, including the financial capability of the reinsurers to make payments for losses ceded to them under the reinsurance agreements. As reinsurance does not relieve us of our obligation to pay claims to our policyholders, our inability to recover losses from a reinsurer could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
Additionally, the GSEs may change the credit they allow under the PMIERs for risk ceded under our reinsurance transactions. In addition, we may not receive the same level of credit under future reinsurance transactions that we receive under existing transactions. Refer to “Consolidated Results of Operations – Reinsurance Transactions” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report in this Form 10-K for information about the calculated PMIERs credit for our XOL transactions. At present, the GSE capital framework provides more capital credit for transactions with higher rated counterparties, as well as those who are diversified. If the GSEs were to reduce the credit that we receive for reinsurance under the PMIERs, it could result in decreased returns absent an increase in our premium rates. An increase in our premium rates to adjust for a decrease in reinsurance credit may lead to a decrease in our NIW and net income.
Because we establish loss reserves only upon a loan delinquency rather than based on estimates of our ultimate losses on risk in force, losses may have a disproportionate adverse effect on our earnings in certain periods.
In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, we establish case reserves for insurance losses and loss adjustment expenses only when delinquency notices are received for insured loans that are two or more payments past due and for loans we estimate are delinquent but for which delinquency notices have not yet been received (which we include in “IBNR”). Losses that may occur from loans that are not delinquent are not reflected in our financial statements, except when a "premium deficiency" is recorded. A premium deficiency would be recorded if the present value of expected future losses and expenses exceeds the present value of expected future premiums, anticipated investment income, and already established loss reserves on the applicable loans. As a result, future losses incurred on loans that are not currently delinquent may have a material impact on future results as delinquencies emerge.
State capital requirements may prevent us from continuing to write new insurance on an uninterrupted basis.
The insurance laws of 16 jurisdictions, including Wisconsin, MGIC's domiciliary state, require a mortgage insurer to maintain a minimum amount of statutory capital relative to its risk in force (or a similar measure) in order for the mortgage insurer to continue to write new business. We refer to these requirements as the “State Capital Requirements.” While they vary among jurisdictions, the most common State Capital Requirements allow for a maximum risk-to-capital ratio of 25 to 1. A risk-to-capital ratio will increase if (i) the percentage decrease in capital exceeds the percentage decrease in insured risk, or (ii) the percentage increase in capital is less than the percentage increase in insured risk. Wisconsin does not regulate capital by using a risk-to-capital measure but instead requires a minimum policyholder position (“MPP”). MGIC's “policyholder position” includes its net worth, or surplus, and its contingency reserve.
Our risk-to-capital ratio and MPP reflect credit for the risk ceded under our reinsurance agreements with unaffiliated reinsurers . If MGIC is not allowed an agreed level of credit under the State Capital Requirements, MGIC may terminate the reinsurance transactions, without penalty.
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In 2023, the NAIC adopted a revised Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Model Act. The updated Model Act includes requirements relating to, among other things: (i) capital and minimum capital requirements, and contingency reserves; (ii) restrictions on mortgage insurers’ investments in notes secured by mortgages; (iii) prudent underwriting standards and formal underwriting guidelines; (iv) the establishment of formal, internal “Mortgage Guaranty Quality Control Programs” with respect to in-force business; and (v) reinsurance and prohibitions on captive reinsurance arrangements. It is uncertain when the revised Model Act will be adopted in any jurisdiction. The provisions of the Model Act, if adopted in their final form, are not expected to have a material adverse effect on our business. It is unknown whether any changes will be made by state legislatures prior to adoption, and the effect changes, if any, will have on the mortgage guaranty insurance market generally, or on our business. Wisconsin, where MGIC is domiciled, has begun the process to replace current mortgage insurance regulations with the Model Act; however it is expected that modifications will be made before formal adoption.
While MGIC currently meets the State Capital Requirements of Wisconsin and all other jurisdictions, it could be prevented from writing new business in the future in all jurisdictions if it fails to meet the State Capital Requirements of Wisconsin, or it could be prevented from writing new business in a particular jurisdiction if it fails to meet the State Capital Requirements of that jurisdiction, and in each case if MGIC does not obtain a waiver of such requirements. It is possible that regulatory action by one or more jurisdictions, including those that do not have specific State Capital Requirements, may prevent MGIC from continuing to write new insurance in such jurisdictions. If we are unable to write business in a particular jurisdiction, lenders may be unwilling to procure insurance from us anywhere. In addition, a lender’s assessment of the future ability of our insurance operations to meet the State Capital Requirements or the PMIERs may affect its willingness to procure insurance from us. In this regard, see our risk factor titled “Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and/or increase our losses.” A possible future failure by MGIC to meet the State Capital Requirements or the PMIERs will not necessarily mean that MGIC lacks sufficient resources to pay claims on its insurance liabilities. You should read the rest of these risk factors for information about matters that could negatively affect MGIC’s compliance with State Capital Requirements and its claims paying resources.
If the volume of low down payment home mortgage originations declines, the amount of insurance that we write could decline.
The factors that may affect the volume of low down payment mortgage originations include the health of the U.S. economy; conditions in regional and local economies and the level of consumer confidence; the health and stability of the financial services industry; restrictions on mortgage credit due to more stringent underwriting standards, liquidity issues or risk-retention and/or capital requirements affecting lenders; the level of home mortgage interest rates; housing affordability; new and existing housing availability; the rate of household formation, which is influenced, in part, by population and immigration trends; homeownership rates; the rate of home price appreciation, which in times of heavy refinancing can affect whether refinanced loans have LTV ratios that require private mortgage insurance; the extent to which the GSEs' business practices shift the market away from the GSEs to the FHA, other government execution channels, or lender portfolios; tax policy; and government housing policy. A decline in the volume of low down payment home mortgage originations could decrease demand for mortgage insurance and limit our NIW. For other factors that could decrease the demand for mortgage insurance, see our risk factor titled “The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance.”
The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance.
Alternatives to private mortgage insurance include:
• investors using risk mitigation and credit risk transfer techniques other than private mortgage insurance, or accepting credit risk without credit enhancement;
• lenders and other investors holding mortgages in portfolio and self-insuring;
• lenders using FHA, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") and other government mortgage insurance programs; and
• lenders originating mortgages using piggyback structures to avoid private mortgage insurance, such as a first mortgage with an 80% loan-to-value ("LTV") ratio and a second mortgage with a 10%, 15% or 20% LTV ratio rather than a first mortgage with a 90%, 95% or 100% LTV ratio that has private mortgage insurance.
The GSEs’ charters generally require credit enhancement for a low down payment mortgage loan (a loan in an amount that exceeds 80% of a home’s value) in order for such loan to be eligible for purchase by the GSEs. Private mortgage insurance generally has been purchased by lenders in primary mortgage market transactions to satisfy this credit enhancement requirement. In 2018, the GSEs initiated secondary mortgage market programs with loan level mortgage default coverage provided by various (re)insurers that are not mortgage insurers governed by PMIERs, and that are not selected by the lenders. These programs, which currently account for a small percentage of the low down payment market, compete with traditional private mortgage insurance and, due to differences in policy terms, they may offer premium rates that are below prevalent single premium lender-paid mortgage insurance ("LPMI") rates. We participate in these programs from time to time. See our risk factor titled “ Changes in the business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ("the GSEs"), federal legislation that changes their charters or a restructuring of the GSEs could reduce our revenues or increase our losses” for a discussion of various business practices of the GSEs that may be changed, including through expansion or modification of these programs.
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The GSEs (and other investors) have also used other forms of credit enhancement that did not involve traditional private mortgage insurance, such as engaging in credit-linked note transactions executed in the capital markets, or using other forms of debt issuances or securitizations that transfer credit risk directly to other investors, including competitors and an affiliate of MGIC; using other risk mitigation techniques in conjunction with reduced levels of private mortgage insurance coverage; or accepting credit risk without credit enhancement.
Government-supported mortgage insurance programs are not subject to the same capital requirements, risk tolerance or business objectives as private mortgage insurance companies and generally have greater financial flexibility in setting their pricing, guidelines and capacity, which could put us at a competitive disadvantage. If the FHA or other government-supported mortgage insurance programs increase their share of the mortgage insurance market, our business could be affected. Factors that influence market share include relative rates and fees, underwriting guidelines and loan limits of the FHA, VA, private mortgage insurers and the GSEs; changes to the GSEs' business practices; lenders' perceptions of legal risks under FHA versus GSE programs; flexibility for the FHA to establish new products as a result of federal legislation and programs; returns expected to be obtained by lenders for Ginnie Mae securitization of FHA-insured loans compared to those obtained from selling loans to the GSEs for securitization; and differences in policy terms, such as the ability of a borrower to cancel insurance coverage under certain circumstances.
The FHA's share of the low down payment residential mortgages that were subject to FHA, VA, USDA or primary private mortgage insurance was 34.3% in 2025, 33.5% in 2024, and 33.2% in 2023. Since 2012, the FHA’s market share has been as low as 23.4% (2020) and as high as 42.1% (in 2012). Generally, we expect FHA market share to increase in environments with lower origination volume.
The VA's share of the low down payment residential mortgages that were subject to FHA, VA, USDA or primary private mortgage insurance was 26.8% in 2025, 24.5% in 2024, and 21.5% in 2023. Since 2012, the VA's market share has been as high as 30.9% (in 2020). The VA's 2023 market share was the lowest since 2013 (22.8%). The VA program offers 100% LTV ratio loans for qualifying borrowers.
In July 2023, the Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed a revised regulatory capital rule, known as the Basel III End Game, that would impose higher capital standards on large U.S. banks. Under the proposed regulation's new expanded risk-based approach, it was interpreted that affected banks would no longer receive risk-based capital relief for mortgage insurance on loans held in their portfolios. In September 2024, it was announced that regulators may revise the proposed rule, including by lowering the proposed-risk weighting for loans secured by residential real estate. In November 2024, it was announced that the proposed rule will be placed on hold. It is possible that in the future the proposed rule could be re-proposed or an entirely different proposal could be made.
The length of time our insurance policies remain in force has a significant impact on our results.
The premium from a single premium policy is collected upfront and generally earned over the estimated life of the policy. In contrast, premiums from monthly and annual premium policies are received each month or year, as applicable, and earned each month over the life of the policy. In each year, most of our premiums earned are from insurance that has been written in prior years. As a result, the length of time insurance remains in force, which is generally measured by annual persistency (the percentage of our insurance remaining in force from one year prior), is a significant determinant of our revenues. A higher than expected persistency rate may decrease the profitability from single premium policies because they will remain in force longer and may increase the incidence of claims that was estimated when the policies were written. A low persistency rate on monthly and annual premium policies will reduce future premiums but may also reduce the incidence of claims, while a high persistency on those policies will increase future premiums but may increase the incidence of claims.
Our persistency rate is primarily affected by the level of current mortgage interest rates compared to the mortgage coupon rates on our insurance in force, which affects the vulnerability of the IIF to refinancing; and the current amount of equity that borrowers have in the homes underlying our insurance in force. The amount of equity affects persistency in the following ways:
• Borrowers with significant equity may be able to refinance their loans without requiring mortgage insurance.
• The Homeowners Protection Act (“HOPA”) requires servicers to cancel mortgage insurance when a borrower’s LTV ratio meets or is scheduled to meet certain levels, generally based on the original value of the home and subject to various conditions and exclusions.
• The GSEs’ mortgage insurance cancellation guidelines apply more broadly than HOPA and also consider a home’s current value. For more information about the GSEs' guidelines and business practices, and how they may change, see our risk factor titled “ Changes in the business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ("the GSEs") , federal legislation that changes their charters or a restructuring of the GSEs could reduce our revenues or increase our losses. ”
We are susceptible to disruptions in the servicing of mortgage loans that we insure and we rely on third-party reporting for information regarding the mortgage loans we insure.
We depend on reliable, consistent third-party servicing of the loans that we insure. An increase in delinquent loans may result in liquidity issues for servicers. When a mortgage loan that is collateral for a mortgage-backed security ("MBS") becomes delinquent, the servicer is usually required to continue to pay principal and interest to the MBS investors, generally for four months, even though the servicer is not receiving payments from borrowers. This may cause liquidity issues, especially for non-bank servicers (who service approximately 59% of the loans underlying our IIF as of December 31, 2025) because they do not have the same sources of liquidity that bank
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servicers have. Consolidation in the mortgage servicing market may also lead to increased risk as a large servicer's operational failures, system outages, or policy changes could affect a larger portion of our IIF.
Servicers who experience future liquidity issues may be less likely to advance premiums to us on policies covering delinquent loans or to remit premiums on policies covering loans that are not delinquent. Our policies generally allow us to cancel coverage on loans that are not delinquent if the premiums are not paid within a grace period.
An increase in delinquent loans or a transfer of servicing resulting from liquidity issues, may increase the operational burden on servicers, cause a disruption in the servicing of delinquent loans and reduce servicers’ abilities to undertake mitigation efforts that could help limit our losses.
We have delegated authority to the GSEs to implement certain loss mitigation options (e.g., modifications, short sales, and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure) on certain loans we insure. The GSEs in turn have delegated such authority to most of their approved servicers, pursuant to delegation agreements. Servicers who service GSE-owned loans are required to operate under the GSEs' required standards in accepting certain loss mitigation alternatives. We rely on these servicers to appropriately make decisions to mitigate our exposure to loss. In some cases, loss mitigation decisions may not be favorable to us and may increase the incidence and/or severity of paid claims. Ineffective delegation procedures or the failure of servicers to operate pursuant to required standards may increase our losses and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. We may terminate delegation of some of these loss mitigation decisions to the GSEs; however, such termination may adversely affect our relationships with the GSEs and servicers.
The information presented in this report and on our website with respect to the mortgage loans we insure is based on information reported to us by third parties, including the servicers and originators of the mortgage loans, and information presented may be subject to lapses or inaccuracies in reporting from such third parties. In many cases, we may not be aware that information reported to us is incorrect until such time as a claim is made against us under the relevant insurance policy. We do not consistently receive monthly policy status information from servicers for single premium policies and may not be aware that the mortgage loans insured by such policies have been repaid. We periodically attempt to determine if coverage is still in force on such policies by asking the last servicer of record or through the periodic reconciliation of loan information with certain servicers. It may be possible that our reports continue to reflect, as active, policies on mortgage loans that have been repaid.
Risk Factors Relating to Our Business Generally
If our risk management programs are not effective in identifying, controlling or mitigating the risks we face, or if the models we use are inaccurate, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our enterprise risk management program, described in "Business - Our Products and Services - Risk Management" in Item 1 of our Annual Report in this Form 10-K, may not be effective in identifying, or adequate in controlling or mitigating, the risks we face in our business.
We employ proprietary and third-party models for a wide range of purposes, including the following: projecting losses, premiums, expenses, and returns; pricing products; determining the techniques used to underwrite insurance; estimating reserves; evaluating risk; determining internal capital requirements; procuring automated valuations; and performing stress testing. These models rely on estimates, projections, and assumptions that are inherently uncertain and may not always operate as intended. This can be especially true when extraordinary events occur, such as wars, periods of extreme inflation, pandemics, or environmental disasters related to changing climatic conditions. In addition, our models are continuously updated over time. Changes in models or model assumptions could lead to material changes in our future expectations, returns, or financial results. The models we employ are complex, which could increase our risk of error in their design, implementation, or use. Also, the associated input data, assumptions, and calculations may not always be correct or accurate and the controls we have in place to mitigate these risks may not be effective in all cases. The risks related to our models may increase when we change assumptions, methodologies, or modeling platforms. Moreover, we may use information we receive through enhancements to refine or otherwise change existing assumptions and/or methodologies.
Failed, disrupted, or inadequate information technology systems may materially impact our operations and/or adversely affect our financial results.
We are heavily dependent on our information technology systems to conduct our business. Our ability to efficiently operate our business depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of our systems and technology. The failure of our systems and technology, or our disaster recovery and business continuity plans, to operate effectively could affect our ability to provide our products and services to customers, reduce efficiency, or cause delays in operations. Significant capital investments might be required to remediate any such problems. We are also dependent on our ongoing relationships with key technology providers, including provisioning of their services, products and technologies, and their ability to support those products and technologies. The inability of these providers to successfully provide and support those products could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
From time to time we upgrade, automate or otherwise transform our information systems, business processes, risk-based pricing system, and our system for evaluating risk. Certain information systems have been in place for a number of years and it has become increasingly difficult to support their operation. The implementation of technological and business process improvements, as well as their integration with customer and third-party systems when applicable, is complex, expensive and time consuming.
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Technological advancements are occurring at a rapid pace. If we are unable to effectively deploy technology such as artificial intelligence ("AI"), our business and results of operations may be materially affected. Technological advancements must also be implemented in compliance with applicable laws, exposing us to regulatory action or legal liability that may have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to timely and successfully implement and integrate new technology systems, if third party providers upon which we are reliant do not perform as expected, if our legacy systems fail to operate as required, or if the upgraded systems and/or transformed and automated business processes do not operate as expected, it could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
We could be materially adversely affected by a cybersecurity breach or failure of information security controls.
As part of our business, we maintain large amounts of confidential and proprietary information both on our own servers and those of cloud computing services. This includes personal information of consumers and our employees. Personal information is subject to an increasing number of federal and state laws and regulations regarding privacy and data security, as well as contractual commitments. Any failure or perceived failure by us, or by the vendors with whom we share this information, to comply with such obligations may result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, litigation, increased costs, regulatory penalties or customer dissatisfaction.
All information technology systems are potentially vulnerable to damage or interruption from a variety of sources, including by cyber attacks, such as those involving ransomware. We regularly defend against threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks, unauthorized access, system failures and disruptions. Threats have the potential to jeopardize the information processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks and otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations, which could result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, litigation, increased costs, regulatory penalties or customer dissatisfaction. We could be similarly affected by threats against our vendors and/or third-parties with whom we share information.
Globally, attacks are expected to continue accelerating in both frequency and sophistication with increasing use by actors of tools and techniques that may hinder our ability to identify, investigate and recover from incidents. The development and use of AI may increase our information security risks. For example, it may be more difficult to defend against cybersecurity breaches if AI is used to create attacks or bypass security measures. The relative newness of AI technology, and the lack of uniform laws, regulations or standards governing its use may also increase the risk of misuse by us or by third parties with whom we do business. Cyber attacks may additionally increase as a result of retaliation by threat actors against actions taken by the U.S. and other countries in connection with wars and other global events. We operate under a hybrid workforce model and such model may be more vulnerable to security breaches.
While we have information security policies and systems in place to secure our information technology systems and to prevent unauthorized access to or disclosure of sensitive information, there can be no assurance with respect to our systems and those of our third-party vendors that unauthorized access to the systems or disclosure of sensitive information, either through the actions of third parties or employees, will not occur. Due to our reliance on information technology systems, including ours and those of our customers and third-party service providers, and to the sensitivity of the information that we maintain, unauthorized access to the systems or disclosure of the information could adversely affect our reputation, severely disrupt our operations, result in a loss of business and expose us to material claims for damages and may require that we provide free credit monitoring services to individuals affected by a security breach.
Should we experience an unauthorized disclosure of information or a cyber attack, including those involving ransomware, some of the costs we incur may not be recoverable through insurance, or legal or other processes, and this may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our underwriting practices and the mix of business we write affects our Minimum Required Assets under the PMIERs, our premium yields and the likelihood of claims.
The Minimum Required Assets under the PMIERs are, in part, a function of the direct risk-in-force and the risk profile of the loans we insure, considering LTV ratio, credit score, vintage, Home Affordable Refinance Program ("HARP") status and delinquency status; and whether the loans were insured under lender-paid mortgage insurance policies or other policies that are not subject to automatic termination consistent with the Homeowners Protection Act requirements for borrower-paid mortgage insurance. Therefore, if our direct risk-in-force increases through increases in NIW, or if our mix of business changes to include loans with higher LTV ratios or lower credit scores, for example, all other things equal, we will be required to hold more Available Assets in order to maintain GSE eligibility.
As discussed in our risk factor titled " Reinsurance may be unavailable at current levels and prices, and/or the GSEs may reduce the amount of capital credit we receive for our reinsurance transactions ," we have in place various QSR transactions. Although the transactions reduce our premiums, they have a lesser impact on our overall results, as losses ceded under the transactions reduce our losses incurred and the ceding commissions we receive reduce our underwriting expenses. The effect of the QSR transactions on the various components of pre-tax income will vary from period to period, depending on the level of ceded losses incurred. We also have in place various XOL reinsurance transactions under which we cede premiums. Under the XOL reinsurance transactions, for the respective
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reinsurance coverage periods, we retain the first layer of aggregate losses and the reinsurers provide second layer coverage up to the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount.
In addition to the effect of reinsurance on our premiums, if credit performance remains strong and loss ratios remain low, we expect a decline in our in force portfolio yield over time as competition in the industry results in lower premium rates. Refinance transactions on single premium policies benefit the yield due to the impact of accelerated earned premium from cancellation prior to their estimated life. Recent low levels of refinance transactions have reduced that benefit.
Our ability to rescind insurance coverage became more limited for new insurance written beginning in mid-2012, and it became further limited for new insurance written under our revised master policy that became effective March 1, 2020. These limitations may result in higher losses paid than would be the case under our previous master policies.
From time to time, in response to market conditions, we change the types of loans that we insure. We also may change our underwriting guidelines, including by agreeing with certain approval recommendations from a GSE automated underwriting system. We also make exceptions to our underwriting requirements on a loan-by-loan basis and for certain customer programs. Our underwriting requirements are available on our website at http://www.mgic.com/underwriting.
Even when home prices are stable or rising, mortgages with certain characteristics have higher probabilities of claims. In general, these characteristics include mortgages with high LTV and DTI ratios, low credit scores, mortgages with limited underwriting, and/or mortgages with limited borrower documentation. Each of these attributes is determined at the time of loan origination. Certain loans we insure may have more than one of these attributes. When home prices increase, interest rates increase and/or the percentage of our NIW from purchase transactions increases, our NIW on mortgages with higher LTV ratios and higher DTI ratios may increase. Our NIW on mortgages with LTV ratios greater than 95% was 15% in 2025 and 14% in 2024. Our NIW on mortgages with DTI ratios greater than 45% was 27% in 2025 and 29% in 2024. Our NIW on mortgages with borrowers having FICO scores less than 680 was 4% in 2025 and 4% in 2024.
From time to time, we change the processes we use to underwrite loans. For example: we rely on information provided to us by lenders that was obtained from certain of the GSEs’ automated appraisal and income verification tools, which may produce results that differ from the results that would have been determined using different methods; we accept GSE appraisal waivers for certain loans; and we accept GSE appraisal flexibilities that allow property valuations in certain transactions to be based on appraisals that do not involve an onsite or interior inspection of the property. Our acceptance of automated GSE appraisal and income verification tools, GSE appraisal waivers and GSE appraisal flexibilities may affect our pricing and risk assessment. We also continue to further automate our underwriting processes and it is possible that our automated processes result in our insuring loans that we would have insured at a different premium rate or not otherwise have insured under our prior processes.
Approximately 70% of our NIW in 2025 and 71% of our 2024 NIW was originated under delegated underwriting programs pursuant to which the loan originators had authority on our behalf to underwrite the loans for our mortgage insurance. For loans originated through a delegated underwriting program, we depend on the originators' compliance with our guidelines and rely on the originators' representations that the loans being insured satisfy the underwriting guidelines, eligibility criteria and other requirements. While we have established systems and processes to monitor whether certain aspects of our underwriting guidelines were being followed by the originators, such systems may not ensure that the guidelines were being strictly followed at the time the loans were originated.
The widespread use of risk-based pricing systems by the private mortgage insurance industry (discussed in our risk factor titled "Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and / or increase our losses" ) makes it more difficult to compare our premium rates to those offered by our competitors. We may not be aware of industry rate changes until we observe that our mix of new insurance written has changed and our mix may fluctuate more as a result.
The premiums we charge may not be adequate to compensate us for our liabilities for losses and as a result any inadequacy could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our premium rates are calculated using proprietary models that assess likely performance of the insured risk over the long term. These models leverage historical data and incorporate factors such as geographic location, LTV, DTI and credit score. There can be no assurance that our premium rates adequately reflect increased risk that may arise in periods of economic recession, high unemployment, slowing home price appreciation or home price declines, or when extraordinary events occur, such as pandemics, wars, periods of extreme inflation, or environmental disasters related to changing climactic conditions. Generally, we cannot cancel mortgage insurance coverage or adjust renewal premiums during the life of a policy. As a result, changes in economic conditions or the practices of the GSEs, higher than anticipated claims, or other unexpected events generally cannot be addressed by premium increases on policies in force or mitigated by our non-renewal or cancellation of insurance coverage. Our premiums are subject to approval by state regulatory agencies, which can delay or limit our ability to increase premiums on future policies. In addition, our customized rate plans may delay our ability to increase premiums on future policies covered by such plans. The premiums we charge, the investment income we earn and the amount of reinsurance we carry may not be adequate to compensate us for the risks and costs associated with the insurance coverage provided to customers. An increase in the number or size of claims, compared to what we anticipated when we set the premiums, could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. For a discussion of the risks associated with our models, see our risk factor titled " If our risk management programs are not effective in identifying, controlling or mitigating the risks we face, or if the models we use are inaccurate, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. "
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Our premium rates are also based in part on the amount of capital we are required to hold against the insured risk. If the amount of capital we are required to hold increases from the amount we were required to hold when we set the premiums, our returns may be lower than we assumed. For a discussion of the amount of capital we are required to hold, see our risk factor titled " We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility ."
If state or federal regulations or statutes are changed in ways that ease mortgage lending standards and/or requirements, or if lenders seek ways to replace business in times of lower mortgage originations, it is possible that more mortgage loans could be originated with higher risk characteristics than are currently being originated, such as loans with lower credit scores and higher DTI ratios. Lenders could pressure mortgage insurers to insure such loans, which are expected to experience higher claim rates. Although we attempt to incorporate these higher expected claim rates into our underwriting and pricing models, there can be no assurance that the premiums earned and the associated investment income will be adequate to compensate for actual losses paid even under our current underwriting requirements.
Actual or perceived instability in the financial services industry or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties could materially impact our business.
Limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry with which we do business, or concerns or rumors about the possibility of such events, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. Such conditions may negatively impact our results and/or financial condition. While we are unable to predict the full impact of these conditions, they may lead to among other things: disruption to the mortgage market, delayed access to deposits or other financial assets; losses of deposits in excess of federally-insured levels; reduced access to, or increased costs associated with, funding sources and other credit arrangements adequate to finance our current or future operations; increased regulatory pressure; the inability of our counterparties and/or customers to meet their obligations to us; economic downturn; and rising unemployment levels. Refer to our risk factor titled “ Economic downturns and/or declines in home prices may lead to increased losses. ” for more information about the potential effects of a deterioration of economic conditions on our business.
We routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including commercial banks, brokers and dealers, investment banks, reinsurers, and our customers. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk and losses in the event of a default by a counterparty or customer. Any such losses could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on our management team and our business could be harmed if we are unable to retain qualified personnel or successfully develop and/or recruit their replacements.
Our success depends, in part, on the skills, working relationships and continued services of our management team and other key personnel. The unexpected departure of key personnel or inadequate succession planning could adversely affect the conduct of our business. In such event, we would be required to obtain other personnel to manage and operate our business. In addition, we will be required to replace the knowledge and expertise of our aging workforce as our workers retire. In either case, there can be no assurance that we would be able to develop or recruit suitable replacements for the departing individuals; that replacements could be hired, if necessary, on terms that are favorable to us; or that we can successfully transition such replacements in a timely manner. We currently have not entered into any employment agreements with our officers or key personnel. Volatility or lack of performance in our stock price may affect our ability to retain our key personnel or attract replacements should key personnel depart. Without a properly skilled and experienced workforce, our costs, including productivity costs and costs to replace employees may increase, and this could negatively impact our earnings.
Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and / or increase our losses.
The mortgage insurance industry is highly competitive. We expect competition to increase from both existing competitors and new market entrants. Our competitors primarily include other private mortgage insurers and governmental agencies, principally the FHA and VA. We believe we currently compete with other private mortgage insurers based on premium rates, underwriting requirements, financial strength (including based on credit or financial strength ratings), customer relationships, name recognition, reputation, strength of management teams and field organizations, the ancillary products and services provided to lenders, and the effective use of technology and innovation in the delivery and servicing of our mortgage insurance products.
Recently reported increases in the credit quality of borrowers, and the relative financial results of the existing mortgage insurance companies, may encourage new entrants into the private mortgage insurance industry, which could further increase competition in our business. Based on public disclosures, a potential new market entrant intends to begin writing mortgage insurance in 2026. Changes in the competitive landscape, including as a result of this or other new market entrants, may adversely impact our results.
Our relationships with our customers, which may affect the amount of our NIW, could be adversely affected by a variety of factors, including if our premium rates are higher than those of our competitors, our underwriting requirements are more restrictive than those of our competitors, our customers are dissatisfied with our claims-paying practices (including insurance policy rescissions and claim curtailments), or the availability of alternatives to mortgage insurance.
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In recent years, pricing has become a key competitive factor in the private mortgage insurance market, with an increasing number of customers prioritizing the lowest premium rate available for any particular loan. The industry has materially reduced its use of standard rate cards, which were fairly consistent among competitors, and correspondingly increased its use of (i) pricing systems that use a spectrum of filed rates to allow for formulaic, risk-based pricing based on multiple attributes that may be quickly adjusted within certain parameters, and (ii) customized rate plans pursuant to which rates may be available to customers for a defined period of time. The widespread use of risk-based pricing systems by the private mortgage insurance industry makes it more difficult to compare our rates to those offered by our competitors. We may not be aware of industry rate changes until we observe that our volume of NIW has changed. In addition, business under customized rate plans is awarded by certain customers for only limited periods of time. As a result, our NIW may fluctuate more than it has in the past. Failure to maintain our business relationships and business volumes with our largest customers could materially impact our business. Regarding the concentration of our new business, our top ten customers accounted for approximately 32% and 37% in 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our largest customer accounted for approximately 16% and 21% of our NIW for 2025 and 2024, respectively. That customer accounted for approximately 11% and 10% of our direct earned premiums in each of 2025 and 2024, respectively. Loss of business from a significant customer may have a material adverse affect on our NIW, business, and results of operations.
We monitor various competitive and economic factors while seeking to balance both profitability and market share considerations in developing our pricing strategies. Our premium yield is expected to decline over time as older insurance policies with premium rates that are generally higher run off and new insurance policies with premium rates that are generally lower remain on our books.
Additionally, technological advancements and innovation are occurring at a rapid pace that may continue to accelerate. Our competitive position could be impacted if we are unable to develop and maintain technologies to meet changing customer preferences. Failure to utilize, in a cost effective and competitive manner, technology such as AI and machine learning may have an adverse effect on our customer relationships, results of operations, and financial condition.
Certain of our competitors have access to capital at a lower cost than we do (including, through off-shore intercompany reinsurance vehicles, which have tax advantages that may increase if U.S. corporate income taxes increase). As a result, they may be able to achieve higher after-tax rates of return on their NIW compared to us, which could allow them to leverage reduced premium rates to gain market share, and they may be better positioned to compete outside of traditional mortgage insurance, including by participating in alternative forms of credit enhancement pursued by the GSEs discussed in our risk factor titled "The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance ."
Adverse rating agency actions could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Financial strength and credit ratings are important to maintaining public confidence in our mortgage insurance coverage and our competitive position. PMIERs requires approved insurers to maintain at least one financial strength rating with a rating agency acceptable to the respective GSEs. Downgrades in our financial strength and/or credit ratings could materially affect our business and results of operations, including in the ways described below:
• Our failure to maintain a rating acceptable to the GSEs could impact our eligibility as an approved insurer under PMIERs.
• A downgrade in our financial strength ratings could result in increased scrutiny of our financial condition by the GSEs and/or our customers, potentially resulting in a decrease in the amount of our NIW.
• If we are unable to compete effectively in the future as a result of the financial strength ratings assigned to our insurance subsidiaries, our future NIW could be negatively affected.
• Our ability to participate in the non-GSE residential mortgage-backed securities market could depend on our ability to maintain and improve our investment grade ratings for our insurance subsidiaries. We could be competitively disadvantaged with some market participants because the financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries are lower than at least one of our competitors and some of our competitors have financial strength ratings from rating agencies that do not rate our insurance subsidiaries.
• Financial strength ratings may also play a greater role if the GSEs no longer operate in their current capacities, for example, due to legislative or regulatory action. In addition, although the PMIERs do not require minimum financial strength ratings, the GSEs consider financial strength ratings to be important when using forms of credit enhancement other than traditional mortgage insurance, as discussed in our risk factor titled " The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance or are unable to obtain capital relief for mortgage insurance." Although we are currently unaware of a direct impact on MGIC, this could potentially become a competitive disadvantage in the future.
• Downgrades to our ratings or the ratings of our mortgage insurance subsidiary could adversely affect the terms and cost of funds, liquidity, and access to capital markets .
We are subject to the risk of legal proceedings.
We operate in a highly regulated industry that is subject to the risk of litigation and regulatory proceedings, including related to our claims paying practices. From time to time, we are a party to material litigation and are also subject to legal and regulatory claims,
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assertions, actions, reviews, audits, inquiries and investigations. Additional lawsuits, legal and regulatory proceedings and inquiries or other matters may arise in the future. The outcome of future legal and regulatory proceedings, inquiries or other matters could result in adverse judgments, settlements, fines, injunctions, restitutions or other relief which could require significant expenditures or have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. See our risk factor titled " We are subject to comprehensive regulation and other requirements, which we may fail to satisfy" for additional information about risks related to government enforcement actions .
From time to time, we are involved in disputes and legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. In our opinion, based on the facts known at this time, the ultimate resolution of these ordinary course disputes and legal proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Under ASC 450-20, until a loss associated with settlement discussions or legal proceedings becomes probable and can be reasonably estimated, we do not accrue an estimated loss. When we determine that a loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated, we record our best estimate of our probable loss. In those cases, until settlement negotiations or legal proceedings are concluded it is possible that we will record an additional loss.
Our investment portfolio is subject to credit and interest rate risk, may suffer reduced or low returns, and/or material realized or unrealized losses.
Investment returns are an important part of our overall profitability. Our investments are subject to market risks and risks inherent in individual securities. Our investment performance is highly sensitive to many factors, including interest rates, inflation, monetary and fiscal policies, tax laws, and domestic and international political conditions. Additionally, realized and unrealized losses in our investment portfolio reduce our book value, and if material, could affect our ability to conduct business.
Changes in interest rates could impact the performance of the investment portfolio which could have an adverse effect on our investment income and operating results. A decline in interest rates reduces the returns available on short-term investments and new fixed investments, including those purchased to re-invest maturities from the existing portfolio, thereby negatively impacting our net investment income on a going-forward basis. Conversely, rising interest rates reduce the market value of existing fixed income investments, thereby negatively impacting our book value. The value of our fixed income investments and short-term investments is also subject to the risk that certain investments may default or become impaired due a deterioration in the financial condition of one or more issuers of the securities held in our portfolio, or due to a deterioration in the financial condition of an insurer that guarantees an issuer’s payments on such investments. Such defaults or impairments could reduce our net investment income and result in realized investment losses. During an economic downturn, fixed income and short-term investments could be subject to a higher risk of default.
A significant portion of our fixed income investment portfolio is invested in obligations of states, municipalities and political subdivisions. Our state and municipal investments could be subject to higher risk of default or impairment due to declining municipal tax bases and revenue. State and local governments may operate under deficits or projected deficits, the severity and duration of which could have an adverse impact on both the valuation of our state and municipal fixed income investments and the issuers ability to perform its obligations thereunder.
Our investment portfolio has benefited from certain tax exemptions (such as those related to interest from municipal bonds) and other tax laws. Changes in these laws could adversely impact the value of our investment portfolio.
Our investment portfolio may include: residential mortgage-backed securities; collateralized loan obligations; asset-backed securities; and commercial mortgage-backed securities, all of which could be adversely impacted by declines in real estate valuations. Some of our fixed income investments, such as mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities, also carry prepayment risk as a result of interest rate fluctuations.
Our investment portfolio is also subject to increased valuation uncertainties when investment markets are illiquid. The valuation of investments is more subjective when markets are illiquid, thereby increasing the risk that estimated fair values reflected in our financial statements is different than actual market prices. For additional information about the methodologies, estimates and assumptions we use in determining the fair value of our investments refer to Note 6 - "Fair Value Measurements" of Item 8 in Part II our Annual Report in this Form 10-K.
For the significant portion of the investment portfolio that is held by MGIC, insurance regulations limit the type and extent of the investments we can make and are generally more restrictive for those investments with more credit risk or less liquidity. Similarly, under the PMIERs, our Available Assets are reduced by exclusions, limitations and haircuts related to our investment portfolio composition. These reductions are generally higher for those investments with more credit risk or less liquidity.
The inability of our insurance subsidiaries to pay dividends in sufficient amounts would harm our ability to meet our obligations, pay future shareholder dividends and/or make future share repurchases.
MGIC Investment Corporation is the holding company for our insurance operating subsidiaries. At the holding company level, our principal assets are the shares of capital stock of our insurance company subsidiaries and cash and investments. Dividends and other permitted distributions from MGIC are the holding company's primary source of funds used to meet ongoing cash requirements, including future debt service payments, repurchases of its shares, payment of dividends to our shareholders, and other expenses. Other sources of holding company cash inflow include investment income and raising capital in the public markets. The payment of dividends from MGIC is subject to regulatory approval as described in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K. In general, dividends in excess of prescribed limits are deemed “extraordinary” and may not be paid if disapproved by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of the
MGIC Investment Corporation 2025 Form 10-K | 38
State of Wisconsin ("OCI"). The prescribed limits are based on a rolling 12-month period, and as such, the impact of the limitations will vary over time. Dividend payments from MGIC to the holding company are determined in consultation with the Board of Directors, and after considering any updated estimates about our business, subject to regulatory approval.
The long-term debt obligations are owed by the holding company and not its subsidiaries. The inability of MGIC to pay dividends (or other intercompany amounts due) in an amount sufficient to enable us to meet our cash requirements at the holding company level could have an adverse effect on our operations, and our ability to repay debt, repurchase shares and/or pay dividends to shareholders.
If any capital contributions to our subsidiaries are required, such contributions would decrease our holding company cash and investments.
Your ownership in our company may be diluted by additional capital that we raise.
As noted above under our risk factor titled “We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility,” although we are currently in compliance with the requirements of the PMIERs, there can be no assurance that we would not seek to issue additional debt capital or to raise additional equity or equity-linked capital to manage our capital position under the PMIERs or for other purposes. Any future issuance of equity securities may dilute your ownership interest in our company. In addition, the market price of our common stock could decline as a result of sales of a large number of shares or similar securities in the market or the perception that such sales could occur.
The price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, which may make it difficult for holders to resell common stock when they want or at a price they find attractive.
The market price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly. In addition to the risk factors described herein, the following factors may have an adverse impact on the market price for our common stock: changes in general conditions in the economy or the housing market, the mortgage insurance industry or the financial stability of markets and financial services industry; announcements by us or our competitors of acquisitions or strategic initiatives; our actual or anticipated quarterly and annual operating results; changes in expectations of future financial performance (including incurred losses on our insurance in force); changes in estimates of securities analysts or rating agencies; actual or anticipated changes in our share repurchase program or dividends; changes in operating performance or market valuation of companies in the mortgage insurance industry; the addition or departure of key personnel; failure to establish and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting, changes in tax law; and adverse press or news announcements affecting us or the industry. In addition, ownership by certain types of investors may affect the market price and trading volume of our common stock. For example, ownership in our common stock by investors such as index funds and exchange-traded funds can affect the stock’s price when those investors must purchase or sell our common stock because the investors have experienced significant cash inflows or outflows, the index to which our common stock belongs has been rebalanced, or our common stock is added to and/or removed from an index (due to changes in our market capitalization, for example).
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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 1C. Cybersecurity
Risk Management and Strategy
MGIC’s Information Security Program ("ISP") includes information security policies, annual risk assessments and analyses, threat monitoring and alerting, vulnerability management, incident response, and data loss prevention controls. With the ISP, MGIC seeks to prevent, detect, and respond to unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of confidential information.
MGIC’s Information Risk Management ("IRM") team is responsible for safeguarding the organization's information assets, data, and technology infrastructure from security threats and vulnerabilities. The IRM team’s primary focus is the protection of the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive information and compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards. The IRM team is currently overseen by the Company's Senior Director, Information Systems – Security Technology (“Senior Director”).
Our ISP is benchmarked against the National Institute of Standards and Technology ("NIST") Cybersecurity Framework. Additionally, various aspects of the ISP are subject to periodic audit by the Company’s Internal Audit department or third-party professionals engaged by the Internal Audit department. Such audits vary from year-to-year but are generally focused on compliance with stated control activities, standards, and internal policies, as well as maintaining the integrity and independence of the audit process. Cybersecurity risk reviews such as SOC2, SOX controls, penetration tests, and regulatory controls are conducted by independent third parties.
The ISP also incorporates a vendor due diligence process that is designed to assess vendor control environments and evaluate risks associated with vendor access to the Company's confidential data and systems. The process includes assessing and managing the cyber risks associated with engaging third-party vendors and reviewing their information security practices.
The ISP includes a Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) which is comprised of lead security engineers along with subject matter experts from applicable domains such as network, infrastructure, and application areas in order to evaluate the technical issues relative to the incident. The CIRT may engage third-party cybersecurity experts to evaluate and/or remediate an incident. In the event that the CIRT determines that there has been a cybersecurity incident or compromise of MGIC’s computer systems, the General Counsel will be notified, and, will advise the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), who is a member of the Board of Directors . In addition to advising the CEO, the General Counsel will also convene an established committee whose members include the General Counsel, Chief Financial and Risk Officer, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations, and Chief Accounting Officer in order to determine if the event is a material cybersecurity incident such that the Chairman of the Board, Lead Independent Director, and Chairpersons of the Board’s Business Technology and Transformation Committee (the “BTTC”) and Audit Committee should be notified.
To our knowledge, during the reporting period there were no cybersecurity incidents that materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategies, results of operations, or financial condition. Notwithstanding having implemented what we believe to be an appropriate ISP, no company is immune to cybersecurity threats, and we may not be successful in preventing or mitigating a future cybersecurity incident that could have a material adverse effect on our business. For additional information about risks related to cybersecurity, see our risk factors titled “ Failed, disrupted, or inadequate information technology systems may materially impact our operations and/or adversely affect our financial results ” and “ We could be materially adversely affected by a cybersecurity breach or failure of information security controls ."
Governance
The Senior Director currently reports to the President and Chief Operating Officer. The President and Chief Operating Officer, as well as senior members of the IRM team partner with the Company’s Risk, Audit, Legal and Compliance Departments to promote alignment of cybersecurity risk management strategy with the broader risk management strategy for the organization. The integration of information security into the overall enterprise risk management framework enables collaboration on the identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring of cybersecurity risks that have the potential to materially impact the operation of the Company.
The Risk Management Committee of the Board coordinates with the Board and other Board committees regarding the assignment to the Board and Committees of oversight responsibilities for all identified key risks to the Company. Risks related to cybersecurity are overseen by the BTTC. The BTTC monitors cybersecurity risks associated with both internal and external actors. Additional information about the BTTC’s role in overseeing risks related to cybersecurity and information technology generally can be found in the Committee’s Charter at mtg.mgic.com/corporate-governance/highlights. Risks related to AI are overseen by the Risk Management Committee of the Board.
The IRM team provides quarterly updates about the Company’s cybersecurity program to the BTTC. Updates may include topics such as management’s efforts to identify and monitor risks, investments to improve the Company’s detection and response systems, the results of risk assessments, compliance with controls, vendor oversight, strategic technology planning, and if necessary, the status of any new, ongoing, or prior cybersecurity incident. Senior members of the IRM team also periodically attend the BTTC meetings.
MGIC Investment Corporation 2025 Form 10-K | 40
The Company’s current Senior Director is responsible for assessing and managing the material risks posed by cybersecurity threats. He has over 20 years of experience in information technology and cybersecurity, with experience developing and implementing comprehensive security programs, risk management frameworks, and incident response strategies. He also holds several security-related certifications.
Item 2. Properties
At December 31, 2025, we had no office space leases in the United States that require monthly rental payments.
We own our headquarters facility located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which contains approximately 220,000 square feet of space.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Certain legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business may be filed or pending against us from time to time. For information about such legal proceedings, see Note 15 – "Litigation and Contingencies" to our consolidated financial statements in Item 8 .
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not Applicable.
Information About Our Executive Officers
Certain information with respect to our executive officers as of February 25, 2026 is set forth below:
Executive Officers of the Registrant
Name and Age
Title
Timothy J. Mattke, 50
Chief Executive Officer and Director of MGIC Investment Corporation and MGIC
Salvatore A. Miosi, 59
President and Chief Operating Officer of MGIC Investment Corporation and MGIC
Nathan H. Colson, 42
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of MGIC Investment Corporation and Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer of MGIC
Paula C. Maggio, 57
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of MGIC Investment Corporation and MGIC
Mr. Mattke has served as our Chief Executive Officer since 2019. Before then, he had been the Company’s Chief Financial Officer from 2014 to 2019, and its Controller from 2009 to 2014. He joined the Company in 2006. Prior to becoming Controller, he was Assistant Controller of MGIC beginning in 2007 and prior to that was a manager in MGIC’s accounting department. Before joining MGIC, Mr. Mattke was with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Company’s independent registered accounting firm.
Mr. Miosi has served as our President and Chief Operating Officer since 2019. Before then, he had been Executive Vice President – Business Strategy and Operations since 2017. He served as Senior Vice President – Business Strategy and Operations of MGIC from 2015 to 2017, and Vice President – Marketing from 2004 to 2015. Mr. Miosi joined the company in 1988 and has also held a variety of leadership positions in the operations, technology and marketing divisions.
Mr. Colson has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Risk Officer since April of 2024. He has been with MGIC since 2014, serving as Assistant Treasurer from 2016 to 2019, Vice President–Finance from January 2019 through July 2019, and as Chief Financial Officer from July 2019 to April 2024. Before joining MGIC, Mr. Colson was with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Company’s independent registered accounting firm.
Ms. Maggio joined the Company in 2018 and has served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since then. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Maggio had been Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Retail Properties of America, Inc. from 2016 to 2018, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (SHR) from 2012 to 2015, and in various other leadership roles with SHR since joining that firm in 2000. Prior to joining SHR, Ms. Maggio had been in private legal practice from 1994-2000.
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Part II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
(a) Our Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “MTG.”
As of February 20, 2026, the number of shareholders of record was 137. In addition, we estimate there are approximately 172,400 beneficial owners of shares held by brokers and fiduciaries.
Information regarding equity compensation plans is contained in Item 12 .
(b) Not applicable.
(c) Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table provides information about purchases of MGIC Investment Corporation common stock by us during the three months ended December 31, 2025.
Share Repurchases
Period Beginning
Period Ending
Total number of shares purchased
Average price paid per share
Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs
Approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the program (1)
(1) In April 2025, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program, authorizing us to purchase up to $750 million of common stock prior to December 31, 2027. Repurchases may be made from time to time on the open market (including through 10b5-1 plans) or through privately negotiated transactions. The repurchase program may be suspended for periods or discontinued at any time.
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MGIC Investment Corporation and Subsidiaries
Item 6. Reserved.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Introduction
As used below, “we” and “our” refer to MGIC Investment Corporation’s consolidated operations or to MGIC Investment Corporation, as a separate entity, as the context requires. References to "we" and "our" in the context of debt obligations refer to MGIC Investment Corporation. See the "Glossary of terms and acronyms" for definitions and descriptions of terms used throughout this annual report. The risk factors contained in Item 1A discuss trends and uncertainties affecting us and are an integral part of the MD&A.
The following is a discussion and analysis of the financial conditions and results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, including comparisons between 2025 and 2024. Comparisons between 2024 and 2023 have been omitted from this Form 10-K, but can be found in "Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC.
Forward Looking and Other Statements
As discussed under “Forward Looking Statements and Risk Factors” in " Item 1 . Business - A. General " of this Report, actual results may differ materially from the results contemplated by forward looking statements. We are not undertaking any obligation to update any forward looking statements or other statements we may make in the following discussion or elsewhere in this document even though these statements may be affected by events or circumstances occurring after the forward looking statements or other statements were made. Therefore, no reader of this document should rely on these statements being current as of any time other than the time at which this document was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Overview
The following discussion highlights factors influencing our financial results and results of operations and may not contain all of the information that is important to readers of this Annual Report. It should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes found under Item 8. contained herein.
Through MGIC, the principal subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corporation, we serve lenders throughout the United States helping families achieve homeownership sooner by making affordable low-down-payment mortgages a reality through the use of private mortgage insurance. As of December 31, 2025 MGIC had $303.1 billion of primary IIF.
Business Environment
Mortgage Insurance Market
The strong credit quality of our insurance portfolio reflects several years of favorable housing fundamentals, and in our view, favorable risk characteristics on our recently insured loans. Our IIF increased during the year as a result of an increase in NIW offset partially by cancellations. Refer to "Mortgage Insurance Portfolio" for information on our NIW mix during 2025.
Our NIW is affected by the total mortgage originations, the percentage of total mortgage originations using PMI, and our market share within the PMI industry.
The total amount of mortgage originations is generally influenced by the level of new and existing home sales, interest rates, the percentage of homes purchased for cash, and the level of refinance activity. PMI market share of total mortgage originations is influenced by the mix of purchase and refinance originations. PMI market share is also impacted by the market share of total originations of the FHA and VA, and other alternatives to mortgage insurance, including GSE programs that may reduce or eliminate the demand for mortgage insurance.
The increase in total mortgage originations in 2025 as compared with 2024 reflects a modest decrease in interest rates during 2025 contributing to an increase in refinance and purchase originations during the year. Total mortgage originations are forecasted to be higher in 2026, compared with 2025.
E - Estimated, F- Forecast
Source: Fannie Mae and MBA estimates/forecasts as of January 2026. Amounts represent the average of all sources.
Competitive Environment
The private mortgage insurance industry is highly competitive and is expected to remain so. We compete against five other private mortgage insurers, as well as governmental agencies, principally the FHA and VA.
The total estimated mortgage insurance volume is shown below.
Estimated Total of PMI, FHA, USDA, and VA Primary Mortgage Insurance
(in billions)
Year Ended December 31, 2025
Year Ended December 31, 2024
Primary mortgage insurance
Source: Inside Mortgage Finance - February 19, 2026 or SEC filings.
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PMI's market share is primarily impacted by competition from government mortgage insurance programs, particularly in segments of the market characterized by lower credit scores. The PMI industry's market share in 2025 decreased compared to the market share in 2024.
Estimated Primary MI Market Share
(% of total primary MI volume)
Year Ended December 31, 2025
Year Ended December 31, 2024
PMI
FHA
USDA
Source: Inside Mortgage Finance - February 19, 2026 or SEC filings.
MGIC's estimated market share within the PMI industry is shown in the table below.
Estimated MGIC Market Share
(% of total primary private MI volume)
Year Ended December 31, 2025
Year Ended December 31, 2024
MGIC
Source: Inside Mortgage Finance - February 19, 2026 or SEC filings.
We believe that we currently compete with other private mortgage insurers based on premium rates, underwriting requirements, financial strength (including based on credit or financial strength ratings), customer relationships, name recognition, reputation, strength of management teams and field organizations, and the effective use of technology and innovation in the delivery and servicing of our mortgage insurance products.
Pricing Practices
Pricing has become a key competitive factor in the private mortgage insurance market, with an increasing number of customers prioritizing the lowest premium rate available for any particular loan. The industry has materially reduced its use of standard rate cards, which were fairly consistent among competitors, and correspondingly increased its use of (i) "risk-based pricing systems" that use a spectrum of filed rates to allow for formulaic, risk-based pricing based on multiple attributes that may be quickly adjusted within certain parameters, and (ii) customized rate plans pursuant to which rates may be available to customers for a defined period of time. We monitor various competitive and economic factors while seeking to balance both profitability and market share considerations in developing our pricing strategies. For information about competition in the private mortgage insurance industry, see our risk factor titled “ Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and/or increase our losses" in Item 1A .
PMIERs
We operate under the requirements of the GSEs PMIERs and must maintain compliance with these requirements to be eligible to insure loans delivered to or purchased by that GSE. The PMIERs include financial requirements, as well as business, quality control and certain transaction approval requirements. The PMIERs provide that the GSEs may amend any provision of the PMIERs or impose additional requirements with an effective date specified by the GSEs.
The financial requirements of the PMIERs require a mortgage insurer’s “Available Assets” (generally only the most liquid assets of an insurer) to equal or exceed its “Minimum Required Assets” (which are generally based on an insurer’s book of risk in force and calculated from tables of factors with several risk dimensions, reduced for credit given for risk ceded under reinsurance agreements, and subject to a floor amount). Based on our application of the PMIERs as of December 31, 2025, MGIC’s Available Assets totaled $5.7 billion, or $2.5 billion in excess of its Minimum Required Assets.
MGIC is in compliance with the PMIERs and eligible to insure loans purchased by the GSEs; however, if our Available Assets fall below our Minimum Required Assets, we would not be in compliance with the PMIERs. Our ability to continue to comply with PMIERS financial requirements could be affected by several factors, including:
• Amendments to PMIERs, or changes to the way the GSEs interpret the existing PMIERs.
• An increase in the number of loan delinquencies. The PMIERs generally require us to hold significantly more Minimum Required Assets for delinquent loans than for performing loans, and the Minimum Required Assets required to be held increases as the number of payments missed on a delinquent loan increases. If we are required to hold more capital relative to our insured loans it could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
• The credit we receive for the investments in our investment portfolio. Under PMIERs, specified assets are excluded, limited or haircut for purposes of being counted as Available Assets.
• Changes to the amount of credit we receive for risk ceded under our QSR and XOL Transactions. Our reinsurance transactions enable us to earn higher returns on our Minimum Required Assets than we would without them because they generally reduce the Minimum Required Assets we must hold under PMIERs. For additional information see our risk factors titled "Our
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underwriting practices and the mix of business we write affects our Minimum Required Assets under the PMIERs, our premium yields and the likelihood of losses occurring" and " Reinsurance may be unavailable at current levels and prices, and/or the GSEs may reduce the amount of capital credit we receive for our reinsurance transactions ." in Item 1A .
• Failure to meet certain transactional approval conditions imposed by PMIERs. Such failure may restrict or delay us from taking certain actions that would be advantageous to our investors.
GSE Reform
FHFA placed the GSEs into conservatorship on September 7, 2008 and the FHFA has the authority to control and direct their operations. Given that the Director of the FHFA serves at the pleasure of the President, the agency's agenda, policies and actions may be influenced by the then-current administration.
Congress and executive branch officials have periodically proposed various plans for the reform of the GSEs, including through privatization and/or termination of FHFA's conservatorship. However, it is unclear what reforms will ultimately be implemented, if any, and what the time frame for any such reforms will be. The potential impact of any such plan on our business and financial results remains uncertain.
For additional information about the business practices of the GSEs, see our risk factor titled “Changes in the business practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ("the GSEs"), federal legislation that changes their charters or a restructuring of the GSEs could reduce our revenues or increase our losses . ” in Item 1A .
State Regulations
The insurance laws of 16 jurisdictions, including Wisconsin, our domiciliary state, require a mortgage insurer to maintain a minimum amount of statutory capital relative to its RIF (or a similar measure) in order for the mortgage insurer to continue to write new business. We refer to these requirements as the “State Capital Requirements.” While they vary among jurisdictions, the most common State Capital Requirements allow for a maximum risk-to-capital ratio of 25 to 1. A risk-to-capital ratio will increase if (i) the percentage decrease in capital exceeds the percentage decrease in insured risk, or (ii) the percentage increase in capital is less than the percentage increase in insured risk. Wisconsin does not regulate capital by using a risk-to-capital measure but instead requires a MPP. MGIC's "policyholder position" includes its net worth or surplus and its contingency reserve.
As of December 31, 2025, MGIC’s risk-to-capital ratio was 10.0 to 1, below the maximum allowed by the jurisdictions with State Capital Requirements, and its policyholder position was $3.6 billion above the required MPP of $2.2 billion. The calculation of our risk-to-capital ratio and MPP reflect full credit for the risk ceded under our reinsurance transactions. It is possible that under the revised State Capital Requirements discussed below, MGIC will not be allowed full credit for the risk ceded under such transactions. If MGIC is not allowed an agreed level of credit under either the State Capital Requirements or the PMIERs, MGIC may terminate the reinsurance transactions, without penalty.
At this time, we expect MGIC to continue to comply with the current State Capital Requirements; however, refer to our risk factor titled “State capital requirements may prevent us from continuing to write new insurance on an uninterrupted basis” in Item 1A for more information about matters that could negatively impact our compliance with State Capital Requirements.
In 2023, the NAIC adopted a revised Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Model Act. The updated Model Act includes requirements relating to, among other things: (i) capital and minimum capital requirements, and contingency reserves; (ii) restrictions on mortgage insurers’ investments in notes secured by mortgages; (iii) prudent underwriting standards and formal underwriting guidelines; (iv) the establishment of formal, internal “Mortgage Guaranty Quality Control Programs” with respect to in-force business; and (v) reinsurance and prohibitions on captive reinsurance arrangements. It is uncertain when the revised Model Act will be adopted in any jurisdiction. The provisions of the Model Act, if adopted in their final form, are not expected to have a material adverse effect on our business. It is unknown whether any changes will be made by state legislatures prior to adoption, and the effect changes, if any, will have on the mortgage guaranty insurance market generally, or on our business. Wisconsin, where MGIC is domiciled, has begun the process to replace current Mortgage Insurance regulations with the Model Act; however it is expected that modifications will be made before formal adoption.
Regulatory and Legislative Developments
Credit Score Modernization
Recently, FHFA, the GSEs and industry stakeholders have undertaken efforts to modernize credit scoring. These efforts center on the transition to reportedly more inclusive models that leverage trended and alternative data. In 2022, FHFA announced the validation of two new credit score models – VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T. In 2025, FHFA announced that it would permit lenders to deliver mortgage loans to the GSEs using a credit score generated by either the Classic FICO model or the VantageScore 4.0 model but the implementation date remains to be determined. FHFA has indicated that FICO 10T remains an approved credit score model and is planned for future use by the GSEs.
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In 2025, the FHFA also announced that inclusion of VantageScore 4.0 credit scores will not change the GSEs' current credit reporting requirements; however, some industry stakeholders have recently advocated for allowing lenders the option to use a single credit report from one national credit bureau for borrowers above a stated minimum.
While we anticipate some operational impacts when the GSEs finalize their implementation efforts, we do not foresee a material adverse impact on our overall business and financial results
Business Outlook for 2026
Our outlook for 2026 should be viewed against the backdrop of the business environment discussed above.
NIW
Our NIW is affected by total mortgage originations, the percentage of total mortgage originations using PMI (the "PMI penetration rate"), and our market share within the PMI industry. As of January 2026, the total average mortgage origination forecasts from Fannie Mae and the MBA indicate mortgage originations of $2.3 trillion in 2026, compared to an estimated $2.0 trillion in 2025. Both purchase originations and refinance transactions are forecasted to increase in 2026 when compared to 2025. We are expecting NIW to remain relatively flat in 2026 compared to 2025.
The widespread use of risk based pricing systems by the PMI industry makes it more difficult to compare our rates to those offered by our competitors. We may not be aware of industry rate changes until we observe that our volume of NIW has changed. In addition, business under customized rate plans is awarded by certain customers for only limited periods of time. As a result, our NIW may fluctuate more than it had in the past.
IIF
Our IIF increased 2.6% in 2025 and is expected to remain relatively flat in 2026. Our book of IIF is an important driver of our future revenues, and its growth is driven by our ability to generate NIW and the retention of our IIF , as measured by our Annual Persistency. Interest rates influence both our NIW and Annual Persistency. Generally speaking, in a rising rate environment, total mortgage originations may decline; however, we would also expect policy cancellation rates to decline, and in turn increase Annual Persistency, although the impact generally lags the change in interest rates. As of January 2026, forecasts from Fannie Mae and the MBA indicate a decrease in interest rates in 2026 compared to 2025, and a slowdown in the rate of home price appreciation.
Results of Operations
Premiums
Our direct premiums written and earned are impacted by our IIF during the period and our in force premium yield. We expect our in force portfolio premium yield to remain relatively flat in 2026 and we expect our net premiums written and earned to decrease modestly in 2026, driven by an increase in ceded premiums. Premiums earned are also impacted by the amount of accelerated premiums from single premium policy cancellations, which generally decrease as refinance activity decreases.
Our net premiums written and earned are primarily impacted by the changes in the direct premiums written and earned and by the amount of premiums we cede under our quota share and excess of loss reinsurance transactions. The amount of premiums we cede in 2026 will be affected by changes in our reinsurance coverage. Premiums we cede under our quota share transactions are also impacted by the profit commission we receive. The amount of profit commission is variable year-to-year and is dependent on the amount of ceded losses incurred. Increases in ceded losses incurred will benefit our losses incurred line, but will result in lower profit commission and higher ceded premiums.
Factors that affect the amount of premiums we earn from our IIF are further discussed in our " Consolidated Results of Operations - Premium yield."
Investment Income
Net investment income is a material contributor to our results of operations. We expect net investment income in 2026 to be relatively flat compared to 2025. The amount of investment income will be impacted by the change in the yield we can earn on investments and the level of invested assets. The level of invested assets will primarily be impacted by the amount of cash we expect to use in financing activities relative to our cash from operations. The magnitude of any change in our invested asset level will be subject to the timing of our financing activities.
Losses Incurred
Losses incurred, net is impacted by the level of new delinquency notices. Generally, on our primary business, the third and fourth year after loan origination have been periods with the highest level of new delinquency notices. As of December 31, 2025, 44% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2022, 61% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2021, and 80% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2020. The pattern of claim frequency can be affected by many factors, including Annual Persistency and deteriorating economic conditions. Home price appreciation and pre-claim third-party sales have mitigated net losses and LAE in recent years; however, the positive impact of both factors has moderated relative to prior years. We expect net losses and LAE paid to increase; however, the magnitude and timing of their increase is uncertain.
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Underwriting and Operating expenses, net
We expect underwriting and operating expenses, net to be relatively flat in 2026 compared with 2025.
Income Taxes
We expect our 2026 effective tax rate to be approximately 21%.
Key Factors Affecting Our Results
Our current and future business, results of operations and financial condition are impacted by macroeconomic conditions, such as interest rates, home prices, housing demand, level of employment, inflation, pandemics, restrictions on and costs of mortgage credit, and other factors. For additional information on how our business may be impacted see our risk factor titled “ Economic downturns and/or declines in home prices may lead to increased losses. ”
The future effects of climate change on our business are uncertain. For information about possible effects, please refer to our risk factor titled “ The effects of pandemics, severe weather events, or other disasters may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition. ”
Our results of operations are affected by:
Premiums Written and Earned
Premiums written and earned during a given period are primarily driven by the insurance in force during all or a portion of the period. A change in the average IIF in the current period compared to an earlier period is a factor that will increase (when the average in force is higher) or reduce (when it is lower) premiums written and earned in the current period, although this effect may be enhanced (or mitigated) by the following factors:
• NIW: Increases IIF and is influenced by the volume of low down payment home mortgage originations and competition to provide credit enhancement on those mortgages from the FHA, the VA, and other mortgage insurers. Other alternatives to mortgage insurance also impact NIW, including GSE programs that may reduce or eliminate the demand for mortgage insurance.
• Cancellations: Reduce IIF and occur when borrowers refinance or achieve the required amount of home equity through loan amortization, loan payoffs, or home price appreciation. Refinance-related cancellations are influenced by the level of current mortgage interest rates compared to the mortgage coupon rates throughout the in force book, current home values relative to values when the loans in the in force book were insured and the terms on which mortgage credit is available. Policy rescissions also cause cancellations requiring us to return any premiums received, from the date of default, on the rescinded policies and claim payments. Cancellations of single premium policies, which are generally non-refundable, result in immediate recognition of any remaining unearned premium.
• Premium rates: Vary by product type, the risk characteristics of the insured loans, competitive pressures, the percentage of coverage on the insured loans, and PMIERs capital requirements. The substantial majority of our monthly and annual mortgage insurance premiums are under premium plans for which, for the first ten years of the policy, the amount of premium is determined by multiplying the initial premium rate by the original loan balance; thereafter, the premium rate resets to a lower rate used for the remaining life of the policy. The remainder of our monthly and annual premiums are under premium plans for which premiums are determined by a fixed percentage of the loan’s amortizing balance over the life of the policy.
• Premiums ceded, net of profit commission: Ceded premiums under our QSR and XOL Transactions, are primarily affected by the percentage of our IIF subject to our reinsurance transactions. The profit commission under our QSR Transactions also varies inversely with the level of ceded losses incurred on a “dollar for dollar” basis and can be eliminated at ceded loss levels higher than what we have experienced on our QSR Transactions. As a result, lower levels of losses incurred result in a higher profit commission and less benefit from ceded losses incurred; higher levels of losses incurred result in more benefit from ceded losses incurred and a lower profit commission (or for certain levels of accident year loss ratios, its elimination). See Note 7 – “Reinsurance” to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion of our reinsurance transactions.
Investment Income
Our investment portfolio is composed principally of investment grade fixed income securities. The primary factors that influence investment income are the size of the portfolio and its yield. As measured by amortized cost (which excludes changes in fair value, such as from changes in interest rates), the size of the investment portfolio is mainly a function of cash generated from (or used in) operations, such as net premiums written, investment income, net claim payments and expenses, and cash provided by (or used for) non-operating activities, such as debt or stock issuances or repurchases, and dividends.
Losses Incurred
Losses incurred are the current expense that reflects claim payments, costs of settling claims, and changes in our estimates of payments that will ultimately be made as a result of delinquencies on insured loans. As explained under “ Critical Accounting Estimates ” below, we recognize an estimate of this expense only for delinquent loans. The level of new delinquencies has historically followed a seasonal pattern, with new delinquencies in the first half of the year lower than new delinquencies in the latter half of the year. The state
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of the economy, local housing markets, pandemics, natural disasters, and various other factors may result in delinquencies not following the typical pattern. Losses incurred are generally affected by:
• The state of the economy, including unemployment and housing values, each of which affects the likelihood that loans will become delinquent and whether loans that are delinquent cure their delinquency.
• The product mix of the in force book, with loans having higher risk characteristics generally resulting in higher delinquencies and claims.
• The size of loans insured, with higher average loan amounts on delinquent loans tending to increase losses incurred.
• The percentage of coverage on insured loans, with deeper average coverage on delinquent loans tending to increase losses incurred.
• The distribution of claims over the life of a book. Historically, the first few years after loans are originated are a period of relatively low claims, with claims increasing substantially for several years subsequent and then declining. Annual Persistency, the condition of the economy, including unemployment and housing prices, and other factors can affect this pattern. For example, a weak economy or housing value declines can lead to claims from older books increasing, continuing at stable levels or experiencing a lower rate of decline. See further information under “Mortgage insurance earnings and cash flow cycle” below.
• Delinquencies covered by our reinsurance transactions would decrease losses incurred, net. See Note 7 – “Reinsurance” to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion of our reinsurance transactions.
• The rate at which we rescind policies or curtail claims. Our estimated loss reserves incorporate our estimates of future rescissions of policies and curtailments of claims, and reversals of rescissions and curtailments. We collectively refer to such rescissions and denials as “rescissions” and variations of this term. We call reductions to claims "curtailments."
Underwriting and Other Expenses
Underwriting and other expenses includes items such as employee compensation, fees for professional and consulting services, depreciation and maintenance expense, and premium taxes, and are reported net of ceding commissions associated with our QSR Transactions. Employee compensation expenses are variable due to share-based compensation, changes in benefits, and changes in headcount. See Note 7 – “Reinsurance” and Note 14 – “Segment Reporting” to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion of ceding commission on our QSR Transactions and discussion on significant segment expenses.
Interest Expense
Interest expense reflects the interest associated with our outstanding debt obligations discussed in Note 3 – “Debt” to our consolidated financial statements and under “ Liquidity and Capital Resources ” below.
Other
Certain activities that we do not consider being part of our fundamental operating activities may also impact our results of operations and are described below.
Gains (losses) on investments and other financial instruments:
• Fixed income securities: Investment gains and losses reflect the difference between the amount received on the sale of a fixed income security and the fixed income security’s cost basis, as well as any credit allowances and impairments on securities we intend to sell prior to recovery of its amortized cost basis. The amount received on the sale of fixed income securities is affected by the coupon rate of the security compared to the yield of comparable securities at the time of sale.
• Equity securities: Investment gains and losses reflect the periodic change in fair value.
• Financial instruments: Investment gains and losses on the embedded derivative on our Home Re Transactions reflect the present value impact of the variation in investment income on assets on the insurance-linked notes held by the reinsurance trusts and the contractual reference rate used to calculate the reinsurance premiums we estimate we will pay over the estimated remaining life.
Gains and losses on debt extinguishment:
• Gains and losses on debt extinguishment result from discretionary activities that are undertaken to enhance our capital position, and/or improve our debt profile. Extinguishing our outstanding debt obligations early through these discretionary activities may result in gains or losses primarily driven by differences in the payment of consideration from the carrying value, and the write off of unamortized debt issuance costs on the extinguished portion of the debt.
Refer to “ Explanation and reconciliation of our use of Non-GAAP financial measures ” below to understand how these items impact our evaluation of our core financial performance.
Mortgage Insurance Earnings and Cash Flow Cycle
In general, the majority of any underwriting profit that a book generates occurs in the early years of the book, with the largest portion of any underwriting profit realized in the first year following the year the book was written. Subsequent years of a book may result in either underwriting profit or underwriting losses. This pattern of results typically occurs because relatively few of the incurred losses on
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delinquencies that a book will ultimately experience typically occur in the first few years of the book, when premium revenue is highest, while subsequent years are affected by declining premium revenues, as the number of insured loans decreases (primarily due to loan prepayments) and increasing losses. The state of the economy, local housing markets, pandemics, natural disasters, and various other factors may result in delinquencies not following the typical pattern.
Cybersecurity
As part of our business, we maintain large amounts of confidential and proprietary information both on our own servers and those of cloud computing services. This includes personal information of consumers and our employees. Personal information is subject to an increasing number of federal and state laws and regulations regarding privacy and data security, as well as contractual commitments.
Any failure or perceived failure by us, or by the vendors with whom we share this information, to comply with such obligations may result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, litigation, increased costs, regulatory penalties or customer dissatisfaction.
All information technology systems are potentially vulnerable to damage or interruption from a variety of sources, including by cyber attacks, such as those involving ransomware. The Company discovers vulnerabilities and regularly blocks attempts at unauthorized access to its systems, through threats such as malware and computer virus attacks, unauthorized access, system failures and disruptions. Threats have the potential to jeopardize the information processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks and otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations, which could result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, litigation, increased costs, regulatory penalties or customer dissatisfaction. We could be similarly affected by threats against our vendors and/or third-parties with whom we share information.
Globally, attacks are expected to continue accelerating in both frequency and sophistication with increasing use by actors of tools, techniques, and technological advances that may hinder the Company’s ability to identify, investigate and recover from incidents. Such attacks may also increase as a result of retaliation by threat actors against actions taken by the U.S. and other countries in connection with wars and other global events. The Company operates under a hybrid workforce model and such model may be more vulnerable to security breaches.
While we have information security policies and systems in place to secure our information technology systems and to prevent unauthorized access to or disclosure of sensitive information, there can be no assurance with respect to our systems and those of our third-party vendors that unauthorized access to the systems or disclosure of the sensitive information, either through the actions of third parties or employees, will not occur. Due to our reliance on information technology systems, including ours and those of our customers and third-party service providers, and to the sensitivity of the information that we maintain, unauthorized access to the systems or disclosure of the information could adversely affect our reputation, severely disrupt our operations, result in a loss of business and expose us to material claims for damages and may require that we provide free credit monitoring services to individuals affected by a security breach.
Should we experience an unauthorized disclosure of information or a cyber attack, including those involving ransomware, some of the costs we incur may not be recoverable through insurance, or legal or other processes, and this may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
For additional information about our IT systems and cybersecurity, see our risk factor titled “ Failed, disrupted, or inadequate information technology systems may materially impact our operations and/or adversely affect our financial results " and " We could be materially adversely affected by a cyber security breach or failure of information security controls. " in Item 1A and Item 1C. Cybersecurity .
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Explanation and Reconciliation of Our Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We believe that use of the Non-GAAP financial measures of adjusted pre-tax operating income (loss), adjusted net operating income (loss) and adjusted net operating income (loss) per diluted share facilitate the evaluation of the company's core financial performance thereby providing relevant information to investors. These measures are not recognized in accordance with GAAP and should not be viewed as alternatives to GAAP measures of performance.
Adjusted pre-tax operating income (loss) is defined as GAAP income (loss) before tax, excluding the effects of net realized investment gains (losses), gain and losses on debt extinguishment, and infrequent or unusual non-operating items where applicable.
Adjusted net operating income (loss) is defined as GAAP net income (loss) excluding the after-tax effects of net realized investment gains (losses), gain and losses on debt extinguishment, and infrequent or unusual non-operating items where applicable. The amounts of adjustments to components of pre-tax operating income (loss) are tax effected using a federal statutory tax rate of 21%.
Adjusted net operating income (loss) per diluted share is calculated in a manner consistent with the accounting standard regarding earnings per share by dividing (i) adjusted net operating income (loss) by (ii) diluted weighted average common shares outstanding, which reflects share dilution from unvested restricted stock units.
Although adjusted pre-tax operating income (loss) and adjusted net operating income (loss) exclude certain items that have occurred in the past and are expected to occur in the future, the excluded items represent items that are: (1) not viewed as part of the operating performance of our primary activities; or (2) impacted by both discretionary and other economic or regulatory factors and are not necessarily indicative of operating trends, or both. These adjustments, along with the reasons for their treatment, are described below. Trends in the profitability of our fundamental operating activities can be more clearly identified without the fluctuations of these adjustments. Other companies may calculate these measures differently. Therefore, their measures may not be comparable to those used by us.
(1) Net realized investment gains (losses). The recognition of net realized investment gains or losses can vary significantly across periods as the timing of individual securities sales is highly discretionary and is influenced by such factors as market opportunities, our tax and capital profile, and overall market cycles.
(2) Gains and losses on debt extinguishment. Gains and losses on debt extinguishment result from discretionary activities that are undertaken to enhance our capital position, and/or improve our debt profile.
(3) Infrequent or unusual non-operating items. Items that are non-recurring in nature and are not part of our primary operating activities.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliations
Reconciliation of Income before Tax / Net Income to Adjusted Pre-Tax Operating Income / Adjusted Net Operating Income:
Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands)
Pre-tax
Tax Effect
Net
(after-tax)
Pre-tax
Tax Effect
Net
(after-tax)
Income before tax / Net income
Adjustments:
Net realized investment (gains) losses
Adjusted pre-tax operating income / Adjusted net operating income
Reconciliation of Net Income per Diluted Share to Adjusted Net Operating Income per Diluted Share:
Weighted average shares - diluted
Net income per diluted share
Net realized investment (gains) losses
Adjusted net operating income per diluted share
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Mortgage Insurance Portfolio
New Insurance Written
NIW in 2025 was $60.2 billion compared with $55.7 billion in the prior year. The increase for the year ended December 31, 2025 reflects a higher expected market position compared with the same period in the prior year.
Even when home prices are stable or rising, mortgages with certain characteristics have higher probabilities of claims. In general, these characteristics include mortgages with high LTV and DTI ratios and low credit scores, which are determined at the time of loan origination. When home prices increase, interest rates increase and/or the percentage of our NIW from purchase transactions increases, our NIW on mortgages with DTI ratios over 45% and LTVs over 95% may fluctuate. We consider a variety of loan characteristics when assessing the risk of a loan.
The following tables provide information about loan characteristics associated with our NIW.
Primary NIW by FICO Score
Years Ended December 31,
(% of primary NIW)
760 and greater
639 and less
Total
Primary NIW by Loan-to-Value
Years Ended December 31,
(% of primary NIW)
95.01% and above
Total
Primary NIW by Debt-to-Income Ratio
Years Ended December 31,
(% of primary NIW)
45.01% and above
38.00% and below
Total
Primary NIW by Policy Payment Type
Years Ended December 31,
(% of primary NIW)
Monthly premiums
Single premiums
Total
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Primary NIW by Type of Mortgage
Years Ended December 31,
(% of primary NIW)
Purchases
Refinances
Total
The following table provides information about loans with one or more of the following characteristics associated with our NIW: LTV ratios greater than 95%, borrowers having FICO scores below 680, and borrowers having DTI ratios greater than 45%, each attribute as determined at the time of loan origination.
Primary NIW by Number of Attributes Discussed Above
Years Ended December 31,
(% of primary NIW)
One
Two or More
Insurance in Force and Risk in Force
The amount of our IIF and RIF is impacted by the amount of NIW, cancellations, and principal payments received on our primary IIF during the period. Cancellation activity is impacted by refinancing activity, policies cancelled when borrowers achieve the required amount of home equity, and cancellations due to claim payment. Refinancing activity has historically been affected by the level of mortgage interest rates and the level of home price appreciation. Cancellations generally move inversely to the change in the direction of interest rates, although they generally lag a change in direction. The following table presents a summary of the change in our IIF and RIF for the periods indicated.
Primary Insurance in Force and Risk in Force
Years Ended December 31,
($ in billions)
NIW
Cancellations, principal payments, and other reductions
Increase (decrease) in primary IIF
Direct primary IIF as of December 31,
Direct primary RIF as of December 31,
The composition of our primary RIF and IIF by policy year is shown below for the periods indicated.
Primary Insurance in Force and Risk in Force by Policy Year
As of December 31,
($ in millions)
Policy year
Insurance in force
Risk in Force
Insurance in Force
Risk in Force
2004 and prior
Total
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The following table sets forth portfolio statistics associated with our primary IIF and RIF as of December 31, 2025.
Portfolio Statistics by Policy Year
Weighted Avg. Interest Rate
Delinquency Rate %
Cede Rate % (1)
% of Original Remaining IIF
Policy Year
2004 and prior
(1) Cede Rate % is calculated as the risk in force ceded to our QSR Transactions divided by the total risk in force.
Credit Profile of Our Primary RIF
Our 2009 and later books possess significantly improved risk characteristics when compared to our 2005-2008 books. We believe changes such as more rigorous underwriting standards, higher quality credit profiles, strengthened mortgage loan servicing, and government support to help borrowers stay in their homes, have led to improved credit performance on our 2009 and later books. For additional information on the composition of our primary RIF see " Our Products and Services - Business "
Annual Persistency
Our Annual Persistency was 84.8% at December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024. Since 2018, our Annual Persistency ranged from a high of 86.3% at September 30, 2023 to a low of 60.7% at March 31, 2021. Our persistency rate is primarily affected by the level of current mortgage interest rates compared to the mortgage coupon rates on our IIF, which affects the vulnerability of the IIF to refinancing; and the current amount of equity that borrowers have in the homes underlying our IIF.
CRT Programs
In connection with the GSEs CRT programs, an insurance subsidiary of MGIC provides insurance and reinsurance covering portions of the credit risk related to certain reference pools of mortgages acquired by the GSEs. Our RIF, as reported to us, related to these programs was approximately $482 million and $392 million as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
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Consolidated Results of Operations
The following section of the MD&A provides a comparative discussion of our Consolidated Results of Operations for the two-year period ended December 31, 2025. For a discussion of the Critical Accounting Estimates used by us that affect the Consolidated Results of Operations, see "Critical Accounting Estimates" below.
Summary Results of Operations
Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands, except per share data and effective tax rate)
Change
Revenues
Net premiums earned
Net investment income
Net gains (losses) on investments and other financial instruments
Other revenue
Total revenues
Losses and expenses
Losses incurred, net
Underwriting and other expenses, net
Interest expense
Total losses and expenses
Income before tax
Provision for income taxes
Net income
Net income per diluted share
Effective tax rate
(0.7) bps
Non-GAAP Financial Measures (1)
Adjusted pre-tax operating income
Adjusted net operating income
Adjusted net operating income per diluted share
(1) See "Explanation and Reconciliation of our use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Net income for 2025 was $738.3 million (2024: $763.0 million) and diluted income per share was $3.14 (2024: $2.89). The decrease in net income is primarily due to an increase in losses incurred, net, partially offset by a decrease in underwriting and other expenses, net, and a decrease in the provision for income taxes. Diluted income per share increased primarily due to a decrease in the number of diluted weighted shares outstanding partially offset by a decrease in net income.
Adjusted net operating income for 2025 was $738.4 million (2024: $768.5 million) and adjusted net operating income per diluted share was $3.14 (2024: $2.91). The decrease in adjusted net operating income in 2025 compared to 2024 is primarily reflects a decrease in net income. The increase in adjusted net operating income per diluted share primarily reflects a decrease in the number of diluted weighted shares outstanding partially offset by a decrease in adjusted net operating income.
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Revenues
Net Premiums Earned
Premium yield
Net premium yield is net premiums earned divided by average IIF during the period. The following table presents the key drivers of our net premium yield for 2025 and 2024.
Premium Yield
Year Ended December 31,
(in basis points)
In force portfolio yield (1)
Premium refunds
Accelerated earnings on single premium policies
Total direct premium yield
Ceded premiums earned, net of profit commission and assumed premiums (2)
Net premium yield
(1) Total direct premiums earned, excluding premium refunds and accelerated premiums from single premium policy cancellations divided by average primary insurance in force.
(2) Assumed premiums include those from our participation in GSE CRT programs, of which the impact on the net premium yield was 0.5 bps in 2025 and 0.5 bps in 2024.
The key drivers of our net premium yield are listed below:
In force Portfolio Yield
The yield on our current IIF is impacted by the premium rates on our IIF. Premium rates are generally affected by risk characteristics on our NIW, competition in the industry, and the amount of capital we are required to hold.
Premium Refunds
Premium refunds are primarily driven by our estimate of refundable premiums on our delinquency inventory and claim activity. Our estimate of refundable premium on our delinquency inventory fluctuates with changes in our delinquency inventory and our estimate of the number of loans in our delinquency inventory that will result in a claim. Lower levels of claims received results in a lower level of premium refunds.
Accelerated earnings on single premium policies
The benefit from accelerated earned premium from cancellation of single premium policies prior to their estimated policy life is influenced by the level of refinance activity during a given period. An elevated level of refinance activity increases the benefit received from accelerated earned premium while a low level of refinance activity reduces the benefit from accelerated earned premium.
Ceded premiums earned, net of profit commission and assumed premiums
Ceded premiums earned, net of profit commission adversely impact our net premium yield. Ceded premiums earned, net of profit commission, are associated with the QSR Transactions and the XOL Transactions. Assumed premiums consists primarily of premiums from GSE CRT programs. See “Reinsurance Transactions“ below for further discussion on our reinsurance transactions.
As discussed in our risk factor titled " Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and/or increase our losses, " the private mortgage insurance industry is highly competitive and premium rates have declined over the past several years. We expect our in force portfolio premium yield will remain relatively flat in 2026 driven by sustained high credit quality and an elevated Annual Persistency.
See " Overview – Factors Affecting Our Results" above for additional factors that also influence the amount of net premiums written and earned in a year.
Reinsurance Transactions
Quota Share Reinsurance
Our quota share reinsurance affects various lines of our statements of operations and therefore we believe it should be analyzed by reviewing its total effect on our pre-tax income, described as follows.
• We cede a fixed percentage of premiums earned and received on insurance covered by the transactions.
• We receive the benefit of a profit commission through a reduction in the premiums we cede. The profit commission varies inversely with the level of losses incurred on a "dollar for dollar" basis and can be eliminated at loss levels higher than what we
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have experienced on the QSR Transactions. As a result, lower levels of ceded losses incurred result in less benefit from ceded losses incurred, and a higher profit commission; higher levels of ceded losses incurred result in more benefit from ceded losses incurred and a lower profit commission (or for certain levels of accident year loss ratios, its elimination).
• We receive the benefit of a ceding commission through a reduction in underwriting expenses equal to 20% of premiums ceded (before the effect of the profit commission).
• We cede a fixed percentage of losses incurred on insurance covered by the transactions.
The following table provides information related to our QSR Transactions for 2025 and 2024.
Quota Share Reinsurance
As of and For the Years Ended December 31,
($ in thousands)
Ceded premiums written and earned, net of profit commission
% of direct premiums written
% of direct premiums earned
Profit commission
Ceding commissions
Ceded losses incurred
Mortgage insurance portfolio:
Ceded RIF (in millions)
2021 QSR
2022 QSR
2023 QSR
2024 QSR
2025 QSR
Credit Union QSR
Total ceded RIF
The increase in profit commission in 2025 was primarily due to an increase in premiums ceded under our QSR Transactions, offset by an increase in losses incurred. Ceded losses incurred are impacted by the delinquencies covered by our QSR Transactions, our estimates of payments that will be ultimately made on those delinquencies, and claim payments covered by our QSR Transactions.
We executed two 40% QSR Transactions with groups of unaffiliated reinsurers covering eligible NIW in 2026 and NIW in 2027. Additionally, we amended the terms on our 2022 quota share reinsurance transaction with certain participants from the existing reinsurance panel. The quota share cede rate decreased from 30% to 28%, effective December 31, 2025.
Covered Risk
The percentages of our NIW, new risk written, IIF, and RIF subject to our QSR Transactions as shown in the following table will vary from period to period in part due to the mix of our risk written during the period and the number of active QSR Transactions.
Quota Share Reinsurance
As of and For the Years Ended December 31,
NIW subject to QSR Transactions
New Risk Written subject to QSR Transactions
IIF subject to QSR Transactions
RIF subject to QSR Transactions
Excess of Loss Reinsurance
We have XOL Transactions with panels of unaffiliated reinsurers executed through the traditional reinsurance market (“Traditional XOL Transactions”) and with unaffiliated special purpose insurers (“Home Re Transactions”). For policies covered by our XOL Transactions, we retain the first layer of the aggregate losses paid, and the reinsurers will then provide second layer coverage up to the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount. We retain losses paid in excess of the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount. The reinsurance coverage is subject to adjustment based on the risk characteristics of the covered loans until the initial excess of loss reinsurance coverage layer has been finalized. Our XOL Transactions provide reinsurance coverage for a portion of the risk associated with certain mortgage insurance policies having insurance coverage in force dates from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2025.
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The calculated credit for XOL Transactions under PMIERs is generally based on the PMIERs requirement of the covered loans and the attachment and detachment point of the coverage. PMIERs credit is haircut for the uncollateralized portion of the reinsured risk and is generally not given for the reinsured risk above the PMIERs requirement. The current attachment, current detachment, and PMIERs required asset credit for each of our XOL Transactions as of December 31, 2025, are as follows:
($ In thousands)
Initial Attachment % (1)
Initial Detachment % (2)
Current Attachment % (1)
Current Detachment % (2)
PMIERs Required Asset Credit
2025 Traditional XOL
2024 Traditional XOL
2023 Traditional XOL
2022 Traditional XOL
2021 Traditional XOL
2020 Traditional XOL
Home Re 2023-1
Home Re 2022-1
Home Re 2021-2
(1) The percentage represents the cumulative losses as a percentage of adjusted risk in force that MGIC retains prior to the XOL taking losses.
(2) The percentage represents the cumulative losses as a percentage of adjusted risk in force that must be reached before MGIC begins absorbing losses after the XOL layer.
In 2025, we executed an XOL Transaction which will provide up to $184 million of reinsurance coverage on NIW in 2026.
In January 2026, through an insurance linked note transaction, we executed a $324 million excess of loss reinsurance agreement that covers certain policies written between January 1, 2022 and March 31, 2025.
Ceded premiums on our XOL Transactions were $61.1 million and $66.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
See Note 7 - "Reinsurance," to our consolidated financial statements for additional discussion of our XOL Transactions.
Investment Income
Net investment income increased 1% to $246.3 million in 2025 compared to $244.6 million in 2024. See "Balance Sheet Review" in this MD&A for further discussion regarding our investment portfolio.
Losses and Expenses
Losses Incurred, Net
As discussed in “Critical Accounting Estimates” below and consistent with industry practices, we establish case loss reserves for future claims on delinquent loans that were reported to us as two payments past due and have not become current or resulted in a claim payment. Such loans are referred to as being in our delinquency inventory. Case loss reserves are established based on estimating the number of loans in our delinquency inventory that will result in a claim payment, which is referred to as the claim rate, and further estimating the amount of the claim payment, which is referred to as claim severity.
IBNR reserves are established for estimated losses from delinquencies we estimate have occurred prior to the close of an accounting period, but have not yet been reported to us. IBNR reserves are also established using estimated claim rates and claim severities.
Estimation of losses is inherently judgmental. The conditions that affect the claim rate and claim severity include the current and future state of the domestic economy, including unemployment and the current and future strength of local housing markets; exposure on insured loans; the amount of time between delinquency and claim filing (all else being equal, the longer the period between delinquency and claim filing, the greater the severity); the effectiveness of loss mitigation efforts; and curtailments and rescissions. The actual amount of the claim payments may be substantially different than our loss reserve estimates.
Our estimates could be adversely affected by several factors, including a deterioration of regional or national economic conditions, including unemployment, which may reduce borrowers' income and their ability to make mortgage payments. Additionally, the impact of past and future government initiatives and actions taken by the GSEs to keep borrowers in their homes may impact our estimates. A decline in housing values may affect borrowers' willingness to continue to make mortgage payments when the value of the home is below the mortgage balance. Loss reserves in future periods will also be dependent on the number of loans reported to us as delinquent. Changes in our estimates arising from the factors described above or due to other unforeseen circumstances could materially affect our financial results, even in a stable economic environment.
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Generally, losses follow a seasonal trend in which the second half of the year has weaker credit performance than the first half, with higher new notice activity and a lower cure rate. The state of the economy, local housing markets, pandemics, natural disasters, and various other factors, may result in delinquencies not following the typical pattern.
For information on how pandemics and natural disasters could affect losses incurred, net see our risk factors titled “ The effects of pandemics, severe weather events, or other disasters may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition." As discussed in our risk factor titled “Because we establish loss reserves only upon a loan delinquency rather than based on estimates of our ultimate losses on risk in force, losses may have a disproportionate adverse effect on our earnings in certain periods” if we have not received a notice of delinquency with respect to a loan and if we have not estimated the loan to be delinquent as of December 31, 2025, through our IBNR reserve, then we have not yet recorded an incurred loss with respect to that loan.
The following table details the financial impact of the significant components of losses incurred for the periods indicated.
Composition of Losses Incurred
Year Ended December 31,
($ in thousands)
Current year / New notices
Prior year reserve development
Losses incurred, net
Loss Ratio
The favorable development for both periods primarily resulted from a decrease in the expected claim rate on previously received delinquencies. Home price appreciation experienced in recent years has allowed some borrowers to cure their delinquencies through the sale of their property.
See "New notice activity" and "Claims severity" below for additional factors and trends that impact these loss reserve assumptions
Delinquency Inventory
A roll-forward of our primary delinquency inventory for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 appears in the table below. The information concerning new notices and cures is compiled from monthly reports received from loan servicers. The level of new notice and cure activity reported in a particular month can be influenced by, among other things, the date on which a servicer generates its report, the number of business days in a month and transfers of servicing between loan servicers.
Delinquency Inventory Roll-Forward
Beginning delinquent inventory
New notices
Cures
Paid claims
Rescissions and denials
Other items removed from inventory
Ending delinquent inventory
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New Notice Activity
The table below presents our new notices received, delinquency inventory, and the average number of missed payments for the loans in our delinquency inventory by policy year:
New Notices and Delinquency Inventory during the Period
December 31, 2025
Policy Year
New Notices Received in the Year Ended
Delinquency Inventory
Avg. Number of Missed Payments of Delinquency Inventory
2004 and prior
Total
Claim rate on new notices (1)
December 31, 2024
Policy Year
New Notices Received in the Year Ended
Delinquency Inventory
Avg. Number of Missed Payments of Delinquency Inventory
2004 and prior
Total
Claim rate on new notices (1)
(1) Claim rate at the time new delinquency notices are received.
Claims Severity
Factors that impact claim severity include:
economic conditions at that time, including home prices compared to home prices at the time of placement of coverage
exposure on the loan, which is the unpaid principal balance of the loan times our insurance coverage percentage,
length of time between delinquency and claim filing (which impacts the amount of interest and expenses, with a longer period between default and claim filing generally increasing severity), and
curtailments.
As discussed in Note 8 - "Loss Reserves," our loss reserves estimates take into consideration trends over time, because the development of the delinquencies may vary from period to period without establishing a meaningful trend. In recent years, an increase in third party property sales, prior to claim settlement has resulted in a decrease in the average claim paid and the average claim paid as
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a percentage of exposure. We expect average claims paid as a percentage of exposure to increase as we receive delinquencies that have not experienced the same level of home price appreciation. The extent and timing of their increase is uncertain.
The majority of loans insured prior to 2014 (which represent 24% of the loans in the delinquency inventory) are covered by master policy terms that, except under certain circumstances, do not limit the number of years that an insured can include interest when filing a claim. Under our current master policy terms, an insured can include accumulated interest when filing a claim only for the first three years the loan is delinquent. In each case, the insured must comply with its obligations under the terms of the applicable master policy.
Claims Severity Trend
Period
Average exposure on claim paid
Average claim paid
% Paid to exposure
Average number of missed payments at claim received date
See Note 8 – “Loss Reserves” to our consolidated financial statements and “ Critical Accounting Estimates ” below for a discussion of our losses incurred and claims paying practices (including curtailments).
The table below shows the number of consecutive months a borrower is delinquent. Historically as a delinquency ages it is more likely to result in a claim.
Delinquency Inventory - Consecutive Months Delinquent
December 31,
3 months or less
4 - 11 months
12 months or more (1)
Total
3 months or less
4 - 11 months
12 months or more
Total
(1) Approximately 22% and 27% of the delinquency inventory that has been delinquent for 12 consecutive months or more has been delinquent for at least 36 consecutive months as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
The length of time a loan is in the delinquency inventory can differ from the number of payments that the borrower has not made or is considered delinquent. These differences typically result from a borrower making monthly payments that do not result in the loan becoming fully current. Generally, a defaulted loan with more missed payments is more likely to result in a claim. The number of payments that a borrower is delinquent is shown in the following table.
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Delinquent Inventory - Number of Payments Delinquent
3 payments or less
4 - 11 payments
12 payments or more (1)
Total
3 payments or less
4 - 11 payments
12 payments or more
Total
(1) Approximately 16% and 25% of the loans in the delinquency inventory with 12 payments or more delinquent have at least 36 payments delinquent as of December 31, 2025, and 2024, respectively.
Net Losses and LAE Paid
Net losses and LAE paid increased $12 million in 2025 when compared with 2024, primarily driven by an increase in average claim paid. The primary average claim paid can vary materially from period to period based upon a variety of factors, including the local market conditions, average loan amount, average coverage percentage, the amount of time between delinquency and claim filing, and our loss mitigation efforts on loans for which claims are paid. Home price appreciation and pre-claim third-party sales have mitigated net losses and LAE in recent years; however, the positive impact of both factors has moderated relative to prior years We expect net losses and LAE paid to increase; however, the magnitude and timing of their increase is uncertain.
The following table presents our net losses and LAE paid in 2025 and 2024.
Net Losses and LAE Paid
(in millions)
Direct primary (excluding settlements)
NPL settlements
Reinsurance
LAE and other
Reinsurance terminations (1)
Net losses and LAE paid
(1) See Note 7 - "Reinsurance" for additional information on our reinsurance terminations
Loss Reserves
The gross loss reserves as of December 31, 2025, and 2024 appear in the table below.
Gross Loss Reserves
December 31,
Primary (in millions):
Direct case loss reserves
Direct IBNR and LAE reserves
Total primary direct loss reserves
Ending delinquent inventory (count based)
Percentage of loans delinquent (delinquency rate)
Average total primary loss reserves per delinquency
Primary claims received inventory included in ending delinquent inventory (count based)
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The primary delinquency inventory for the top 15 jurisdictions (based on December 31, 2025 delinquency inventory) at December 31, 2025 and 2024 appears in table the below.
Primary Delinquency Inventory by Jurisdiction
Florida *
Texas
Illinois *
California
Pennsylvania *
Michigan
Ohio *
New York *
Georgia
Maryland
New Jersey *
North Carolina
Indiana *
Minnesota
Virginia
All other jurisdictions
Total
Note: Asterisk denotes jurisdictions in the table above that predominately use a judicial foreclosure process, which generally increases the amount of time it takes for a foreclosure to be completed.
The primary average RIF on delinquent loans as of December 31, 2025 and 2024 for the top 5 jurisdictions (based on December 31, 2025 delinquency inventory) appears in the following table.
Primary Average RIF - Delinquent Loans
Florida
Texas
Illinois
California
Pennsylvania
All other jurisdictions
Total all jurisdictions
The primary average RIF on all loans was $72,995 and $70,475 at December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. The increase is primarily due to an increase in the average loan balances in recent years.
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The primary delinquency inventory by policy year at December 31, 2025 and 2024 appears in the following table.
Primary Delinquency Inventory by Policy Year
2004 and prior
2004 and prior %:
2016 and later %:
Total
Generally, on our primary business, the third and fourth year after loan origination have been periods with the highest level of new delinquency notices. Factors such as Annual Persistency and deteriorating economic conditions can impact the level and frequency of new notices we receive during a given period. As of December 31, 2025, 44% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2022, 61% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2021, and 80% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2020.
Underwriting and Other Expenses, Net
Underwriting and other expenses includes items such as employee compensation costs, outside service expenses, premium taxes, and depreciation and maintenance expense, and are reported net of ceding commissions.
Underwriting and other expenses, net for 2025 decreased to $200.6 million from $218.3 million in 2024. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in employee costs. See Note 14. - "Segment Reporting" to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion around significant segment expenses.
Year Ended December 31,
Underwriting expense ratio
The underwriting expense ratio is the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the underwriting and operating expenses, net and amortization of DAC to net premiums written. The underwriting expense ratio decreased in 2025 compared with 2024 due to a decrease in underwriting and operating expenses, net, and an increase in net premiums written.
Income Tax Expense and Effective Tax Rate
Our provision for income taxes for 2025 decreased to $190.2 million from $205.7 million in 2024 primarily due to a decrease in income before tax and a benefit recognized for the purchase of transferable federal tax credits. Our effective tax rate for 2025 and 2024 approximated the federal statutory income tax rate of 21%. See Note 16 – “Income Taxes” to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion of our tax position.
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Balance Sheet Review
The following sections focus on the assets and liabilities experiencing major developments in 2025.
Consolidated Balance Sheets - Assets
As of December 31,
(in thousands)
% Change
Investments
Cash and cash equivalents
Reinsurance recoverable on loss reserves (1)
Deferred incomes taxes, net
Other assets
Total Assets
(1) See "Liabilities and Equity" section below for further discussion.
Investment Portfolio - Our investment portfolio primarily consists of a diverse mix of highly rated fixed income securities. The return we generate on our investment portfolio is an important component of our consolidated financial results. The investment portfolio is designed to achieve the following objectives:
Operating Companies (1)
Holding Company
Preserve PMIERs assets
Provide liquidity with minimized realized loss
Maximize total return with emphasis on book yield, subject to our other objectives
Maintain highly liquid, low volatility assets
Limit portfolio volatility
Maintain high credit quality
Duration 3.5 to 5.5 years
Duration maximum of 2.5 years
(1) Primarily MGIC
To achieve our portfolio objectives, our asset allocation considers the risk and return parameters of the various asset classes in which we invest. This asset allocation is informed by, and based on, the following factors:
economic and market outlooks;
diversification effects;
security duration;
liquidity;
capital considerations; and
income tax rates.
The average duration and embedded investment yield of our investment portfolio as of December 31, 2025 and 2024 is shown in the following table.
Portfolio Duration and Embedded Investment Yield
December 31,
Effective Duration (in years)
Pre-tax yield (1)
After-tax yield (1)
(1) Embedded investment yield is calculated on a yield-to-worst basis.
The credit risk of a security is evaluated through analysis of the security's underlying fundamentals, including the issuer's sector, scale, profitability, debt coverage, and ratings. Our investment policy guidelines limit the amount of our credit exposure to any one issue, issuer and type of instrument. The following table shows the security ratings of our fixed income investments as of December 31, 2025 and 2024.
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Fixed income security ratings
Security Ratings (1)
December 31, 2025
December 31, 2024
AAA
BBB
(1) Ratings are provided by one or more of: Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings. If three ratings are available, the middle rating is used, otherwise the lowest rating is used.
Our investment portfolio was invested in comparable security types for the years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024. See Note 5 – “Investments” to our consolidated financial statements for additional disclosure on our investment portfolio.
Investments Outlook
The Federal Open Market Committee ("FOMC") reduced the federal funds rate three times in 2025, taking the rate from 4.50% to 3.75%. The FOMC held the federal funds rate at 3.75% in January, as it aims to support the labor market while being committed to returning inflation to its long-run target of 2.00%. The lagged effects of the FOMC’s actions and other ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical factors could create economic uncertainty and alter forward rate expectations, which may result in interest rate and credit spread volatility. Market volatility resulting from these factors, particularly the absolute level of rates and the rate of change, will continue to impact our investment valuations and returns.
The changes in unrealized investment gains and losses generally do not alter the management of our investment portfolio. We seek to manage our exposure to interest rate risk and volatility by maintaining a diverse mix of securities with an intermediate duration profile and generally hold fixed income investments until maturity. The quality of our fixed income portfolio remains very high and changes in unrealized gains and losses have little impact on our cash flows, statutory surplus, or other capital requirements.
Cash and Cash Equivalents - Cash and cash equivalents increased to $369.0 million as of December 31, 2025 (2024: $229.5 million), as net cash generated from operating and investing activities was only partially offset by cash used in financing activities.
Deferred Income Taxes - Our net deferred tax asset was $18.5 million as of December 31, 2025 (2024: $69.9 million). The change to our deferred tax asset during 2025 was primarily due to the change in the fair market value of our investment portfolio and our accelerated deduction of research and experimental costs allowable under 2025 tax legislation. We owned $984.2 million and $968.2 million of tax and loss bonds at December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. See Note 1 6 – “Income Taxes” to our consolidated financial statements for additional disclosure on the components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities.
Consolidated Balance Sheets - Liabilities and Equity
As of December 31,
(In thousands)
% Change
Liabilities
Loss reserves
Unearned premiums
Long-term debt
Federal tax credit payable
Other liabilities
Total Liabilities
Shareholders' equity
Common stock
Paid-in capital
AOCI, net of tax
Retained earnings
Total
Loss Reserves and Reinsurance Recoverable on Loss Reserves - Our loss reserves include estimates of losses and settlement expenses on (1) loans in our delinquency inventory (known as case reserves), (2) IBNR delinquencies, and (3) LAE. Our gross loss reserves are reduced by reinsurance recoverable on loss reserves to calculate a net reserve balance. Loss reserves increased to $474.9 million as of December 31, 2025, from $462.7 million of December 31, 2024. Reinsurance recoverables on loss reserves were $65.1 million and $47.3 million as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. Reinsurance recoverable is impacted by the mix of delinquencies covered by our QSR Transactions. The increase in our loss reserves was primarily driven by loss reserves
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established on new delinquency notices, offset partially by favorable development on previously received delinquencies. See Not e 8 - "Loss Reserves" to our consolidated financial statements for additional information on the composition of our loss reserves.
Unearned Premium - Our unearned premium decreased to $93.0 million as of December 31, 2025 from $120.4 million as of December 31, 2024 primarily due to the run-off of unearned premium on our existing portfolio of single premium policies, partially offset by new premium written on single premium policies.
Federal tax credit payable - We have purchased transferable federal tax credits from third parties. The increase to the federal tax credit payable in 2025 is primarily due to amounts owed to third parties for purchased credits.
Shareholders' Equity - The decrease in shareholders' equity primarily relates to the repurchases of our common stock and dividends paid to shareholders, partially offset by net income for the year ended December 31, 2025.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Consolidated Cash Flow Analysis
We have three primary types of cash flows: (1) operating cash flows, which consist mainly of cash generated by our insurance operations and income earned on our investment portfolio, less amounts paid for claims, interest expense and operating expenses, (2) investing cash flows related to the purchase, sale and maturity of investments and purchases of property and equipment and (3) financing cash flows generally from activities that impact our capital structure, such as changes in debt and shares outstanding, and dividend payments. The following table summarizes these three cash flows on a consolidated basis for the last two years.
Summary of Consolidated Cash Flows
Years ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Total cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities
Investing activities
Financing activities
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents
Operating Activities
The following list highlights the major sources and uses of cash flow from operating activities:
Sources
Premiums received
Loss payments from reinsurers
Investment income
Uses
Claim payments
Premium ceded to reinsurers
Interest expense
Operating expenses
Tax payments
Our largest source of cash is from premiums received from our insurance policies, which we receive on a monthly installment basis for most policies. Our largest cash outflows have generally been for our operating expenses and claims paid on our mortgage insurance policies. Net cash provided by operating activities in 2025 increased compared to 2024 primarily due to a decrease in taxes paid, an increase in premiums received, and a decrease in underwriting expenses paid, partially offset by an increase in losses paid, net.
We invest our net cash flow in various investment securities that earn interest. We also use cash to pay for our ongoing expenses such as employee costs, outside service expenses and debt interest.
In connection with our reinsurance transactions, we cede, or pay out, part of the premiums we receive to our reinsurers and collect cash when claims subject to our reinsurance coverage are paid.
In the next twelve months we will pay approximately $134.6 million for amounts owed to third parties for our purchase of transferable federal tax credits.
We also have purchase obligations totaling approximately $19.4 million which consist primarily of contracts related to our continued investment in our information technology infrastructure in the normal course of business. The majority of these obligations are under contracts that give us cancellation rights with notice. In the next twelve months we anticipate we will pay approximately $12.3 million for our purchase obligations.
We do not expect to make a contribution to the pension plan in 2026 and distributions from the supplemental executive retirement plan will be funded as incurred. The net funded status (the market value of our plan assets compared to the projected benefit obligation) will impact future contributions to our qualified pension plan.
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Investing Activities
The following list highlights the major sources and uses of cash flow from investing activities:
Sources
Proceeds from sales of investments
Proceeds from maturity of fixed income securities
Uses
Purchases of investments
We maintain an investment portfolio that is primarily invested in a diverse mix of fixed income securities. Net cash flows provided from investing activities in 2025 primarily reflects sales of fixed income securities that exceeded purchases of fixed income securities. Net cash flows used in investing activities in 2024 primarily reflected purchases of fixed income securities that exceeded sales of fixed income securities. For additional information on the composition of our investment portfolio refer to " Balance Sheet Review ".
Financing Activities
The following list highlights the major sources and uses of cash flow from financing activities:
Sources
Proceeds from debt and/or common stock issuances
Uses
Repayment/repurchase of debt
Repurchase of common stock
Payment of dividends to shareholders
Payment of withholding taxes related to share-based compensation net share settlement
Net cash flows used in financing activities in 2025 and 2024 primarily reflects the repurchases of our common stock, dividends to shareholders, and the payment of withholding taxes related to share-based compensation net share settlement.
Capitalization
Capital Risk
Capital risk is the risk of adverse impact on our ability to comply with capital requirements (regulatory and GSE) and to maintain the level, structure and composition of capital required for meeting financial performance objectives.
A strong capital position is essential to our business strategy and is important to maintain a competitive position in our industry. Our capital strategy focuses on long-term stability, which enables us to build and invest in our business, even in a stressed environment.
Our capital management objectives are to:
• influence and maintain compliance with capital requirements,
• maintain access to capital and reinsurance markets,
• manage our capital to support our business strategies and the competing priorities of relevant stakeholders,
• assess appropriate uses for capital that cannot be deployed in support of our business strategies, including the size and form of capital return to shareholders, and
• support business opportunities by enabling capital flexibility and efficiently using company resources.
These objectives are achieved through ongoing monitoring and management of our capital position, mortgage insurance portfolio stress modeling, and a capital governance framework. Capital management is intended to be flexible in order to react to a range of potential events. The focus we place on any individual objective may change over time due to factors that include, but are not limited to, economic conditions, changes at the GSEs, competition, and alternative transactions to transfer mortgage risk.
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Capital Structure
The following table summarizes our capital structure as of December 31, 2025, and 2024.
(In thousands, except ratio)
Common stock, paid-in capital, retained earnings
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax
Total shareholders' equity
Long-term debt, par value
Total capital resources
Ratio of long-term debt to shareholders' equity
The decrease in shareholders' equity primarily relates to the repurchases of our common stock and dividends paid to shareholders, partially offset by net income in the year ended December 31, 2025. See Note 11 - "Shareholders' Equity" for further information.
Debt Obligations - Holding Company
As of December 31, 2025, our holding company's debt obligations was $650 million in aggregate principal amount consisting of our 5.25% Notes due in 2028. See Note 3 - "Debt" for further information on our outstanding debt obligations impacting our consolidated financial statements in 2025 and 2024.
Liquidity Analysis - Holding Company
Our holding company had approximately $1.1 billion in cash and investments as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. These resources are maintained primarily to service our debt interest expense, pay debt maturities, repurchase shares, pay dividends to shareholders, and to settle intercompany obligations. While these assets are held, we generate investment income that serves to offset a portion of our cash requirements. The payment of dividends from MGIC are the principal source of holding company cash inflow and their payment is restricted by insurance regulation. See Note 13 - “Statutory Information” to our consolidated financial statements for additional information about MGIC’s dividend restrictions. The payment of dividends from MGIC is also influenced by our view of the appropriate level of excess PMIERs Available Assets to maintain, which can change over time. Raising capital in the public markets is another potential source of holding company liquidity. The ability to raise capital in the public markets is subject to prevailing market conditions, investor demand for the securities to be issued, and our deemed creditworthiness.
During 2025 and 2024, we repurchased 30.1 million and 25.3 million shares of our common stock for $782.0 million and $566.6 million, respectively. Through February 20, 2026 we repurchased 4.5 million shares of our common stock for $120.5 million. The repurchase programs may be suspended or discontinued at any time. In 2026, we expect share repurchase programs will remain our primary means of returning capital to shareholders.
In 2025, we paid dividends of $0.13 to shareholders in the first and second quarters and $0.15 to shareholders in the third and fourth quarters. On January 27, 2026, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per common share to shareholders of record on February 17, 2026, payable on March 6, 2026. We expect to continue to make dividend payments to shareholders in 2026.
Over the next twelve months the principal demand on our holding company resources will be interest payments on our 5.25% Notes approximating $34.0 million, based on the debt outstanding at December 31, 2025, and dividends to our shareholders. We believe our holding company has sufficient sources of liquidity to meet its payment obligations for the foreseeable future.
We may use holding company cash to repurchase additional shares or to repurchase our outstanding debt obligations. Such repurchases may be material, may be made for cash (funded by debt) and/or exchanges for other securities, and may be made in open market purchases (including through 10b5-1 plans), privately negotiated acquisitions or other transactions.
Significant cash and investments inflows at our holding company during the year were:
• $800.0 million dividends received from MGIC,
• $101.7 million intercompany tax receipts, and
• $31.9 million of investment income.
Significant cash outflows at our holding company during the year were:
• $788.6 million of net share repurchase transactions,
• $132.5 million of cash dividends paid to shareholders, and
• $34.1 million of interest payments on our outstanding debt obligations.
The net unrealized losses on our holding company investment portfolio were approximately $0.4 million at December 31, 2025 and the portfolio had a modified duration of approximately 0.7 years.
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The ability of MGIC to pay dividends is restricted by insurance regulation. Amounts in excess of prescribed limits are deemed “extraordinary” and may not be paid if disapproved by the OCI. A dividend is extraordinary when the proposed dividend amount, plus dividends paid in the twelve months preceding the dividend payment date exceed the ordinary dividend level. In 2026, MGIC can pay $89 million of ordinary dividends without OCI approval, before taking into consideration dividends paid in the preceding twelve months. In 2025 and 2024, MGIC paid a cash and/or investment security dividend of $800 million and $750 million, respectively, to our holding company. Future dividend payments from MGIC to the holding company will be determined in consultation with the Board of Directors, and after considering any updated estimates about our business. We ask the Wisconsin OCI not to object before MGIC pays dividends to the holding company.
Scheduled debt maturities beyond the next twelve months include $650 million of our 5.25% Notes in 2028. See Note 3 – “Debt” to our consolidated financial statements for additional information about our long term debt. The description in Note 3 - “Debt" to our consolidated financial statements is qualified in its entirety by the terms of the notes. The terms of our 5.25% Notes are contained in a Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 12, 2020, between us and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee, which is included as an exhibit to our 8-K filed with the SEC on August 12, 2020, and in the Indenture dated as of October 15, 2000 between us and the trustee.
Although not anticipated in the near term, we may also contribute funds to our insurance operations to comply with the PMIERs or the State Capital Requirements. See “ Overview – PMIERs” above for a discussion of these requirements.
Debt at Subsidiaries
MGIC did not have any outstanding debt obligations at December 31, 2025. MGIC is a member of the FHLB, which provides MGIC access to an additional source of liquidity through a secured lending facility. We may borrow from the FHLB at any time.
Capital Adequacy
PMIERs
As of December 31, 2025, MGIC’s Available Assets under the PMIERs totaled approximately $5.7 billion, an excess of approximately $2.5 billion over its Minimum Required Assets; MGIC is in compliance with the requirements of the PMIERs and eligible to insure loans delivered to or purchased by the GSEs.
The table below presents the PMIERs capital credit for our reinsurance transactions.
PMIERs - Reinsurance Credit
December 31,
(In millions)
QSR Transactions
Home Re Transactions
Traditional XOL Transactions
Total capital credit for reinsurance transactions
The total calculated PMIERs credit for risk ceded under our XOL Transactions are based on the PMIERs requirement of the covered policies and the attachment and detachment points of the coverage, all of which fluctuate over time. (See Note 1 - “Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation” .)
The PMIERs generally require us to hold significantly more Minimum Required Assets for delinquent loans than for performing loans and the Minimum Required Assets required to be held increases as the number of payments missed on a delinquent loan increases. Refer to " Overview - PMIERs" of this MD&A and our risk factor titled “We may not continue to meet the GSEs’ private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements and our returns may decrease if we are required to maintain more capital in order to maintain our eligibility” in Item 1A . for further discussion of PMIERs.
Risk-to-Capital
The risk-to-capital ratio is our net RIF divided by our policyholders' position. Our net RIF includes primary RIF and excludes risk on policies for which case loss reserves have been established and the risk covered by reinsurance transactions. MGIC's policyholders’ position consists primarily of statutory policyholders’ surplus (which generally changes due to statutory net income/loss and dividends paid, among other things), plus the statutory contingency loss reserve. The statutory contingency loss reserve is reported as a liability on the statutory balance sheet. A mortgage insurance company is required to make annual additions to a contingency loss reserve of approximately 50% of earned premiums. These contributions must generally be maintained for a period of ten years. However, with regulatory approval a mortgage insurance company may make early withdrawals from the contingency loss reserve when incurred losses exceed 35% of earned premiums in a calendar year.
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The table below presents MGIC's risk-to-capital calculation.
Risk-to-Capital - MGIC
December 31,
(In millions)
RIF - net (1)
Statutory policyholders' surplus
Statutory contingency reserve
Statutory policyholders' position
Risk-to-capital
(1) RIF – net, as shown in the table above, is net of reinsurance and exposure on policies for which case loss reserves have been established ($1.8 billion at December 31, 2025 and $1.8 billion at December 31, 2024).
For additional information regarding regulatory capital see Note 13 – “Statutory Information” to our consolidated financial statements as well as our risk factor titled “State capital requirements may prevent us from continuing to write new insurance on an uninterrupted basis” in Item 1A .
Financial Strength Ratings
Financial strength ratings are published by third-party rating agencies as an independent opinion of an insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet ongoing insurance and contract obligations. The financial strength ratings for MGIC and MAC through the date of this filing are listed below:
MGIC Financial Strength Ratings
MAC Financial Strength Ratings
Rating Agency
Rating
Outlook
Rating Agency
Rating
Outlook
Moody's Investors Service
Stable
Standard and Poor's Rating Services
Positive
Standard and Poor's Rating Services
Positive
A.M. Best
Stable
A.M. Best
Stable
For further information about the importance of MGIC’s ratings and rating methodologies, see our risk factor titled “Competition or changes in our relationships with our customers could reduce our revenues, reduce our premium yields and / or increase our losses” in Item 1A .
MGIC Investment Corporation 2025 Form 10-K | 74
Critical Accounting Estimates
The accounting estimate described below requires significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Loss Reserves
The estimation of case loss reserves is subject to inherent uncertainty and requires significant judgment by management. Changes to our estimates could result in a material impact to our consolidated results and financial position, even in a stable economic environment.
Case Reserves
Case reserves are established for estimated insurance losses when notices of delinquency on insured mortgage loans are received. Such loans are referred to as being in our delinquency inventory. For reporting purposes, we consider a loan delinquent when it is two or more payments past due and has not become current or resulted in a claim payment. Although the accounting standard, ASC 944, regarding accounting and reporting by insurance entities specifically excludes mortgage insurance from its guidance relating to loss reserves, we establish loss reserves using the general principles contained in the insurance standard. However, consistent with industry standards for mortgage insurers, we do not establish case loss reserves for future claims on insured loans which are not currently delinquent.
We establish reserves using estimated claim rates and claim severities in estimating the ultimate loss.
The estimated claim rates and claim severities are used to determine the amount we estimate will actually be paid on the delinquent loans as of the reserve date. If a policy is rescinded we do not expect that it will result in a claim payment and thus the rescission generally reduces the historical claim rate used in establishing reserves. In addition, if a loan cures its delinquency, including through a successful loan modification, the cure reduces the historical claim rate used in establishing reserves. To establish reserves, we utilize a reserving model that continually incorporates historical data into the estimated claim rate. The model also incorporates an estimate for severity. The severity is estimated using the historical percentage of our claims paid compared to our loan exposures, as well as the RIF of the loans currently in default. We do not utilize an explicit rescission rate in our reserving methodology, but rather our reserving methodology incorporates the effects rescission activity has had on our historical claim rate and claim severities. We review recent trends in the claim rate, claim severity, levels of defaults by geography and average loan exposure. As a result, the process to determine reserves does not include quantitative ranges of outcomes that are reasonably likely to occur.
The claim rates and claim severities are affected by external events, including actual economic conditions such as changes in unemployment rates, interest rates or housing values, pandemics and natural disasters. Our estimation process does not include a correlation between claim rates and claim severities to projected economic conditions such as changes in unemployment rates, interest rates or housing values. Our experience is that analysis of that nature would not produce reliable results as the change in one economic condition cannot be isolated to determine its specific effect on our ultimate paid losses because each economic condition is also influenced by other economic conditions. Additionally, the changes and interactions of these economic conditions are not likely homogeneous throughout the regions in which we conduct business. Each economic condition influences our ultimate paid losses differently, even if apparently similar in nature. Furthermore, changes in economic conditions may not necessarily be reflected in our loss development in the quarter or year in which the changes occur. Actual claim results generally lag changes in economic conditions by at least nine to twelve months.
Our estimate of loss reserves is sensitive to changes in claim rate and claim severity; it is possible that even a relatively small change in our estimated claim rate or claim severity could have a material impact on reserves and, correspondingly, on our consolidated results of operations even in a stable economic environment. For example, as of December 31, 2025, assuming all other factors remain constant, a $1,000 increase/decrease in the average claim severity reserve factor would change the reserve amount by approximately +/- $7 million. A one percentage point increase/decrease in the average claim rate reserve factor would change the reserve amount by approximately +/- $19 million. Historically, it has not been uncommon for us to experience variability in the development of loss reserves from period to period, as shown in the table below:
Historical Development of Loss Reserves
(In thousands)
Losses incurred related to prior years (1)
Reserve at end of prior year
(1) A negative number for a prior year indicates a redundancy of loss reserves. A positive number for a prior year indicates a deficiency of loss reserves.
See Note 8 – “Loss Reserves” to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion of recent loss development.
MGIC Investment Corporation 2025 Form 10-K | 75
- Exhibit 19mtg-123125xex19q42025.htm · 77.2 KB
- Exhibit 21mtg-123125xex21q42025.htm · 11.6 KB
- Exhibit 23mtg-123125xex23q42025.htm · 2.3 KB
- Exhibit 32mtg-123125xex32q42025.htm · 4.6 KB
- Exhibit 43mtg-123125xex43q42025.htm · 11.4 KB
- Exhibit 97mtg-123125xex97q42025.htm · 29.6 KB
- Exhibit 106mtg-123125xex106q42025.htm · 5.2 KB
- Exhibit 311mtg-123125xex311q42025.htm · 9.1 KB
- Exhibit 312mtg-123125xex312q42025.htm · 9.1 KB
- 0000876437-26-000010-index-headers.html0000876437-26-000010-index-headers.html
- Exhibit 1012mtg-123125xex1012q42025.htm · 10.8 KB
- Exhibit 10229mtg-123125xex10229q42025.htm · 67.3 KB
- Exhibit 10230mtg-123125xex10230q42025.htm · 31.6 KB
- Ticker
- MTG
- CIK
0000876437- Form Type
- 10-K
- Accession Number
0000876437-26-000010- Filed
- Feb 25, 2026
- Period
- Dec 31, 2025 (Q4 25)
- Industry
- Surety Insurance
External resources
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