Top Mortgage Insurance Companies

Last year, MGIC Investment Corp. was the top mortgage insurance company in the United States, with $1.32 billion in direct insurance premium written, per the III.

The Milwaukee-based insurance company claimed a healthy 24.2% of total market share and nearly doubled the volume of the second largest mortgage insurer.

Speaking of, PMI Group Inc., the second largest mortgage insurer, wrote $839 million in premium and grabbed 15.4% of market share.

Now infamous American International Group (AIG) was a close third with $816 million in insurance written, claiming 15% of market share.

Radian Group and Genworth Financial rounded out the top five with totals not far off that of PMI Group and AIG.

Then things dropped off considerably, with the tenth mortgage insurer on the list writing a piddly $3,000 in business.

Mortgage insurance, also known as private mortgage insurance or PMI, is required on all residential mortgages with a loan-to-value above 80%.

In other words, if you put down less than 20% or have less than 20% equity in your home when you refinance, your bank or lender will require you to take out mortgage insurance.

Mortgage insurance protects the lender in cases where homeowners default – it is does not protect the homeowner!

Note: The seventh insurer is actually Triad Guaranty, not Trian Guaranty, as the chart displays.

Read more: Is homeowners insurance included in the mortgage?