April 23 (Reuters) – Mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Corp posted a narrower first-quarter loss as the housing market shows signs of improvement and fewer Americans struggle with their mortgage payments.
Mortgage insurers protect lenders when homebuyers make downpayments below 20 percent. As house prices soared in the first-half of the last decade, MGIC Investment, Radian Inc and life insurer Genworth's mortgage unit, insured millions of mortgages at low premiums.
When the crisis led to a wave of foreclosures, the insurers were forced to pay out billions of dollars and were left with weak balance sheets and high risk ratios.
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