Note 10 - Losses and LAE Rescissions And Denials (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended																					12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended		36 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				24 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 Q1 2010 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Q2 2010 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Q3 2010 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Q4 2010 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Q1 2011 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Q2 2011 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Q3 2011 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Q4 2011 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Q1 2012 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Q2 2012 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Rescissions [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Mortgage Insurance Segment		Dec. 31, 2011 Mortgage Insurance Segment		Dec. 31, 2010 Mortgage Insurance Segment		Dec. 31, 2012 Denials [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Claims Denied in the Last Twelve Months [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Policies Rescinded in the Last Twenty Four Months [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Non Overturned Rescission And Denial Rebuttals [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Mortgage Insurance Segment percentagepoint	Dec. 31, 2011 Mortgage Insurance Segment	Dec. 31, 2010 Mortgage Insurance Segment	Dec. 31, 2012 Mortgage Insurance Segment Claims Denied in the Last Twelve Months [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Mortgage Insurance Segment Policies Rescinded in the Last Twenty Four Months [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Mortgage Insurance Segment Reinstatements and Resubmission of Policies and Claims Related to Previously Rescinded or Denied Policies and Claims [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member] Mortgage Insurance Segment Claims Denied in the Last Twelve Months [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member] Mortgage Insurance Segment Policies Rescinded in the Last Twenty Four Months [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum [Member] Mortgage Insurance Segment Claims Denied in the Last Twelve Months [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum [Member] Mortgage Insurance Segment Policies Rescinded in the Last Twenty Four Months [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Non Pool Mortgage Insurance Product [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Pool Insurance Mortgage Insurance Product [Member]
Rescissions And Denials [Line Items]
Number of Years That Mortgage Insurance That Has Been Rebutted But Not Overturned																																										2 years	3 years
Number of Months That the Gross Reinstatement Rate Used in Estimating Claim Liability Declines																													12 months	24 months
Decrease To Our Loss Reserves Due To Estimated Rescissions And Denials																																$ 455,000,000	$ 631,000,000
Increase To Our Loss Reserves Due To Estimated Future Reinstatements Of Previously Rescinded Policies And Denied Claims																																303,000,000	129,000,000
Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense, Incurred Claims, Prior Years																																21,996,000	166,778,000	557,766,000			120,300,000
Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense, Incurred but Not Reported (IBNR) Claims, Amount																																323,000,000	170,600,000
Claims Rescissions and Denials [Abstract]
Claim rescissions																						279,300,000		474,200,000		538,300,000
Claim denials																						539,400,000		170,900,000		261,700,000
Total rescissions and denials																						818,700,000	[1]	645,100,000	[1]	800,000,000	[1]
Non Overturned Rebuttals on Rescinded First Lien Claims [Abstract]
Total Non Overturned Rebuttals On Rescinded First Lien Claims																															461,400,000
Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense, Reported and Incurred but Not Reported (IBNR) Claims																					87,700,000							215,300,000
Gross Exposure Related to Denied Claims From Previous Twelve Months																																			600,000,000
Gross Exposure Related to Rescinded Policies Within Twenty Four Months																																				1,000,000,000
Gross Reinstatement Percentage Assumption for Denied Claims																																						60.00%		0.00%
Gross Reinstatement Percentage Assumption on Rescinded Policies																																							16.00%		0.00%
Accrued Liability For Premiums Expected To Be Refunded From Rescissions																						48,000,000		57,200,000
Cumulative Denial And Rescission Rates Net Of Reinstatements [Abstract]
Claim Received Quarter	Q1 2010		Q2 2010		Q3 2010		Q4 2010		Q1 2011		Q2 2011		Q3 2011		Q4 2011		Q1 2012		Q2 2012
Cummulative Rescission Rate For Each Quarter	18.50%	[2]	17.60%	[2]	16.00%	[2]	17.40%	[2]	20.80%	[2]	24.60%	[2]	28.10%	[2]	23.20%	[2]	21.30%	[2]	19.40%	[2]
Percentage Of Claims Resolved	100.00%	[3]	100.00%	[3]	100.00%	[3]	100.00%	[3]	99.00%	[3]	99.00%	[3]	97.00%	[3]	94.00%	[3]	84.00%	[3]	59.00%	[3]
Percentage Point Change In Severity Used In Assumption Shift Analysis																																1
First Lien Primary Claim Severity																																27.00%
Impact To Loss Reserves Based On One Percentage Change In Primary Claim Severity																																87,000,000
First Lien Pool Claim Severity																																45.00%
Impact To Loss Reserves Based On One Percentage Change In Pool Claim Severity																																5,000,000
Weighted Average Default To Claim Rate Assumption Net Of Denials And Rescissions																																47.00%	43.00%	40.00%
Impact To Loss Reserves Based On One Percentage Change in Default To Claim Rate																																$ 55,000,000

[1] Includes an amount related to a small number of submitted claims that were subsequently withdrawn by the insured.

[2] The percentage of claims resolved for each quarter represents the number of claims that have been internally resolved as a percentage of the total number of claims received for that specific quarter. A claim is considered internally resolved when it is either paid or it is concluded that the claim should be denied or rescinded, though such denials or rescissions could be challenged and potentially reinstated or overturned, respectively. For the third and fourth quarters of 2012, a significant portion of claims received for those quarters have not been internally resolved; therefore, we do not believe the cumulative rescission/denial rates for those periods are presently meaningful and, therefore, they are not presented.

[3] Projected net cumulative rescission/denial rates represent the ratio of claims rescinded or denied to claims received (by claim count). Rescissions and denials are net of actual reinstatements, plus our current estimate for expected reinstatements of previously rescinded or denied claims. These amounts represent the cumulative rates for each quarter as of December 31, 2012. Until all of the claims received during the periods shown have been internally resolved, the rescission/denial rates for each quarter will be subject to change. As discussed in footnote (2) below, these rates also will remain subject to change based on differences between estimated and actual reinstatements of previously rescinded policies or denied claims.