Note 4 - Segment Reporting Schedule of Segment Reporting Information by Segment (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended						0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014		Sep. 30, 2014		Jun. 30, 2014		Mar. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013		Sep. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2013		Mar. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2014 segment		Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Dec. 22, 2014	Dec. 31, 2011
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of Reportable Segments																	2
Net premiums written—insurance																	$ 925,181,000		$ 950,998,000		$ 806,305,000
(Increase) decrease in unearned premiums																	(80,653,000)		(169,578,000)		(103,920,000)
Net premiums earned—insurance	224,293,000		217,827,000		203,646,000		198,762,000		200,356,000		200,120,000		197,952,000		182,992,000		844,528,000		781,420,000		702,385,000
Services revenue	34,450,000		42,243,000		0		0										76,693,000		0		0
Net investment income	16,531,000		17,143,000		16,663,000		15,318,000		17,722,000		16,351,000		17,087,000		16,961,000		65,655,000		68,121,000		72,679,000
Other Income																	5,820,000		6,890,000		5,595,000
Provision for losses	82,867,000		48,942,000		64,648,000		49,626,000		144,072,000		149,687,000		137,661,000		131,327,000		246,083,000		562,747,000		921,548,000
Change In Present Value of Estimated Credit Loss Payments																	(113,000)		21,000		(933,000)
Policy acquisition costs																	24,446,000		28,485,000		34,131,000
Direct cost of services	19,709,000		23,896,000		0		0										43,605,000		0		0
Interest expense																	90,464,000		74,618,000		51,832,000
Operating Income (Loss) Pre-Tax Non-GAAP																	342,382,000		(67,435,000)		(395,253,000)
Investments and Cash	3,659,764,000																3,659,764,000
Restricted cash	14,031,000								22,527,000								14,031,000		22,527,000
Deferred policy acquisition costs	12,003,000								29,741,000								12,003,000		29,741,000
Goodwill	191,932,000																191,932,000
Intangible Assets, Net (Excluding Goodwill)	96,308,000																96,308,000
Assets held for sale	1,736,444,000	[1]							1,768,061,000								1,736,444,000	[1]	1,768,061,000		2,000,000,000
Total assets	6,859,963,000								5,621,691,000								6,859,963,000		5,621,691,000
Unearned premiums	644,504,000								567,072,000								644,504,000		567,072,000
Reserve for losses and LAE	1,560,032,000								2,164,353,000								1,560,032,000		2,164,353,000
Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs																	6,680,000		0		0
Net gains (losses) on investments	(18,658,000)	[2]	6,308,000	[2]	(28,233,000)	[2]	(43,286,000)	[2]	2,631,000	[2]	6,366,000	[2]	86,808,000	[2]	3,140,000	[2]	(83,869,000)	[2]	98,945,000	[2]	(114,282,000)
Net (losses) gains on other financial instruments	675,000		(14,000)		2,901,000		318,000		2,208,000		193,000		(60,000)		5,239,000		3,880,000		7,580,000		(7,802,000)
Derivative, Loss on Derivative																					(192,000)
Derivative, Gain on Derivative																	0		635,000
Mortgage Insurance Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net premiums written—insurance																	925,181,000		950,998,000		806,305,000
(Increase) decrease in unearned premiums																	(80,653,000)		(169,578,000)		(103,920,000)
Net premiums earned—insurance																	844,528,000		781,420,000		702,385,000
Services revenue																	0
Net investment income																	65,655,000	[3]	68,121,000	[4]	72,679,000	[4]
Other Income																	5,321,000	[3]	6,255,000	[5],[6]	5,787,000	[5],[6]
Revenue Non GAAP Basis																	915,504,000		855,796,000	[7]	780,851,000	[7]
Provision for losses																	246,865,000	[8]	562,747,000		921,548,000
Change In Present Value of Estimated Credit Loss Payments																	113,000		(21,000)		933,000
Policy acquisition costs																	24,446,000		28,485,000		34,131,000
Direct cost of services																	0
Other operating expenses																	225,544,000	[3],[9]	257,402,000	[10]	167,660,000	[10]
Interest expense																	81,600,000	[3]	74,618,000	[11]	51,832,000	[11]
Total Expenses Non-GAAP																	578,568,000		923,231,000		1,176,104,000
Operating Income (Loss) Pre-Tax Non-GAAP																	336,936,000	[12],[13]	(67,435,000)	[12]	(395,253,000)	[12]
Investments and Cash	3,649,582,000								3,384,558,000								3,649,582,000		3,384,558,000		3,447,201,000
Restricted cash	11,508,000								22,527,000								11,508,000		22,527,000		24,225,000
Deferred policy acquisition costs	12,003,000								29,741,000								12,003,000		29,741,000		38,478,000
Goodwill	0																0
Intangible Assets, Net (Excluding Goodwill)	137,000																137,000
Total assets	4,786,641,000								3,853,630,000	[14]							4,786,641,000		3,853,630,000	[14]	3,937,588,000	[14]
Unearned premiums	644,504,000								567,072,000								644,504,000		567,072,000		382,413,000
Reserve for losses and LAE	1,560,032,000								2,164,353,000								1,560,032,000		2,164,353,000		3,083,608,000			3,247,900,000
New Insurance Written																	37,349,000,000		47,255,000,000		37,061,000,000
Costs and Expenses, Related Party																	800,000
Entity Wide Revenue, Major Customer, Number of Customers									1										1		1
Mortgage Insurance Segment | Earned Premium Benchmark, Amount [Member] | Customer B [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Entity Wide Revenue, Major Customer, Number of Customers	1																1
Mortgage and Real Estate Services Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net premiums written—insurance																	0	[15]
(Increase) decrease in unearned premiums																	0	[15]
Net premiums earned—insurance																	0	[15]
Services revenue																	76,709,000	[15],[16]
Net investment income																	0	[15],[3]
Other Income																	1,265,000	[15],[3]
Revenue Non GAAP Basis																	77,974,000	[15]
Provision for losses																	0	[15],[8]
Change In Present Value of Estimated Credit Loss Payments																	0	[15]
Policy acquisition costs																	0	[15]
Direct cost of services																	43,605,000	[15]
Other operating expenses																	20,059,000	[15],[3],[9]
Interest expense																	8,864,000	[15],[3]
Total Expenses Non-GAAP																	72,528,000	[15]
Operating Income (Loss) Pre-Tax Non-GAAP																	5,446,000	[15],[17]	0		0
Investments and Cash	10,182,000	[15]															10,182,000	[15]
Restricted cash	2,523,000	[15]															2,523,000	[15]
Deferred policy acquisition costs	0	[15]															0	[15]
Goodwill	191,932,000	[15]							2,095,000								191,932,000	[15]	2,095,000
Intangible Assets, Net (Excluding Goodwill)	96,171,000	[15]															96,171,000	[15]
Total assets	336,878,000	[15]															336,878,000	[15]
Unearned premiums	0																0
Reserve for losses and LAE	0																0
Revenue from Related Parties																	800,000
Mortgage Insurance and Mortgage and Real Estate Services Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net premiums written—insurance																	925,181,000
(Increase) decrease in unearned premiums																	(80,653,000)
Net premiums earned—insurance																	844,528,000
Services revenue																	76,709,000	[16]
Net investment income																	65,655,000	[3]
Other Income																	6,586,000	[3]
Revenue Non GAAP Basis																	993,478,000	[18]
Provision for losses																	246,865,000	[8]
Change In Present Value of Estimated Credit Loss Payments																	113,000
Policy acquisition costs																	24,446,000
Direct cost of services																	43,605,000
Other operating expenses																	245,603,000	[3],[9]
Interest expense																	90,464,000	[3]
Total Expenses Non-GAAP																	651,096,000
Operating Income (Loss) Pre-Tax Non-GAAP																	342,382,000
Continuing Operations [Member] | Mortgage Insurance Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Derivative, Loss on Derivative																					(200,000)
Derivative, Gain on Derivative																			600,000
Sale of Radian Asset Assurance [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sale of Stock, Percentage of Ownership before Transaction																							100.00%
Investment Income [Member] | Continuing Operations [Member] | Mortgage Insurance Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Segment Reporting, Previously Allocated Income (Expense) to Discontinued Operations																	4,800,000		6,500,000		9,500,000
Other Income [Member] | Continuing Operations [Member] | Mortgage Insurance Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Segment Reporting, Previously Allocated Income (Expense) to Discontinued Operations																	300,000		200,000		200,000
Interest Expense [Member] | Continuing Operations [Member] | Mortgage Insurance Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Segment Reporting, Previously Allocated Income (Expense) to Discontinued Operations																	(53,300,000)		(56,600,000)		(44,400,000)
Operating Expense [Member] | Continuing Operations [Member] | Mortgage Insurance Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Segment Reporting, Previously Allocated Income (Expense) to Discontinued Operations																	$ (13,500,000)		$ (20,500,000)		$ (15,200,000)

[1] Assets held for sale are not part of the mortgage insurance or MRES segments.

[2] The 2014 and 2013 amounts reflect unrealized gains (losses), respectively, on our trading securities.

[3] Includes corporate income and expenses that have been reallocated to the mortgage insurance segment that were previously allocated to the financial guaranty segment, but were not reclassified to discontinued operations. These items include net investment income of $4.8 million, other income of $0.3 million, interest expense of $53.3 million and corporate overhead expenses of $13.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2014.

[4] Net investment income of $6.5 million and $9.5 million has been reallocated to the mortgage insurance segment for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

[5] Does not include change in fair value of derivative instruments of $0.6 million and ($0.2) million for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

[6] Other income of $0.2 million has been reallocated to the mortgage insurance segment for each of the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012.

[7] For the year ended December 31, 2013, excludes the following revenue items not included in adjusted pretax operating loss: (a) net losses on investments of $98.9 million; (b) net losses on other financial instruments of $7.6 million; and (c) change in fair value of derivative instruments of $0.6 million. For the year ended December 31, 2012, excludes the following revenue items not included in adjusted pretax operating loss: (a) net gains on investments of $114.3 million;(b) net losses on other financial instruments of $7.8 million; and (c) change in fair value of derivative instruments of ($0.2) million.

[8] Includes inter-segment expenses of $0.8 million in the mortgage insurance segment.

[9] Excludes $6.7 million of acquisition-related expenses not included in segment other operating expenses.

[10] Corporate overhead expenses of $20.5 million and $15.2 million have been reallocated to the mortgage insurance segment for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

[11] Interest expense of $56.6 million and $44.4 million has been reallocated to the mortgage insurance segment for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

[12] Includes certain corporate income and expenses that have been reallocated to the mortgage insurance segment for all periods presented, as listed in the preceding detailed tables. These amounts represent items that were previously allocated to the financial guaranty segment but were not reclassified to discontinued operations.

[13] Includes inter-segment expenses of $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2014.

[14] Does not include assets held for sale of $1.8 billion and $2.0 billion for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, which are not a part of the mortgage insurance segment.

[15] Includes the acquisition of Clayton, effective June 30, 2014.

[16] Includes a de minimis amount of inter-segment revenues in the MRES segment.

[17] Includes inter-segment revenues of $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2014.

[18] Excludes the following revenue items not included in adjusted pretax operating income: (a) net gains on investments of $83.9 million; and (b) net losses on other financial instruments of $3.9 million. Includes inter-segment revenues of $0.8 million in the MRES segment.