Note 1 - Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements - Basis of Presentation and Business Overview (Notes)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements - Basis of Presentation and Business Overview	Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements—Basis of Presentation and Business Overview Our condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Radian Group Inc. and its subsidiaries. We refer to Radian Group Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries as “Radian,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our,” unless the context requires otherwise. We generally refer to Radian Group Inc. alone, without its consolidated subsidiaries, as “Radian Group.” Unless otherwise defined in this report, certain terms and acronyms used throughout this report are defined in the Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms included as part of this report. Our condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP and include the accounts of all wholly-owned subsidiaries. Companies in which we, or one of our subsidiaries, exercise significant influence (generally ownership interests ranging from 20% to 50%), are accounted for in accordance with the equity method of accounting. Any VIEs for which we are the primary beneficiary are consolidated. All intercompany accounts and transactions, and intercompany profits and losses, have been eliminated. We have condensed or omitted certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP pursuant to the instructions set forth in Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the SEC. The financial information presented for interim periods is unaudited; however, such information reflects all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair statement of the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income and cash flows for the interim periods presented. Such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from our audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto included in our 2014 Form 10-K. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year or for any other period. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of our contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. While the amounts included in our condensed consolidated financial statements include our best estimates and assumptions, actual results may vary materially. In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued an update to the accounting standard for reporting discontinued operations and disclosures of disposals of components of an entity. This update changes the requirements for reporting discontinued operations. A disposal of a component of an entity or a group of components of an entity is required to be reported in discontinued operations if the disposal represents (or would represent) a strategic shift that has (or will have) a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results when any of the following occurs: (a) the component of an entity or group of components of an entity meets the criteria to be classified as held for sale; (b) the component of an entity or group of components of an entity is disposed of by sale; or (c) the component of an entity or group of components of an entity is disposed of other than by sale (for example, by abandonment or in a distribution to owners in a spin-off). The amendments in this update require expanded disclosures about discontinued operations. The provisions of this update are effective for all disposals (or classifications as held for sale) of components of an entity that occur within annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014, and interim periods within those years. The significance of this guidance for the Company is dependent on any future dispositions or disposals. In May 2014, the FASB issued an update to the accounting standard regarding revenue recognition. This update is intended to provide a consistent approach in recognizing revenue. In accordance with the new standard, recognition of revenue occurs when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In addition, the new standard requires that reporting companies disclose the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. While this update is not expected to change revenue recognition principles related to our insurance products, this update may be applicable to revenues from our Services segment, which has been included in our condensed consolidated statements of operations beginning with the third quarter of 2014. The provisions of this update are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. We are currently evaluating the impact to our financial statements and future disclosures as a result of this update, if any. In April 2015, the FASB issued an update to the accounting standard for the presentation of debt issuance costs in financial statements. The new standard requires an entity to present debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability as a direct reduction from the carrying amount of the related debt liability, consistent with debt discounts, rather than as a separate asset as currently required. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by the update. The provisions of this update are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015 and must be applied on a retrospective basis for all periods presented. Early adoption is permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. Upon adoption, the standard requires an entity to disclose: (a) the nature of and reason for the change in accounting principle; (b) the transition method; (c) a description of the prior period information that has been retrospectively adjusted; and (d) the effect of the change on the financial statement line items. The implementation of this update would result in a reclassification to present debt issuance costs as a reduction of the related debt liability rather than as an asset on our consolidated balance sheets. In April 2015, the FASB issued an update to the accounting standard for the accounting of internal-use software. The amendments in this update provide guidance to customers about whether a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license. If a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, then the customer should account for the software license element of the arrangement consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If a cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The provisions of this update are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and early adoption is permitted. Management is currently evaluating the potential impact to our financial statements, if any. Business Overview We provide mortgage and real estate products and services and have two reportable business segments—Mortgage Insurance and Services. On April 1, 2015, Radian Guaranty completed the previously disclosed sale to Assured of 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Radian Asset Assurance, a financial guaranty insurer, pursuant to the Radian Asset Assurance Stock Purchase Agreement dated as of December 22, 2014. As a result, until the April 1, 2015 sale date, the operating results of Radian Asset Assurance continue to be classified as discontinued operations for all periods presented in our condensed consolidated statements of operations. Prior periods have been revised to conform to the current period presentation for these changes. See Note 2 for additional information related to discontinued operations. Mortgage Insurance Our Mortgage Insurance segment provides credit-related insurance coverage, principally through private mortgage insurance, to mortgage lending institutions. We provide our mortgage insurance products mainly through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Radian Guaranty. Private mortgage insurance protects mortgage lenders from all or a portion of default-related losses on residential mortgage loans made to home buyers who generally make down payments of less than 20% of the home’s purchase price. Private mortgage insurance also facilitates the sale of these mortgage loans in the secondary mortgage market, most of which are sold to the GSEs. Our Mortgage Insurance segment currently offers primary mortgage insurance coverage on residential First-liens. At March 31, 2015, primary insurance on First-liens comprised approximately 97.3% of our $44.6 billion total direct RIF. At March 31, 2015, pool insurance, which we previously offered, represented approximately 2.6% of our total direct RIF. The FHFA, the GSEs and state insurance regulators impose various capital and financial requirements on our insurance subsidiaries. These include financial requirements, such as Risk-to-capital, other risk-based capital measures and surplus requirements, as well as the PMIERs Financial Requirements discussed below. Failure to comply with applicable financial requirements may limit the amount of insurance that our insurance subsidiaries may write. The GSEs and our state insurance regulators also possess significant discretion with respect to our insurance subsidiaries. On April 17, 2015, the FHFA issued the final PMIERs, setting forth revised requirements for private mortgage insurers, including Radian Guaranty, to remain eligible insurers of loans purchased by the GSEs. The PMIERs Financial Requirements require a mortgage insurer’s Available Assets to meet or exceed its Minimum Required Assets. Under the final PMIERs, Radian Guaranty’s Available Assets and Minimum Required Assets are determined on an aggregate basis, taking into account the assets and insured risk of Radian Guaranty and its affiliated reinsurers. Therefore, developments that impact the assets and insured risk of Radian Guaranty and its affiliated reinsurers individually (such as capital contributions from Radian Group) also will impact the aggregate Available Assets and Minimum Required Assets, and importantly, Radian Guaranty’s compliance with the PMIERs Financial Requirements. As a result, references to Radian Guaranty’s Available Assets and Minimum Required Assets take into consideration both Radian Guaranty and its affiliated reinsurers. Once they become effective for existing eligible mortgage insurers on December 31, 2015, the PMIERs Financial Requirements will replace the capital adequacy standards under the current GSE eligibility requirements. The final PMIERs Financial Requirements included significant changes to the Minimum Required Asset calculations from those originally published in the proposed PMIERs, with those changes primarily impacting the performing 2005 through 2008 vintage loans, as well as pool insurance. These changes resulted in a significant decrease to Radian Guaranty’s estimated Minimum Required Assets as compared to the estimated amount under the proposed PMIERs Financial Requirements. Based on our estimates of Radian Guaranty’s Available Assets and Minimum Required Assets as of March 31, 2015, we expect that Radian Guaranty will have the ability to immediately comply with the PMIERs Financial Requirements, after giving effect to the proceeds Radian Guaranty received from the sale of Radian Asset Assurance on April 1, 2015 and future expected contributions to Radian Guaranty and its affiliated reinsurers of only a portion of our holding company liquidity. The implementation of the final PMIERs will: (1) increase the amount of capital that Radian Guaranty is required to hold compared to current capital requirements, and therefore, reduce our current returns on subsidiary capital; (2) impose extensive and more stringent operational requirements in areas such as claim processing, loss mitigation, document retention, underwriting, quality control, reporting and monitoring, among others, that may result in additional costs in order to achieve and maintain compliance; and (3) require the consent of the GSEs for Radian Guaranty to take certain actions such as paying dividends, entering into various inter-company agreements, and commuting or reinsuring risk, among others. The NAIC is in the process of reviewing the minimum capital and surplus requirements for mortgage insurers and considering changes to the Model Act. While the outcome of this process is not known, it is possible that among other changes, the NAIC will recommend and adopt more stringent capital requirements than currently exist under the Model Act, which could increase the capital requirements for Radian Guaranty in states that adopt the new Model Act. Services Our Services segment provides outsourced services, information-based analytics and specialty consulting for buyers and sellers of, and investors in, mortgage loans and other real estate-related loans and securities and other debt instruments. The primary services of our Services segment include: (1) loan review/due diligence; (2) surveillance; (3) valuation and component services; (4) REO management; and (5) EuroRisk mortgage services in the United Kingdom and Europe. These services and solutions are provided primarily through Clayton and its subsidiary Green River Capital. During the first quarter of 2015, Clayton further expanded its service offerings by acquiring a real estate brokerage company that provides products and services that include automated valuation models; broker price opinions used by investors, lenders and loan servicers; and advanced technology solutions for: (1) monitoring loan portfolio performance; (2) tracking non-performing loans; (3) managing REO assets; and (4) valuing residential real estate through a secure platform. This real estate brokerage company is part of the Services segment. See Note 6 for additional information. BofA Settlement Agreement Implementation of the BofA Settlement Agreement commenced on February 1, 2015 for Subject Loans held in portfolio by the Insureds or purchased by the GSEs on that date. Approximately 12% of the Subject Loans are neither held in portfolio by the Insureds nor owned by the GSEs, and require the consent of certain other investors for these loans to be included in the BofA Settlement Agreement, except with respect to certain limited rights of cancellation. The contractual deadline for such consent has been extended to June 1, 2015. See Note 10 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our 2014 Form 10-K for additional information about the BofA Settlement Agreement.

Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements—Basis of Presentation and Business Overview

Our condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Radian Group Inc. and its subsidiaries. We refer to Radian Group Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries as “Radian,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our,” unless the context requires otherwise. We generally refer to Radian Group Inc. alone, without its consolidated subsidiaries, as “Radian Group.” Unless otherwise defined in this report, certain terms and acronyms used throughout this report are defined in the Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms included as part of this report.

Our condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP and include the accounts of all wholly-owned subsidiaries. Companies in which we, or one of our subsidiaries, exercise significant influence (generally ownership interests ranging from 20% to 50%), are accounted for in accordance with the equity method of accounting. Any VIEs for which we are the primary beneficiary are consolidated. All intercompany accounts and transactions, and intercompany profits and losses, have been eliminated. We have condensed or omitted certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP pursuant to the instructions set forth in Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the SEC.

The financial information presented for interim periods is unaudited; however, such information reflects all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair statement of the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income and cash flows for the interim periods presented. Such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from our audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto included in our 2014 Form 10-K. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year or for any other period. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of our contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. While the amounts included in our condensed consolidated financial statements include our best estimates and assumptions, actual results may vary materially.

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued an update to the accounting standard for reporting discontinued operations and disclosures of disposals of components of an entity. This update changes the requirements for reporting discontinued operations. A disposal of a component of an entity or a group of components of an entity is required to be reported in discontinued operations if the disposal represents (or would represent) a strategic shift that has (or will have) a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results when any of the following occurs: (a) the component of an entity or group of components of an entity meets the criteria to be classified as held for sale; (b) the component of an entity or group of components of an entity is disposed of by sale; or (c) the component of an entity or group of components of an entity is disposed of other than by sale (for example, by abandonment or in a distribution to owners in a spin-off). The amendments in this update require expanded disclosures about discontinued operations. The provisions of this update are effective for all disposals (or classifications as held for sale) of components of an entity that occur within annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014, and interim periods within those years. The significance of this guidance for the Company is dependent on any future dispositions or disposals.

In May 2014, the FASB issued an update to the accounting standard regarding revenue recognition. This update is intended to provide a consistent approach in recognizing revenue. In accordance with the new standard, recognition of revenue occurs when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In addition, the new standard requires that reporting companies disclose the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. While this update is not expected to change revenue recognition principles related to our insurance products, this update may be applicable to revenues from our Services segment, which has been included in our condensed consolidated statements of operations beginning with the third quarter of 2014. The provisions of this update are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. We are currently evaluating the impact to our financial statements and future disclosures as a result of this update, if any.

In April 2015, the FASB issued an update to the accounting standard for the presentation of debt issuance costs in financial statements. The new standard requires an entity to present debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability as a direct reduction from the carrying amount of the related debt liability, consistent with debt discounts, rather than as a separate asset as currently required. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by the update. The provisions of this update are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015 and must be applied on a retrospective basis for all periods presented. Early adoption is permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. Upon adoption, the standard requires an entity to disclose: (a) the nature of and reason for the change in accounting principle; (b) the transition method; (c) a description of the prior period information that has been retrospectively adjusted; and (d) the effect of the change on the financial statement line items. The implementation of this update would result in a reclassification to present debt issuance costs as a reduction of the related debt liability rather than as an asset on our consolidated balance sheets.

In April 2015, the FASB issued an update to the accounting standard for the accounting of internal-use software. The amendments in this update provide guidance to customers about whether a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license. If a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, then the customer should account for the software license element of the arrangement consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If a cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The provisions of this update are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and early adoption is permitted. Management is currently evaluating the potential impact to our financial statements, if any.

Business Overview

We provide mortgage and real estate products and services and have two reportable business segments—Mortgage Insurance and Services. On April 1, 2015, Radian Guaranty completed the previously disclosed sale to Assured of 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Radian Asset Assurance, a financial guaranty insurer, pursuant to the Radian Asset Assurance Stock Purchase Agreement dated as of December 22, 2014. As a result, until the April 1, 2015 sale date, the operating results of Radian Asset Assurance continue to be classified as discontinued operations for all periods presented in our condensed consolidated statements of operations. Prior periods have been revised to conform to the current period presentation for these changes. See Note 2 for additional information related to discontinued operations.

Mortgage Insurance

Our Mortgage Insurance segment provides credit-related insurance coverage, principally through private mortgage insurance, to mortgage lending institutions. We provide our mortgage insurance products mainly through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Radian Guaranty. Private mortgage insurance protects mortgage lenders from all or a portion of default-related losses on residential mortgage loans made to home buyers who generally make down payments of less than 20% of the home’s purchase price. Private mortgage insurance also facilitates the sale of these mortgage loans in the secondary mortgage market, most of which are sold to the GSEs.

Our Mortgage Insurance segment currently offers primary mortgage insurance coverage on residential First-liens. At March 31, 2015, primary insurance on First-liens comprised approximately 97.3% of our $44.6 billion total direct RIF. At March 31, 2015, pool insurance, which we previously offered, represented approximately 2.6% of our total direct RIF.

The FHFA, the GSEs and state insurance regulators impose various capital and financial requirements on our insurance subsidiaries. These include financial requirements, such as Risk-to-capital, other risk-based capital measures and surplus requirements, as well as the PMIERs Financial Requirements discussed below. Failure to comply with applicable financial requirements may limit the amount of insurance that our insurance subsidiaries may write. The GSEs and our state insurance regulators also possess significant discretion with respect to our insurance subsidiaries.

On April 17, 2015, the FHFA issued the final PMIERs, setting forth revised requirements for private mortgage insurers, including Radian Guaranty, to remain eligible insurers of loans purchased by the GSEs. The PMIERs Financial Requirements require a mortgage insurer’s Available Assets to meet or exceed its Minimum Required Assets. Under the final PMIERs, Radian Guaranty’s Available Assets and Minimum Required Assets are determined on an aggregate basis, taking into account the assets and insured risk of Radian Guaranty and its affiliated reinsurers. Therefore, developments that impact the assets and insured risk of Radian Guaranty and its affiliated reinsurers individually (such as capital contributions from Radian Group) also will impact the aggregate Available Assets and Minimum Required Assets, and importantly, Radian Guaranty’s compliance with the PMIERs Financial Requirements. As a result, references to Radian Guaranty’s Available Assets and Minimum Required Assets take into consideration both Radian Guaranty and its affiliated reinsurers.

Once they become effective for existing eligible mortgage insurers on December 31, 2015, the PMIERs Financial Requirements will replace the capital adequacy standards under the current GSE eligibility requirements. The final PMIERs Financial Requirements included significant changes to the Minimum Required Asset calculations from those originally published in the proposed PMIERs, with those changes primarily impacting the performing 2005 through 2008 vintage loans, as well as pool insurance. These changes resulted in a significant decrease to Radian Guaranty’s estimated Minimum Required Assets as compared to the estimated amount under the proposed PMIERs Financial Requirements.

Based on our estimates of Radian Guaranty’s Available Assets and Minimum Required Assets as of March 31, 2015, we expect that Radian Guaranty will have the ability to immediately comply with the PMIERs Financial Requirements, after giving effect to the proceeds Radian Guaranty received from the sale of Radian Asset Assurance on April 1, 2015 and future expected contributions to Radian Guaranty and its affiliated reinsurers of only a portion of our holding company liquidity.

The implementation of the final PMIERs will: (1) increase the amount of capital that Radian Guaranty is required to hold compared to current capital requirements, and therefore, reduce our current returns on subsidiary capital; (2) impose extensive and more stringent operational requirements in areas such as claim processing, loss mitigation, document retention, underwriting, quality control, reporting and monitoring, among others, that may result in additional costs in order to achieve and maintain compliance; and (3) require the consent of the GSEs for Radian Guaranty to take certain actions such as paying dividends, entering into various inter-company agreements, and commuting or reinsuring risk, among others.

The NAIC is in the process of reviewing the minimum capital and surplus requirements for mortgage insurers and considering changes to the Model Act. While the outcome of this process is not known, it is possible that among other changes, the NAIC will recommend and adopt more stringent capital requirements than currently exist under the Model Act, which could increase the capital requirements for Radian Guaranty in states that adopt the new Model Act.

Services

Our Services segment provides outsourced services, information-based analytics and specialty consulting for buyers and sellers of, and investors in, mortgage loans and other real estate-related loans and securities and other debt instruments. The primary services of our Services segment include: (1) loan review/due diligence; (2) surveillance; (3) valuation and component services; (4) REO management; and (5) EuroRisk mortgage services in the United Kingdom and Europe. These services and solutions are provided primarily through Clayton and its subsidiary Green River Capital.

During the first quarter of 2015, Clayton further expanded its service offerings by acquiring a real estate brokerage company that provides products and services that include automated valuation models; broker price opinions used by investors, lenders and loan servicers; and advanced technology solutions for: (1) monitoring loan portfolio performance; (2) tracking non-performing loans; (3) managing REO assets; and (4) valuing residential real estate through a secure platform. This real estate brokerage company is part of the Services segment. See Note 6 for additional information.

BofA Settlement Agreement

Implementation of the BofA Settlement Agreement commenced on February 1, 2015 for Subject Loans held in portfolio by the Insureds or purchased by the GSEs on that date. Approximately 12% of the Subject Loans are neither held in portfolio by the Insureds nor owned by the GSEs, and require the consent of certain other investors for these loans to be included in the BofA Settlement Agreement, except with respect to certain limited rights of cancellation. The contractual deadline for such consent has been extended to June 1, 2015. See Note 10 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our 2014 Form 10-K for additional information about the BofA Settlement Agreement.