Note 2 - Discontinued Operations (Details) - USD ($)		3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Apr. 01, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015		Apr. 02, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Net investment income		$ 22,091,000			$ 17,143,000		$ 58,704,000	$ 49,124,000
Net gains (losses) on investments and other financial instruments		3,868,000			(6,294,000)		49,095,000	62,006,000
Other income		1,711,000			1,162,000		4,785,000	4,027,000
Revenues		297,292,000			272,081,000		918,371,000	777,635,000
Policy acquisition costs		2,880,000			4,240,000		17,593,000	18,003,000
Other operating expenses		65,082,000			51,225,000		186,587,000	166,483,000
Costs and Expenses		181,607,000			155,586,000		585,252,000	441,156,000
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax		0			21,559,000		5,385,000	149,634,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Debt Securities		1,496,328,000					1,496,328,000		$ 536,890,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Equity Securities		985,000					985,000		143,368,000
Trading securities—at fair value		1,414,757,000					1,414,757,000		1,633,584,000
Short-term investments—at fair value		1,460,918,000					1,460,918,000		1,300,872,000
Other invested assets		3,783,000					3,783,000		14,585,000
Other assets		349,657,000					349,657,000		357,864,000
Total assets held for sale		0					0		1,736,444,000	[1]
Unearned premiums		676,938,000					676,938,000		644,504,000
Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expense (“LAE”) (Note 9)		1,098,570,000					1,098,570,000		1,560,032,000
Other liabilities		311,855,000					311,855,000		326,743,000
Total liabilities held for sale		0					0		947,008,000
Radian Asset Assurance [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Total Interest Expense Allocated to Subsidiaries From Parent Company							0	0
Sale of Stock, Percentage of Ownership before Transaction	100.00%
Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation, Consideration	$ 810,000,000
Equity Method Investment, Net Sales Proceeds	$ 789,000,000
Discontinued Operation, Provision for Loss (Gain) on Disposal, before Income Tax		0	[2]	$ (14,300,000)	0		(14,280,000)	0	(468,000,000)
Total Operating Expenses Allocated to Subsidiaries From Parent Company							0	0
Premiums Earned, Net, Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts		0	[2]		9,329,000		1,007,000	26,700,000
Net investment income		0	[2]		9,035,000		9,153,000	27,020,000
Net gains (losses) on investments and other financial instruments		0	[2]		(563,000)		21,486,000	41,596,000
Change in fair value of derivative instruments		0	[2]		19,360,000		2,625,000	126,923,000
Other income		0	[2]		9,000		0	88,000
Revenues		0	[2]		37,170,000		34,271,000	222,327,000
Provision for losses		0	[2]		(6,416,000)		502,000	4,311,000
Policy acquisition costs		0	[2]		1,794,000		(191,000)	5,066,000
Other operating expenses		0	[2]		5,037,000		4,107,000	15,239,000
Costs and Expenses		0	[2]		415,000		4,418,000	24,616,000
Equity in net (loss) income of affiliates		0	[2]		0		(13,000)	(13,000)
Income from operations of businesses held for sale		0	[2]		36,755,000		29,840,000	197,698,000
Income tax provision on classification as held for sale		0	[2]		15,196,000		10,175,000	48,064,000
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax		0	[2]		$ 21,559,000	$ 5,400,000	5,385,000	$ 149,634,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Debt Securities		0					0		224,552,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Equity Securities		0					0		3,749,000
Trading securities—at fair value		0					0		689,887,000
Short-term investments—at fair value		0					0		435,413,000
Other invested assets		0					0		108,206,000
Other assets		0					0		274,637,000
Total assets held for sale		0					0		1,736,444,000
Unearned premiums		0					0		158,921,000
Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expense (“LAE”) (Note 9)		0					0		31,558,000
VIE debt		0					0		85,016,000
Derivative liabilities		0					0		183,370,000
Other liabilities		0					0		488,143,000
Total liabilities held for sale		$ 0					$ 0		$ 947,008,000

[1] Assets held for sale are not part of the Mortgage Insurance or Services segments.

[2] There was no activity for discontinued operations in the three months ended September 30, 2015.