Schedule II Financial Information of Registrant Parent Company Statement of Cash Flows (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016		Sep. 30, 2016	[1]	Jun. 30, 2016	[1]	Mar. 31, 2016		Dec. 31, 2015		Sep. 30, 2015	[1]	Jun. 30, 2015	[1]	Mar. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$ 61,089	[1]	$ 82,803		$ 98,112		$ 66,249	[1]	$ 74,528	[1]	$ 70,091		$ 50,048		$ 92,257	[1]	$ 308,253	$ 286,924	[1]	$ 959,517
Less: Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax									0	[1],[2]	0	[2]	4,855	[2]	530	[1],[2]	0	5,385	[1],[2]	(300,057)
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Net (gains) losses on investments and other financial instruments recognized in earnings	38,773	[1]	(7,711)		(30,527)		(31,286)	[1]	13,402	[1]	(3,868)		(28,448)		(16,779)	[1]	(30,751)	(35,693)	[1]	(79,989)
Losses (gains) on the repurchase of long-term debt	0	[1]	$ 17,397		$ 2,108		55,570	[1]	2,320	[1]	$ 11		$ 91,876		0	[1]	75,075	94,207	[1]	0
Deferred income tax provision (benefit)																	170,887	156,170		(825,843)
Change in other assets																	(3,381)	14		23,790
Change in other liabilities																	52,855	(59,001)		(54,836)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, continuing operations																	381,724	13,480		(163,333)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, discontinued operations																	0	(1,759)		17,071
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities																	381,724	11,721		(146,262)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from Sale and Maturity of Available-for-sale Securities																	687,173	20,100		19,672
Proceeds from Sale of Available-for-sale Securities, Equity																	74,868	146,049		0
Proceeds from Sale of Trading Securities Held-for-investment																	290,855	78,826		469,582
Proceeds from redemptions of fixed-maturity investments available for sale																	337,630	103,595		4,985
Proceeds from redemptions of fixed-maturity investments held to maturity																	123,645	221,914		201,597
Purchases of Available-for-sale Securities																	(1,990,652)	(1,486,318)		(519,166)
Purchases of equity securities available for sale																	(830)	(75,538)		0
Sales, redemptions and (purchases) of short-term investments, net																	334,456	222,882		(364,855)
Sales, redemptions and (purchases) of other assets and other invested assets, net																	2,489	16,717		7,836
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired																	(150)	(9,834)		(294,386)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities																	(176,058)	2,792		(336,041)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Dividends paid																	(2,105)	(1,996)		(1,865)
Issuance of long-term debt, net																	343,417	343,334		293,809
Purchases and redemptions of long-term debt																	(445,072)	(156,172)		(57,223)
Proceeds from Hedge, Financing Activities																	0	13,150		0
Issuance of common stock																	717	1,285		247,188
Purchase of common shares																	(100,188)	(202,000)		0
Excess tax benefits from stock-based awards																	333	3,000		107
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities																	(203,269)	601		482,016
Cash and restricted cash, beginning of period							59,898								44,496		59,898	44,496		45,407
Cash and restricted cash, end of period	61,814								59,898								61,814	59,898		44,496
Parent Company
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income																	308,253	286,924		959,517
Less: Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax																	0	204		(18,027)
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Losses (gains) on the repurchase of long-term debt																	75,075	94,207		0
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, continuing operations																	38,902	(128,879)		(27,152)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, discontinued operations																	0	0		(18,027)
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities																	38,902	(128,879)		(45,179)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from Sale and Maturity of Available-for-sale Securities																	47,058	0		0
Proceeds from Sale of Available-for-sale Securities, Equity																	24,992	0		0
Proceeds from Sale of Trading Securities Held-for-investment																	30,350	0		0
Proceeds from redemptions of fixed-maturity investments available for sale																	49,578	0		0
Proceeds from redemptions of fixed-maturity investments held to maturity																	10,000	0		0
Purchases of Available-for-sale Securities																	(137,431)	(39,667)		0
Purchases of equity securities available for sale																	0	(25,545)		0
Sales, redemptions and (purchases) of short-term investments, net																	(40,288)	473,350		1,372
Payments for (Proceeds from) Productive Assets																	239	(688)		(1,351)
Proceeds from Contributions from Affiliates																	15,000	113,784		0
Capital contributions to subsidiaries and affiliates																	(1,500)	(182,307)		(139,103)
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired																	(30,443)	0		0
Issuance of notes receivable from affiliates																	201,631	(208,527)		(300,000)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities																	169,186	130,400		(439,082)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Dividends paid																	(2,105)	(1,996)		(1,865)
Issuance of long-term debt, net																	343,417	343,334		293,809
Purchases and redemptions of long-term debt																	(445,072)	(156,172)		(57,223)
Proceeds from Hedge, Financing Activities																	0	13,150		0
Issuance of common stock																	717	1,285		247,188
Purchase of common shares																	(100,188)	(202,000)		0
Excess tax benefits from stock-based awards																	98	2,228		0
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities																	(203,133)	(171)		481,909
(Decrease) increase in cash																	4,955	1,350		(2,352)
Cash and restricted cash, beginning of period							$ 3,425								$ 2,075		3,425	2,075		4,427
Cash and restricted cash, end of period	$ 8,380								$ 3,425								$ 8,380	$ 3,425		$ 2,075

[1] For all periods presented, reflects changes to align our segment reporting structure with recent changes in personnel reporting lines and management oversight related to contract underwriting performed on behalf of third parties. Revenue and expenses for this business are now reflected in the Services segment. As a result, for all periods presented, Services revenue and cost of services have increased, with offsetting reductions in other operating expenses.

[2] Radian completed the sale of Radian Asset Assurance to Assured on April 1, 2015, pursuant to the Radian Asset Assurance Stock Purchase Agreement. Until the April 1, 2015 sale date, the operating results of Radian Asset Assurance were classified as discontinued operations for all periods presented in our consolidated statements of operations. See Note 18 for additional information.