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Note 8 - Reinsurance
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Reinsurance Disclosures [Abstract]  
Reinsurance ReinsuranceIn our mortgage insurance and title insurance businesses, we use reinsurance as part of our risk distribution strategy, including to manage our capital position and risk profile. The reinsurance arrangements for our mortgage insurance business include premiums ceded under the QSR Program, the Single Premium QSR Program and the Excess-of-Loss Program. The
amount of credit that we receive under the PMIERs financial requirements for our third-party reinsurance transactions is subject to ongoing review and approval by the GSEs.
The effect of all of our reinsurance programs on our net income is as follows:
Three Months Ended
September 30,
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(In thousands)2020201920202019
Net premiums written:
Direct$269,240 $287,000 $820,267 $828,022 
Assumed (1)
2,942 2,608 9,585 7,528 
Ceded (2)
(9,789)(15,455)(72,912)(39,900)
Net premiums written$262,393 $274,153 $756,940 $795,650 
Net premiums earned:
Direct$328,728 $305,493 $945,287 $919,507 (3)
Assumed (1)
2,946 2,614 9,599 7,545 
Ceded (2)
(45,203)(26,922)(141,705)(83,189)(3)
Net premiums earned$286,471 $281,185 $813,181 $843,863 (3)
Ceding commissions earned (4)
$17,038 $12,153 $40,457 $37,191 (3)
Ceded losses10,189 771 51,786 4,326 
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(1)Includes premiums earned from our participation in certain credit risk transfer programs.
(2)Net of profit commission, which is impacted by the level of ceded losses recoverable, if any, on reinsurance transactions. See Note 11 for additional information on our reserve for losses and reinsurance recoverables.
(3)Includes a cumulative adjustment to unearned premiums recorded in the second quarter of 2019 related to an update to the amortization rates used to recognize revenue for Single Premium Policies. See Note 4 for further information.
(4)Deferred ceding commissions of $59.2 million and $77.8 million are included in other liabilities on our condensed consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Single Premium QSR Program
Radian Guaranty entered into each of the 2016 Single Premium QSR Agreement, 2018 Single Premium QSR Agreement and 2020 Single Premium QSR Agreement with panels of third-party reinsurers to cede a contractual quota share percent of our Single Premium NIW as of the effective date of each agreement (as set forth in the table below), subject to certain conditions. Radian Guaranty receives a ceding commission for ceded premiums written pursuant to these transactions. Radian Guaranty also receives a profit commission, provided that the loss ratio on the loans covered under the agreement generally remains below the applicable prescribed thresholds. Losses on the ceded risk up to this level reduce Radian Guaranty’s profit commission on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
Each of the agreements is subject to a scheduled termination date as set forth in the table below; however, Radian Guaranty has the option, based on certain conditions and subject to a termination fee, to terminate any of the agreements at the end of any calendar quarter on or after the applicable optional termination date. If Radian Guaranty exercises this option in the future, it would result in Radian Guaranty reassuming the related RIF in exchange for a net payment to the reinsurer calculated in accordance with the terms of the applicable agreement. Radian Guaranty also may terminate any of the agreements prior to the applicable scheduled termination date under certain circumstances/conditions, including if one or both of the GSEs no longer grant full PMIERs credit for the reinsurance.
The 2020 Single Premium QSR Agreement is the only QSR agreement under which Radian Guaranty is currently ceding NIW. Under the 2020 Single Premium QSR Agreement, NIW for policies issued between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 is being ceded, subject to certain conditions and a limitation on ceded premiums written of $250 million. The parties may mutually agree to increase the amount of ceded risk above this level.
The following table sets forth additional details regarding the Single Premium QSR Program:
(In millions)2020 Single Premium
QSR Agreement
2018 Single Premium
QSR Agreement
2016 Single Premium
QSR Agreement
NIW Policy DatesJan 1, 2020-Dec 31, 2021Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2019Jan 1, 2012-Dec 31, 2017
Effective DateJanuary 1, 2020January 1, 2018January 1, 2016
Scheduled Termination DateDecember 31, 2031December 31, 2029December 31, 2027
Optional Termination DateJanuary 1, 2024January 1, 2022January 1, 2020
Quota Share %65%65%
20% - 65%
(1)
Ceding Commission %25%25%25%
Profit Commission %
Up to 56%
Up to 56%
Up to 55%
As of September 30, 2020
RIF Ceded$1,331 $2,352 $3,676 
As of December 31, 2019
RIF Ceded$— $3,231 $5,351 
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(1)Effective December 31, 2017, we amended the 2016 Single Premium QSR Agreement to increase the amount of ceded risk on performing loans under the agreement from 35% to 65% for the 2015 through 2017 vintages. Loans included in the 2012 through 2014 vintages, and any other loans subject to the agreement that were delinquent at the time of the amendment, were unaffected by the change and therefore the amount of ceded risk for those loans continues to range from 20% to 35%.
Excess-of-Loss Program
As of September 30, 2020, Radian Guaranty has entered into three fully collateralized reinsurance arrangements with the Eagle Re Issuers. For the respective coverage periods, Radian Guaranty retains the first-loss layer of aggregate losses, as well as any losses in excess of the outstanding reinsurance coverage amounts. The Eagle Re Issuers provide second layer coverage up to the outstanding coverage amounts. For each of these three reinsurance arrangements, the Eagle Re Issuers financed their coverage by issuing mortgage insurance-linked notes to eligible third-party capital markets investors in unregistered private offerings. The aggregate excess-of-loss reinsurance coverage for these transactions begins amortizing after an initial period in which a target level of credit enhancement is obtained, decreasing over a 10-year period as the principal balances of the underlying covered mortgages decrease and as any claims are paid by the applicable Eagle Re Issuer or the mortgage insurance is canceled. Radian Guaranty has rights to terminate the reinsurance agreements upon the occurrence of certain events.
In each of the insurance-linked notes transactions, the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount will stop amortizing if certain thresholds, or triggers, are reached, including a trigger based on an elevated level of delinquencies as defined in the insurance-linked notes transaction agreements. Based on the current level of defaults reported to us, the insurance-linked notes issued by the Eagle Re Issuers in connection with our Excess-of-Loss Program are currently subject to a delinquency trigger event, which was reported to the insurance-linked note investors on June 25, 2020. Both the amortization of the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount pursuant to our reinsurance arrangements with the Eagle Re Issuers and the amortization of the principal amount of the related insurance-linked notes issued by the Eagle Re Issuers have been suspended and will continue to be suspended during the pendency of the trigger event.
The following table sets forth additional details regarding the Excess-of-Loss Program as of September 30, 2020:
(In millions)Eagle Re 2020-1 Ltd.Eagle Re 2019-1 Ltd.Eagle Re 2018-1 Ltd.
IssuedFebruary 2020April 2019November 2018
NIW Policy DatesJan 1, 2019-Sep 30, 2019Jan 1, 2018-Dec 31, 2018Jan 1, 2017-Dec 31, 2017
Initial RIF$9,866 $10,705 $9,109 
Initial Coverage488 562 434 (1)
Initial First Layer Retention202 268 205 
As of September 30, 2020
RIF$7,155 $5,514 $4,742 
Remaining Coverage488 385 276 (1)
First Layer Retention202 266 202 
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(1)Excludes a separate excess-of-loss reinsurance agreement entered into by Radian Guaranty that initially provided up to $21.4 million of coverage.
The Eagle Re Issuers are not subsidiaries or affiliates of Radian Guaranty. Based on the accounting guidance that addresses VIEs, we have not consolidated any of the Eagle Re Issuers in our consolidated financial statements, because Radian does not have: (i) the power to direct the activities that most significantly affect the Eagle Re Issuers’ economic performances or (ii) the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the Eagle Re Issuers that potentially could be significant to the Eagle Re Issuers. See Note 2 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our 2019 Form 10-K for more information on our accounting treatment of VIEs.
The reinsurance premium due to the Eagle Re Issuers is calculated by multiplying the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount at the beginning of a period by a coupon rate, which is the sum of one-month LIBOR plus a contractual risk margin, and then subtracting actual investment income collected on the assets in the reinsurance trust during the preceding month. As a result, the premiums we pay will vary based on: (i) the spread between LIBOR and the rates on the investments held by the reinsurance trust and (ii) the outstanding amount of reinsurance coverage. As the reinsurance premium will vary based on changes in these rates, we concluded that the reinsurance agreements contain embedded derivatives, which we have accounted for separately as freestanding derivatives and recorded in other assets or other liabilities on our condensed consolidated balance sheets. See Note 5 for additional information on our embedded derivatives.
In the event an Eagle Re Issuer is unable to meet its future obligations to us, if any, our insurance subsidiaries would be liable to make claims payments to our policyholders. In the event that all of the assets in the reinsurance trust (consisting of U.S. government money market funds, cash or U.S. Treasury securities) have become worthless and the Eagle Re Issuer is unable to make its payments to us, our maximum potential loss would be the amount of mortgage insurance claim payments for losses on the insured policies, net of the aggregate reinsurance payments already received, up to the full aggregate excess-of-loss reinsurance coverage amount. In the same scenario, the related embedded derivative would no longer have value. See Note 2 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our 2019 Form 10-K for more information on our fair value measurements of financial instruments.
The Eagle Re Issuers represent our only VIEs as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019. The following table presents the total assets and liabilities of the Eagle Re Issuers as of the dates indicated.
Total VIE Assets and Liabilities (1)
(In thousands)September 30,
2020
December 31,
2019
Eagle Re 2020-1 Ltd.$488,385 $— 
Eagle Re 2019-1 Ltd.384,602  508,449 
Eagle Re 2018-1 Ltd.275,718  357,005 
Total$1,148,705  $865,454 
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(1)Assets held by the Eagle Re Issuers are required to be invested in U.S. government money market funds, cash or U.S. Treasury securities. Liabilities of the Eagle Re Issuers consist of their mortgage insurance-linked notes, described above.
In October 2020, Radian Guaranty entered into a fourth fully collateralized reinsurance agreement, with Eagle Re 2020-2 Ltd. Eagle Re 2020-2 Ltd. is a VIE and is not a subsidiary or affiliate of Radian Guaranty. This reinsurance agreement provides for up to $390.3 million of aggregate excess-of-loss reinsurance coverage for the mortgage insurance losses on new defaults on
an existing portfolio of eligible Recurring Premium Policies with initial RIF of $13.0 billion that were issued between October 1, 2019 and July 31, 2020. Eagle Re 2020-2 Ltd. financed its coverage by issuing mortgage insurance-linked notes in an aggregate amount of $390.3 million to eligible third-party capital markets investors in an unregistered private offering.
Other Collateral
Although we use reinsurance as one of our risk management tools, reinsurance does not relieve us of our obligations to our policyholders. In the event the reinsurers are unable to meet their obligations to us, our insurance subsidiaries would be liable for any defaulted amounts. However, consistent with the PMIERs reinsurer counterparty collateral requirements, Radian Guaranty’s reinsurers have established trusts to help secure our potential cash recoveries. In addition to the total VIE assets of the Eagle Re Issuers discussed above, the amount held in other reinsurance trusts was $256.2 million as of September 30, 2020, compared to $203.2 million as of December 31, 2019. In addition, for the Single Premium QSR Program, Radian Guaranty holds amounts related to ceded premiums written to collateralize the reinsurers’ obligations, which is reported in reinsurance funds withheld on our condensed consolidated balance sheets. Any loss recoveries and profit commissions paid to Radian Guaranty related to the Single Premium QSR Program are expected to be realized from this account.
See Note 8 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our 2019 Form 10-K for more information about our reinsurance transactions.