Private Insurance Volume Falls in January, February Set Up for Gains

Private mortgage insurance dollar volume slipped month-over-month in January, according to data reported by ""Mortgage Insurance Companies of America"":http://www.privatemi.com/index.cfm (MICA).

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MICA member companies-- ""Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corporation"":https://www.genworth.com/, ""Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation"":http://www.mgic.com/, and ""Radian Guaranty Inc."":http://www.radian.biz/page?name=HomePage --wrote $10.47 billion in primary new insurance in January, the trade association reported. That figure is down from December's reported $10.68 billion but a massive improvement over January 2012's $4.97 billion.

As of the end of the month, the companies reported having more than $401 billion in primary insurance in force.

At the same time, the number of applications and policies issued both increased. According to MICA, member companies received 39,571 applications in January, a step up from December's 38,915 and January 2012's 24,097. An estimated 36,923 certificates were issued compared to 36,543 the prior month and 21,904 the prior year.

In other news, MICA members reported 23,538 defaults in January, down about 1,000 from December. The month also saw 20,568 cures (up from 20,048), bringing the cure-to-default ratio up to 87.4 percent--its highest level in nine months.