Essent recently released its 10-Q report for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, reinsurance, title insurance, and settlement services in the United States. The company operates in two reportable segments, Mortgage Insurance and Reinsurance, and also offers related services such as underwriting consulting, contract underwriting, information technology maintenance, and customer support. Its mortgage insurance business serves residential mortgage originators including banks, mortgage lenders, and credit unions, while its title business provides insurance products and settlement services.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Essent said its mortgage insurance operations generated new insurance written of about $11.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up from about $9.9 billion in the same quarter of 2025. Its persistency rate was 84.7% at March 31, 2026.
The company said Essent Guaranty, its mortgage insurance subsidiary, is approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Essent Guaranty carried financial strength ratings of A2 from Moody’s, A* from S&P, and A from AM Best.
Essent Reinsurance Ltd. said it was covering about $2.1 billion of risk related to GSE and other mortgage risk share transactions as of March 31, 2026. Essent Re also reinsures Essent Guaranty’s new insurance written under a quota share agreement, and effective January 1, 2026, it began reinsuring certain property and casualty risks. Essent Re held an A* rating from S&P and an A rating from AM Best.
The company said its mortgage interest rate environment remained elevated, which reduced homebuying and refinance activity and lowered mortgage originations, new insurance written, and title insurance and settlement transaction volume. At the same time, higher rates increased net investment income and helped support persistency in the mortgage insurance book.
Essent said monthly premium policies represented 98% of new insurance written in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 99% in the first quarter of 2025. It also said substantially all single premium policies in force at March 31, 2026 were non-refundable.
The company reported 520 employees as of March 31, 2026. Its holding company and reinsurance business are domiciled in Bermuda, while its U.S. mortgage insurance and title insurance operations are headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
On the regulatory side, Essent said Bermuda’s Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 took effect on January 1, 2025, imposing a 15% corporate income tax on in-scope entities, but said its Bermuda companies currently qualify for the limited international presence exception. It also noted that the exception is subject to interpretation and could be affected by future business decisions.
Essent said Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton created property damage in several states in 2024, and that the eventual impact on reserves will depend on how those delinquencies perform and how ultimate losses develop. It also pointed to geopolitical tensions and conflict in the Middle East as factors that could affect interest rates, consumer behavior, and future property and casualty losses in its Reinsurance segment. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 2.52% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $63.13. Check out the company's full 10-Q submission here.
