Essent recently released its Form 10-Q for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, reinsurance, title insurance and settlement services to mortgage lenders, borrowers and investors in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Mortgage Insurance and Reinsurance, and also provides underwriting consulting, contract underwriting, customer support and information technology services tied to its insurance operations.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Essent said its mortgage insurance business generated new insurance written of about $14.1 billion in the second quarter of 2026 and $25.2 billion in the first half of 2026, up from about $12.5 billion and $22.5 billion in the same periods of 2025. Essent Guaranty, its mortgage insurance subsidiary, is approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Its financial strength ratings were A2 from Moody’s, A* from S&P, and A from AM Best.
At June 30, 2026, Essent Re had insurance or reinsurance tied to GSE and other mortgage risk share transactions covering about $2.1 billion of risk. 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’s ratings were A* from S&P and A from AM Best.
Essent said its title insurance operations are included in Corporate & Other. The company noted that higher mortgage rates continued to suppress homebuying and refinancing activity, which reduced mortgage originations, new insurance written and title insurance and settlement transaction volume. At the same time, those higher rates lifted net investment income and supported persistency in its mortgage insurance portfolio.
The company reported persistency of 84.0% at June 30, 2026. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, monthly premium policies represented 98% of new insurance written, compared with 99% in the first half of 2025. Essent said single premium policies in force at June 30, 2026 were substantially all non-refundable.
Essent also addressed Bermuda’s corporate income tax, saying the 15% tax that began on January 1, 2025 does not currently apply to its Bermuda companies because they qualify for the “limited international presence” exception. The company said that exception is available for five years, or until the criteria are no longer met, and that future business decisions could affect qualification.
In April 2026, FHFA announced that the GSEs would begin accepting loans with the VantageScore 4.0 model for certain approved lenders and would move toward FICO 10T. Essent Guaranty began insuring loans submitted with VantageScore 4.0 during the second quarter, but Essent said those loans represented a de minimis amount of new insurance written, insurance in force and risk in force at June 30, 2026. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved 4.9%, and are now trading at a price of $68.72. For more information, read the company's full 10-Q submission here.
