Summary of Accounting Policies (Policies) |
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Dec. 31, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounting Policies [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basis of Presentation | Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the results of NMIH and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All inter-company transactions have been eliminated. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (GAAP) and our accounts are maintained in US dollars. The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities, as well as disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the balance sheet date. Estimates also affect the reported amounts of income and expenses for the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Certain reclassifications to previously reported financial information have been made to conform to our current period presentation.
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| Use of Estimates | Use of Estimates We use accounting principles and methods that conform to GAAP. We are required to apply significant judgment and make material estimates in the preparation of our financial statements and with regard to various accounting, reporting and disclosure matters. Assumptions and estimates are required to apply these principles where actual measurement is not possible or practical.
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| Insurance Premium Revenue Recognition | Insurance Premium Revenue Recognition Premiums for primary mortgage insurance policies may be paid in a single payment at origination (single premium), on a monthly installment basis (monthly premium) or on an annual installment basis (annual premium), with such election and payment type fixed at policy inception. Premiums written at origination for single premium policies are initially deferred as unearned premiums and amortized into earnings over the estimated policy life, in accordance with the anticipated expiration of risk. Monthly premiums are recognized as revenue in the month billed and when the coverage is effective. Annual premiums are initially deferred and earned on a straight-line basis over the year of coverage. Upon cancellation of a policy, all remaining non-refundable deferred and unearned premium is immediately earned, and any refundable deferred premium is returned to the policyholder and recorded as a reduction to written premium and unearned premium reserve in the period paid. Premiums written on pool transactions are earned over the period that coverage is provided.
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| Reserve for Insurance Claims and Claims Expenses | Reserves for Insurance Claims and Claim Expenses We establish reserves for claims based on our best estimate of ultimate claim costs for defaulted loans using the general principles contained in ASC 944, Financial Services - Insurance (ASC 944). We establish case reserves when we are notified that a loan has been in default for at least 60 days (i.e., a default) and "IBNR" reserves based on an estimate of defaults which have been incurred but have not yet been reported to us by loan servicers. We also establish reserves for claim expenses, which represent the estimated cost of the claim administration process, including legal, other third-party fees, and other general expenses of administering the claim settlement process. Claim expense reserves are either allocated (i.e., associated with a specific claim) or unallocated (i.e., not associated with a specific claim). The establishment of claims and claim expense reserves is subject to inherent uncertainty and requires significant judgment by management. Reserves are established by estimating the number of loans in default that will result in a claim payment, which is referred to as claim frequency, and the amount of the claim payment expected to be paid on each such loan in default, which is referred to as claim severity. Claim frequency and severity estimates are established based on historical observed experience regarding certain loan factors, such as age of the default, size of the loan and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, and are strongly influenced by prevailing economic conditions, such as mortgage rates, trends in unemployment and house price appreciation. We conduct an annual actuarial review to evaluate and, if necessary, update these assumptions.
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| Investments | Investments We have designated our investment portfolio as available-for-sale and report it at fair value. The related unrealized gains and losses, after considering the related tax expense or benefit, are recognized as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) (loss) in shareholders' equity. Net realized investment gains and losses are reported in income based on specific identification of securities sold or other-than-temporarily impaired, and are reclassified out of AOCI (loss). We measure fair value and classify invested assets in a hierarchy for disclosure purposes consisting of three "levels" based on the observability of inputs available in the marketplace used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). See Note 4, "Fair Value of Financial Instruments" for further discussion. Purchases and sales of investments are recorded on a trade date basis. Net investment income is recognized when earned, and includes interest and dividend income together with amortization of market premiums and discounts using the effective yield method, and is net of investment management fees and other investment related expenses. For asset-backed securities and any other holdings for which there is a prepayment risk, prepayment assumptions are evaluated and revised as necessary. Any adjustments required due to changes in effective yields and maturities are recognized on a prospective basis through yield adjustments. We evaluate our investments each quarter to determine whether declines in fair value below amortized cost are considered other-than-temporary in accordance with applicable guidance. Under the current guidance, a debt security impairment is deemed other-than-temporary if (i) we either intend to sell the security or it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the security before recovery or (ii) we do not expect to collect cash flows sufficient to recover the amortized cost basis of the security. In evaluating whether a decline in fair value is other-than-temporary, we consider several factors including, but not limited to:
Based on this evaluation, we record OTTI adjustments on securities with declines in fair value below their amortized cost, if it is more likely than not that we will sell the securities prior to recovery of their amortized cost or if the present value of the discounted cash flows we expect to collect on the securities through recovery under a "most likely" scenario is less than their amortized cost. If our intent is to sell securities and their fair value is below amortized cost, the securities are classified as other-than-temporarily impaired and the full amount of the impairment is recognized as a loss in earnings. Otherwise, losses on other-than-temporarily impaired securities are bifurcated between credit-related losses and losses related to other factors (e.g., interest rate fluctuations), with credit-related losses recognized in earnings and losses related to other factors recognized in AOCI (loss), net of taxes. We consider items such as commercial paper with original maturities of 90 days or less to be short-term investments.
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| Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs (DAC) | Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs (DAC) Costs directly associated with the successful acquisition of mortgage insurance policies, consisting of certain selling expenses and other policy issuance and underwriting expenses, are initially deferred and reported as DAC. DAC is reviewed periodically to determine that it does not exceed recoverable amounts. DAC is amortized to expense in proportion to estimated gross profits over the estimated life of the associated policies. We estimate the rate of amortization to reflect actual experience and any changes to persistency or loss development.
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| Premium Deficiency Reserves | Premium Deficiency Reserves We consider whether a premium deficiency exists and premium deficiency reserve is required at each fiscal quarter using best estimate assumptions as of the testing date. Per ASC 944, a premium deficiency reserve shall be recognized if the sum of expected claim costs and claim adjustment expenses, expected dividends to policyholders, unamortized acquisition costs and maintenance costs exceeds future premiums, existing reserves and anticipated investment income.
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| Reinsurance | Reinsurance We account for premiums, claims and claim expenses that are ceded to reinsurers on a consistent basis with that which we use to account for the original policies we issue and pursuant to the terms of our reinsurance contracts. We account for premiums ceded or otherwise paid to reinsurers as a reduction to premium revenue. NMIC entered into quota share reinsurance treaties effective September 1, 2016 (the 2016 QSR Transaction) and January 1, 2018 (the 2018 QSR Transaction), which we refer to collectively as the QSR Transactions. We earn profit and ceding commissions in connection with the QSR Transactions (see Note 6, "Reinsurance"). Profit commissions represent a percentage of the profits recognized by reinsurers that are returned to us, based on the level of claims and claim expenses that we cede. We recognize any profit commissions we earn as an increase to premium revenue. Ceding commissions are calculated as a percentage of ceded written premiums under the 2016 QSR Transaction and as a percentage of ceded earned premiums under the 2018 QSR Transaction, and are intended to cover our costs of acquiring and servicing direct policies. We recognize any ceding commissions we earn in a manner consistent with our recognition of earnings on the underlying insurance policies, over the terms of the policies reinsured. We account for ceding commissions earned as a reduction to underwriting and operating expenses. Under the QSR Transactions, we cede a portion of claims and claim expense reserves to our reinsurers, and account for such ceded reserves as reinsurance recoverables in "Other Assets" on the consolidated balance sheets and as reductions to claims expenses on the consolidated statements of operations. We remain directly liable for all claims payments if we are unable to collect from any reinsurer.
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| Income Taxes | Income Taxes We account for income taxes using the liability method in accordance with ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes. The liability method measures the expected future tax effects of temporary differences at the enacted tax rates applicable for the period in which the deferred asset or liability is expected to be realized or settled. Temporary differences are differences between the tax basis of an asset or liability and its reported amount in the consolidated financial statements that would result in future increases or decreases in taxes owed on a cash basis compared to amounts already recognized as tax expense in the consolidated statement of operations.
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| Warrants | Warrants We account for warrants to purchase our common shares in accordance with ASC 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options and ASC 815-40 Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity's Own Equity. Our outstanding warrants may be settled through either (i) physical settlement method, or (ii) cashless exercise, where the number of shares issued upon exercise of the warrants is reduced to cover the cost of the exercise in lieu of the holder remitting a cash payment for the exercise price. The warrants expire and are not exercisable after the 10th anniversary of the date issued. The number of warrants and exercise price are subject to anti-dilution provisions whereby the number of warrants may be increased and their exercise price may be adjusted downward under certain circumstances. The anti-dilutive adjustments may be in excess of any dilution incurred by the warrant holders, and may be triggered by events that are not dilutive. As a result, the warrants are classified as a liability. We revalue the warrants at the end of each reporting period, and any change in fair value is reported in the statements of operations in the period in which the change occurred. We calculated the fair value of the warrants using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model in combination with a binomial model.
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| Share-Based Compensation | Share-Based Compensation We account for stock compensation in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, which addresses accounting for share-based awards and recognition of compensation expense, measured using grant date fair value, over the requisite service or performance period of the award. Share-based compensation includes restricted stock units (RSUs) and stock option grants under our Stock Plans. We calculate the fair value of stock option grants using a Black-Scholes option pricing model, which takes into account various subjective assumptions. Key assumptions used in the model include the expected volatility of our stock price, dividend yield and the risk-free interest rate, as well as the expected option term, giving consideration to the contractual terms of any award. RSU grants may contain a service condition, or performance and service conditions. RSU grants are valued at our stock price on the date of grant less the present value of anticipated dividends. We account for stock option and RSU forfeitures as they occur.
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| Earnings per Share (EPS) | Earnings per Share (EPS) Basic earnings (loss) per share is based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted earnings (loss) per share is based on the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding and common share equivalents that would be issuable upon the vesting of existing service based and certain performance and service based RSUs, and exercise of vested and unvested stock options and outstanding warrants.
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| Cash and Cash Equivalents | Cash and Cash Equivalents We consider items such as certificates of deposit and money market funds with original maturities of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents.
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| Software and Equipment | Software and Equipment We capitalize certain costs associated with the development of internal-use software and equipment. Software and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated amortization and depreciation. Amortization of software and depreciation of equipment commences at the beginning of the month following our placement of the assets into use. Amortization and depreciation are calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the respective assets, typically from three to five years, unless factors indicate a shorter useful life.
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| Business Combinations, Goodwill and Intangible Assets | Business Combinations, Goodwill and Intangible Assets Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of net assets acquired from a business combination. In accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, we test goodwill for impairment during the third quarter each year, or more frequently if we believe indicators of impairment exist. We have not identified any impairments of goodwill through December 31, 2019. Our intangible assets consist of state licenses and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively, the GSEs) applications which have indefinite lives. We test indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment during the fourth quarter of each year or more frequently if we believe indicators of impairment exist.
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| Premiums Receivable | Premiums Receivable Premiums receivable consist of premiums due on our mortgage insurance policies. If a mortgage insurance premium is unpaid for more than 120 days, the receivable is written off against earned premium and the related insurance policy is canceled. Premiums receivable may be written off prior to 120 days in the ordinary course of business for reasons including, but not limited to, the modification or refinancing of underlying insured loans. We have established a reserve for premium write-offs based on historical experience; such reserve was deemed to be immaterial for the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018.
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| Variable interest entities | Variable Interest Entities NMIC is a party to reinsurance agreements with three special purpose reinsurance entities - Oaktown Re Ltd., Oaktown Re II Ltd. and Oaktown Re III Ltd. - respectively dated May 2, 2017, July 25, 2018 and July 30, 2019. At inception of the respective reinsurance agreements, we determined that Oaktown Re Ltd., Oaktown Re II, Ltd. and Oaktown Re III, Ltd, were variable interest entities (VIEs), as defined under GAAP Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 810, because they did not have sufficient equity at risk to finance their respective activities. We evaluated the VIEs at inception to determine whether NMIC was the primary beneficiary under each deal and, if so, whether we were required to consolidate the assets and liabilities of each VIE. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is an enterprise that (1) has the power to direct the activities of the VIE, which most significantly impact its economic performance and (2) has significant economic exposure to the VIE, i.e., the obligation to absorb losses or receive benefits that could potentially be significant. The determination of whether an entity is the primary beneficiary of a VIE is complex and requires management judgment regarding determinative factors, including the expected results of the VIE and how those results are absorbed by beneficial interest holders, as well as which party has the power to direct activities that most significantly impact the performance of the VIE. We concluded that we are not the primary beneficiary of each VIE and as such, we do not consolidate them in our consolidated financial statements.
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| Recent Accounting Pronouncements | Recent Accounting Pronouncements - Adopted In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This update requires that businesses recognize rights and obligations associated with certain leases as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet. The standard also requires additional disclosures regarding the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. We adopted this ASU on January 1, 2019 using the modified-retrospective method and applied it prospectively as of the effective date, without adjusting comparative periods presented as permitted by ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842), Targeted Improvements. Adoption of this new standard increased our assets and liabilities by $7.6 million in connection with the recognition of right-of-use (ROU) assets and lease liabilities, primarily related to the operating lease on our corporate headquarters. Adoption of this standard did not impact our consolidated statements of operations or cash flows. See Note 14, "Commitments and Contingencies" for additional information related to our leases. In July 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-11, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (Topic 480), and Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815). This update is intended to simplify the accounting for certain equity-linked financial instruments. We adopted this ASU on January 1, 2019. Adoption of this standard had no impact on our consolidated financial statements. In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718). This update expands the scope of Topic 718 to include share-based payments made to non-employees in connection with the acquisition of goods and services. We adopted this ASU on January 1, 2019. Adoption of this standard had no impact on our financial results as we have not made any share-based grants to non-employees as defined in ASC 718-10-20. Recent Accounting Pronouncements - Not Yet Adopted In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326) and subsequently issued amendments to the initial guidance: ASU 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments, ASU 2019-05, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses: Targeted Transition Relief, and ASU 2019-11, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses. These updates will require companies to measure and establish reserves for lifetime expected credit losses on many financial assets held at a given reporting date. Under the guidance, the methodology for measuring lifetime credit losses will generally shift from an incurred loss model, whereby losses are only recognized once probable and estimable, to a current expected credit loss (CECL) model, whereby losses are recognized upfront based on a future economic forecast. Credit losses relating to available-for-sale fixed maturity securities will be recorded through an allowance for credit losses, rather than a write-down of the asset as is currently required, with the amount of the allowance limited to the amount by which fair value is less than amortized cost. The length of time an available-for sale fixed maturity security has been held in an unrealized loss position will no longer impact its credit loss determination. We adopted these updates on January 1, 2020. Adoption of the updated standards did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements, and had no impact on our accounting for insurance claims and claim expenses as these items are not in scope of the guidance. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-12, Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts. This update provides guidance to the existing recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure requirements for long-duration contracts issued by an insurance entity. The FASB subsequently issued ASU 2019-19 in November 2019 and amended the effective date for this standard. The standard will now take effect for public business entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2021. We are currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this ASU will have, if any, on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820). This update modifies the fair value measurement disclosure requirements of ASC 820. We adopted this ASU on January 1, 2020 and determined it did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40).This update applies to cloud computing arrangements structured as service contracts, and provides companies with guidance on the criteria for capitalizing implementation, set-up and other up-front costs incurred in association with these arrangements. We adopted this ASU on January 1, 2020 and applied it on a prospective basis for eligible costs incurred after the effective date. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740). This update eliminates certain exceptions for recognizing deferred taxes for investments, performing intra-period allocations and calculating income taxes in interim periods. The ASU also includes guidance to reduce complexity in certain income tax areas, including recognizing deferred taxes for tax goodwill and allocating taxes to members of a consolidated group. The standard will take effect for public business entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020. We are currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this ASU will have, if any, on our consolidated financial statements.
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