On December 9, 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Federal Insurance Office released a report entitled "How to Modernize and Improve the System of Insurance Regulation in the United States." This report, which was mandated by Title V of the Dodd-Frank Act, states that that mortgage insurance is "interconnected with other aspects of the federal housing finance system" and will be "an important component of any reform package as an alternative way to place private capital in front of any taxpayer risk." Given this role, the report recommends "national solvency and business practice standards" for mortgage insurers to ensure "confidence in the solvency and performance of housing finance." To the extent any such Federal oversight or standards as may be established exceed the current standards and oversight represented by the overlay of FHFA and GSE-driven eligibility requirements and the direct prudential and solvency regulatory and supervisory oversight of state insurance commissioners, it may adversely affect the results of our business operations.

Basel ~~III~~Committee Capital Adequacy Requirements

In 1988, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which we refer to as the ~~"Basel~~“Basel Committee,"” developed the Basel Capital Accord, which we refer to as ~~"Basel~~“Basel I,"” which set out international benchmarks for assessing ~~banks'~~banks’ capital adequacy requirements. In 2005, the Basel Committee issued an update to Basel ~~II,~~I, which we refer to as “Basel II”, which, among other things, ~~governs the~~sets forth capital treatment of mortgage insurance purchased and held on balance sheet by banks in respect of their origination and securitization activities. ~~In July 2013,~~Following the financial crisis of 2008, the Basel Committee made further revisions that established risk-based capital and leverage capital requirements for most United States banking organizations through further revisions to Basel II, which we refer to as “Basel III” (although banking organizations with less than $10 billion in total assets may now choose to comply with an alternative community bank leverage ratio framework established by the Federal ~~Reserve Board,~~Banking Agencies in 2019).

In December 2017, the ~~Office~~Basel Committee published final revisions to the Basel III capital framework, which we refer to as “Basel IV”, which were generally targeted for implementation by each participating country by January 1, 2022. However, as a result of the ~~Comptroller of~~COVID-19 pandemic, the ~~Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approved publication~~implementation date of the Basel III Rules, which govern almost all U.S. banking organizations regardless of size or business model. The Basel III Rules revise and enhance the Federal banking agencies' general risk-based capital, advanced approaches and leverage rules. The Basel III Rules became effective onIV standards has been postponed by one year to January 1, ~~2014, with a mandatory compliance~~2023. A number of countries have announced that they are not expected to meet the revised timeline. For example, the United Kingdom (“UK”) and the European Union (“EU”) have each separately targeted an effective date of January 1, ~~2015~~2025 for ~~banking organizations other than advanced approaches banking organizations that are not savings~~their rules implementing the Basel IV reforms to enter into force, but there is some divergence between the content of the UK and ~~loan holding companies. On January 1, 2014, most banking organizations became required to begin a multi-year transition period~~EU legislative proposals for implementation. Under these revisions to the ~~full implementation~~international framework, banks using the standardized approach to determine their credit risk may consider mortgage insurance in calculating the exposure amount for real estate, but will determine the risk-weight for residential mortgages based on the LTV ratio at loan origination, without consideration of mortgage insurance. Under the ~~new~~standardized approach, after the appropriate risk-weight is determined, the existence of mortgage insurance could be considered, but only if the company issuing the insurance has a lower risk-weight than the underlying exposure. Mortgage insurance issued by private companies would not meet this test. Therefore, under Basel IV, mortgage insurance could not mitigate credit and lower the capital ~~framework. The effective date and compliance period, and~~charge under the ~~beginning of~~standardized approach. It is possible that the ~~transitional period, was January 1, 2014 for advanced approaches banking organizations~~Federal Banking Agencies could determine that their current capital rules are ~~not savings and loan holding companies.~~

~~The~~at least as stringent as under Basel IV, in which case no change would be mandated. However, if the Federal ~~banking agencies' proposed rule~~Banking Agencies decide to implement Basel ~~III~~IV as specifically drafted by the Basel Committee, mortgage insurance would not lower the LTV ratio of residential loans for capital purposes, and therefore may decrease the demand for mortgage insurance. With respect to any U.S. implementation of Basel IV’s revised standards, the relevant U.S. banking regulators are expected to issue notice of proposed rulemaking for public comment. The timing, scope, and content of any such proposed rulemaking and any potential impact it may have, as well as whether any new guidelines will be proposed or finalized in the United States ~~would have made extensive changes~~in response to ~~the capital requirements for residential mortgages. In addition, the proposed rule would have eliminated existing~~

capital recognition for certain low down payment mortgages if covered by mortgage insurance. After consideration of extensive comments with regard to the proposed capital rules for residential mortgages, the Federal banking agencies revised the Basel III Rules to retain the treatment for residential mortgage exposures under the general risk-based capital rules and the treatment of mortgage insurance. Consistent with such rules, the Basel III Rules assign a 50% or 100% risk weight to loans secured by one-to-four-family residential properties. Generally, residential mortgage exposures secured by a first lien on a one-to-four family residential property that are prudently underwritten and that are performing according to their original terms receive a 50% risk weighting. All other one-to-four family residential mortgage loans are assigned a 100% risk weight. The Basel III Rules continue to afford FHA-insured loans a lower risk weighting than low down payment loans insured with private mortgage insurance, and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities are afforded a lower risk weighting than Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities.

If implementation of the Basel III Rules increases the capital requirements of banking organizations with respect to the residential mortgages we insure, it could adversely affect the size of the portfolio lending market, which in turn would reduce the demand for our mortgage insurance. If the Federal banking agencies revise the Basel III Rules to reduce or eliminate the capital benefit banks receive from insuring low down payment loans with private mortgage insurance, or if our bank customers believe that such adverse changes may occur at some time in the future, our current and future business may be adversely affected. In addition, with regard to the separate Basel III Rules applicable to general credit risk mitigation for banking exposures, insurance companies engaged predominantly in the business of providing credit protection, such as private mortgage insurance companies, are not eligible guarantors, which could affect our business prospects. In addition, the Federal banking agencies established liquidity coverage ratio requirements in 2014 that require that certain “high quality liquid assets” be held against a total net cash outflow amount, which includes a bank’s potential outflow amounts based on loan commitments.IV remains uncertain.

See "Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Regulation and Litigation—The implementation of the Basel ~~III Capital Accord, or other changes to our customers' capital requirements,~~rules may discourage the use of mortgage insurance."

Bermuda Insurance Regulation

The Insurance Act 1978 of Bermuda and related regulations, as amended, or the Insurance Act, regulates the insurance business of our Bermuda-based reinsurance subsidiary, Essent Reinsurance Ltd., and provides that no person may carry on any insurance business in or from within Bermuda unless registered as an insurer under the Insurance Act by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, or the BMA. In deciding whether to grant registration, the BMA has broad discretion to act as it thinks fit in the public interest. The BMA is required by the Insurance Act to determine whether the applicant is a fit and proper body to be engaged in the insurance business and, in particular, whether it has, or has available to it, adequate knowledge and expertise to operate an insurance business. In addition, the BMA is required by the Insurance Act to determine whether a person who proposes to control 10%, 20%, 33% or 50% (as applicable) of the voting powers of a Bermuda-registered insurer or its parent company is a fit and proper person to exercise such degree of control.

The continued registration of an applicant as an insurer is subject to the applicant complying with the terms of its registration and such other conditions as the BMA may impose from time to time. The Insurance Act also grants to the BMA powers to supervise, investigate and intervene in the affairs of insurance companies.

The Insurance Act imposes on Bermuda insurance companies solvency and liquidity standards as well as auditing and reporting requirements. Certain significant aspects of the Bermuda insurance regulatory framework are set forth below.

Classification of Insurers

The Insurance Act distinguishes between insurers carrying on long-term business, insurers carrying on special purpose business and insurers carrying on general business. There are six classifications of insurers carrying on general business (Classes 1, 2, 3, 3A, 3B, and 4) with Class 1 insurers subject to the lightest regulation and Class 4 insurers subject to the strictest regulation.

Essent Reinsurance Ltd., which is incorporated in Bermuda to carry on general insurance and reinsurance business, is registered as a Class 3A insurer in Bermuda and is regulated as such under the Insurance Act. We are not, however, licensed in Bermuda to carry on long-term business. Long-term business broadly includes life insurance and disability insurance with terms in excess of five years. General business broadly includes all types of insurance that is not long-term business.

Cancellation of Insurer's Registration

An insurer's registration may be cancelled by the BMA on certain grounds specified in the Insurance Act. Failure of the insurer to comply with its obligations under the Insurance Act, or if the BMA believes that the insurer has not been carrying on business in accordance with sound insurance principles, would be such grounds.

Principal Representative

An insurer is required to maintain a principal office in Bermuda and to appoint and maintain a principal representative in Bermuda. For the purpose of the Insurance Act, Essent Reinsurance Ltd.'s principal representative is Artex Risk Solutions and its principal office for these purposes is the offices of Artex. Without a reason acceptable to the BMA, an insurer may not terminate the appointment of its principal representative, and the principal representative may not cease to act as such, unless 30 days' notice in writing to the BMA is given of the intention to do so. It is the duty of the principal representative to forthwith notify the BMA where the principal representative believes there is a likelihood of the insurer (for which the principal representative acts) becoming insolvent or that a reportable "event" has, to the principal representative's knowledge, occurred or is believed to have occurred. Examples of such a reportable "event" include failure by the insurer to comply substantially with a condition imposed upon the insurer by the BMA relating to a solvency margin or a liquidity or other ratio. Within 14 days of such notification to the BMA, the principal representative must furnish the BMA with a written report setting out all the particulars of the case that are available to the principal representative.

Independent Approved Auditor

A Class 3A insurer must appoint an independent auditor who will annually audit and report on the insurer's financial statements prepared under generally accepted accounting principles or international financial reporting standards, statutory financial statements and statutory financial returns each of which are required to be filed annually with the BMA. The auditor must be approved by the BMA as the independent auditor of the insurer. If the insurer fails to appoint an approved auditor or at any time fails to fill a vacancy for such auditor, the BMA may appoint an approved auditor for the insurer and shall fix the remuneration to be paid to the approved auditor within 14 days, if not agreed sooner by the insurer and the auditor.

Loss Reserve Specialist

A Class 3A insurer is required to submit an opinion of its approved loss reserve specialist with its statutory financial return in respect of its losses and loss expenses provisions. The loss reserve specialist will normally be a qualified casualty actuary and must be approved by the BMA.

Annual Financial Statements

A Class 3A insurer is required to prepare annual GAAP financial statements and statutory financial statements. The Insurance Act prescribes rules for the preparation and substance of statutory financial statements (which include, in statutory form, a balance sheet, income statement, a statement of capital and surplus, and notes thereto). The statutory financial statements include detailed information and analysis regarding premiums, claims, reinsurance and investments of the insurer. An insurer is required to file with the BMA the annual GAAP financial statements and statutory financial statements within four months from the end of the relevant financial year (unless specifically extended). The statutory financial statements do not form part of the public records maintained by the BMA but the GAAP financial statements are available for public inspection.

Annual Statutory Financial Return

An insurer is required to file with the BMA a statutory financial return no later than four months after its financial year end (unless specifically extended). The statutory financial return includes, among other matters, a report of the approved independent auditor on the statutory financial statements of the insurer, a general business solvency certificate, the statutory financial statements themselves and the opinion of the loss reserve specialist. The principal representative and at least two directors of the insurer must sign the solvency certificate. The directors are required to certify whether the minimum solvency margin has been met, and the independent approved auditor is required to state whether in its opinion it was reasonable for the directors to so certify. Where an insurer's accounts have been audited for any purpose other than compliance with the Insurance Act, a statement to that effect must be filed with the statutory financial return. The statutory financial return is not available for public inspection.

Minimum Solvency Margin, Enhanced Capital Requirement and Restrictions on Dividends and Distributions

A Class 3A insurer must maintain at all times a solvency margin and an enhanced capital requirement in accordance with the provisions of the Insurance Act. Each year the insurer is required to file with the BMA a capital and solvency return within four months of its relevant financial year end (unless specifically extended). The prescribed form of capital and solvency return comprises the insurer's Bermuda Solvency Capital Requirement model, a schedule of fixed income investments by rating categories, a schedule of net loss and loss expense provisions by line of business, a schedule of premiums written by line of business, a schedule of risk management and a schedule of fixed income securities.

The Insurance Act mandates certain actions and filings with the BMA if a Class 3A insurer fails to meet and/or maintain its enhanced capital requirement or solvency margin including the filing of a written report detailing the circumstances giving rise to the failure and the manner and time within which the insurer intends to rectify the failure. A Class 3A insurer is prohibited from declaring or paying a dividend if in breach of its enhanced capital requirement, solvency margin or minimum liquidity ratio or if the declaration or payment of such dividend would cause such a breach. Where an insurer fails to meet its solvency margin or minimum liquidity ratio on the last day of any financial year, it is prohibited from declaring or paying any dividends during the next financial year without the approval of the BMA. Class 3A insurers must obtain the BMA's prior approval for a reduction by 15% or more of the total statutory capital as set forth in its previous year's financial statements. These restrictions on declaring or paying dividends and distributions under the Insurance Act are in addition to those under the Companies Act which apply to all Bermuda companies.

Minimum Liquidity Ratio

The Insurance Act provides a minimum liquidity ratio for general business. An insurer engaged in general business is required to maintain the value of its relevant assets at not less than 75% of the amount of its relevant liabilities. Relevant assets include cash and time deposits, quoted investments, unquoted bonds and debentures, first liens on real estate, investment income due and accrued, accounts and premiums receivable and reinsurance balances receivable.

There are certain categories of assets which, unless specifically permitted by the BMA, do not automatically qualify as relevant assets, such as unquoted equity securities, investments in and advances to affiliates and real estate and collateral loans.

The relevant liabilities are total general business insurance reserves and total other liabilities less deferred income tax and sundry liabilities (by interpretation, those not specifically defined).

Supervision, Investigation and Intervention

The BMA may appoint an inspector with powers to investigate the affairs of an insurer if the BMA believes that an investigation is required in the interests of the insurer's policyholders or potential policyholders. In order to verify or supplement information otherwise provided to the inspector, the BMA may direct an insurer to produce documents or information relating to matters connected with its business.

An inspector may examine on oath any past or present officer, employee or insurance manager of the insurer under investigation in relation to its business and apply to the court in Bermuda for an order that other persons may also be examined on any matter relevant to the investigation. It shall be the duty of any insurer in relation to whose affairs an inspector has been appointed and of any past or present officer, employee or insurance manager of such insurer, to produce to the inspector on request all books, records and documents relating to the insurer under investigation which are in its or his custody or control and otherwise to give to the inspector all assistance in connection with the investigation which it or he is reasonably able to give.

If it appears to the BMA that there is a risk of an insurer becoming insolvent, or that it is in breach of the Insurance Act or any conditions imposed upon its registration, the BMA may, among other things, direct the insurer (1) not to take on any new insurance business, (2) not to vary any insurance contract if the effect would be to increase its liabilities, (3) not to make certain investments, (4) to realize certain investments, (5) to maintain or transfer to the custody of a specified bank, certain assets, (6) not to declare or pay any dividends or other distributions or to restrict the making of such payments, (7) to limit its premium income, (8) not to enter into any specified transaction with any specified persons or persons of a specified class, (9) to provide such written particulars relating to the financial circumstances of the insurer as the BMA thinks fit, (10) to obtain the opinion of a loss reserve specialist and to submit it to the BMA and (11) to remove a controller or officer.

Disclosure of Information

In addition to powers under the Insurance Act to investigate the affairs of an insurer, the BMA may require certain information from an insurer (or certain other persons) to be produced to the BMA. Further, the BMA has been given powers to assist other regulatory authorities, including foreign insurance regulatory authorities, with their investigations involving insurance and reinsurance companies in Bermuda but subject to restrictions. For example, the BMA must be satisfied that the assistance being requested is in connection with the discharge of regulatory responsibilities of the foreign regulatory authority. Further, the BMA must consider whether cooperation is in the public interest. The grounds for disclosure are limited and the Insurance Act provides for sanctions for breach of the statutory duty of confidentiality.

Human Capital Management

We believe that attracting, developing and retaining quality employees is imperative to a vibrant, successful and sustainable business model. We make significant investments in our employees, providing a wide range of continuing education opportunities to support their professional growth and success.

As of December 31, ~~2020,~~2022, we had ~~381~~a total of 346 employees, including ~~375~~341 employees based in our Radnor, PA, Winston-Salem, NC, ~~Irvine, CA~~New York, NY and Reston, VA locations, or remotely throughout the United States, and 65 employees located in Hamilton, Bermuda. None of our employees are represented by a labor union and we consider our employee relations to be good. We also periodically engage contractors who provide services to us on a temporary basis.

We believe that our “do the right thing” culture has enabled us to ~~average~~achieve our approximately 95% retention rate over the past 105 years. We design compelling job opportunities, aligned with our mission, in a fast-paced, results-driven work environment. The process through which we recruit employees has an impact on the quality, diversity and timing of filling positions. Open positions may be filled internally through our internal posting process or externally through a combination of broadly available Internet job boards as well as college placement services, trade journals, newspapers and professional recruiting firms.

Employee engagement begins at the time of hire by paying a fair and livable wage and providing medical, dental, vision, prescription, life and long- and short-term disability coverage to full-time employees. We contribute generously to the retirement savings plans of our U.S.-based employees, with an immediately vested non-discretionary matching contribution to our 401(k) plan in an amount equal to 100% of up to the first 5% of an employee’s eligible compensation. We so strongly believe that all employees should make good decisions, do the right thing and act like owners that we have made all employees owners through a share grant program. As of December 31, ~~2020, over~~2022, approximately 90% of our current workforce have been granted awards for equity shares in our company.

We offer varied employee training, development, mentorship and leadership opportunities and encourage our employees to continue to develop in their careers. We provide compliance and job-related training to all newly hired employees, as well as annual compliance training, to ensure their ongoing success. We also provide many opportunities throughout the year to participate in sales, underwriting, risk management and other related training, as well as education around how to stay connected virtually and have held numerous classes around video conferencing options. We also have a tuition reimbursement program and offer certifications and professional training opportunities, including MBA certifications, Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry (NMLS) continuing education for underwriters and other professional training in areas including but not limited to cybersecurity, risk, accountancy, actuarial sciences, human resources, underwriting, information technology, appraisals, marketing and project management.

We value honest and timely feedback. We use a third-party firm to periodically conduct anonymous employee-wide engagement surveys, as well as targeted “pulse” surveys, to identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement and to ensure continued engagement and retention of our employees. ~~Our most recent such survey had a 97% participation rate.~~

We believe a diverse and inclusive workforce provides for a broad array of viewpoints, talents and skills and assists in building a sustainable ~~future, and we~~future. We are focused on cultivating a diverse and inclusive culture where our employees can freely bring diverse perspectives and varied experiences to work. We seek to hire and retain highly talented employees and empower them to create value for our shareholders. In our employee recruitment and selection process and operation of our business, we adhere to equal employment opportunity policies and encourage the participation of our employees in training programs that will enhance their effectiveness in the performance of their duties. As of December 31, ~~2020,~~2022, approximately ~~66%~~63% of our workforce was comprised of women and minorities.

~~The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on our human capital management in 2020. A majority of our~~

workforce worked remotely beginning in the first quarter. We reopened several of our office locations in September 2020 on a fully volunteer basis to provide our employees an in office option. We support a healthy work environment by implementing new Health Safety policies and practices including temperature scanning, face masks requirements, staggered shifts, upgraded cleaning practices, social distancing requirements and contact tracing. We did not furlough or conduct any employee layoffs due to the pandemic during the year.

For additional information, please see the section titled “Social Issues and Human Capital” in our ~~2020~~2022 Proxy Statement.

Corporate Structure

Essent Group Ltd. was organized as a limited liability company under the laws of Bermuda on July 1, 2008. Our registered office is located at Clarendon House, 2 Church Street, Hamilton HM11, Bermuda and our telephone number is (441) 297-9901. Our corporate website address is www.essentgroup.com. The information contained on, or accessible through, our corporate website does not constitute part of this Annual Report.

Our primary mortgage insurance operations are conducted through Essent Guaranty, Inc., a Pennsylvania-domiciled insurer which is a monoline insurance company licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We also have a wholly-owned Bermuda-domiciled reinsurer, Essent Reinsurance Ltd., which has a Class 3A insurance license issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

Available Information

We file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet web site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is http://www.sec.gov. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K and other information filed by us with the SEC are available, without charge, on our Internet web site, http://www.essentgroup.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed electronically with the SEC. Copies are also available, without charge, by writing to Secretary, Essent Group Ltd., Clarendon House, 2 Church Street, Hamilton HM11, Bermuda. The information on our website is not a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our current business and future results may be affected by a number of risks and uncertainties, including those described below. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks and uncertainties we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, results of operations and financial condition could suffer. The risks discussed below also include forward-looking statements and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements.

~~Risks Relating to the COVID-19 Pandemic~~

The COVID-19 pandemic had a material impact on our 2020 financial results. While uncertain, the future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity may also be material. The extent to which the pandemic will continue to materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity will depend on numerous evolving factors and future developments that we are not able to predict, including the duration and severity of the pandemic and the impact of virus mutations; the nature, extent and effectiveness of containment measures; the speed and effectiveness of U.S. vaccination efforts, the extent and duration of the effect on the economy, unemployment, consumer confidence and consumer and business spending; and the impact of government initiatives and actions taken by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (including implementation of mortgage forbearance and modification programs) to mitigate the economic harm caused by COVID-19.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, there have been a number of governmental and GSE efforts to implement programs designed to assist individuals and businesses impacted by the virus. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, referred to as the CARES Act, was signed into law. The CARES Act provides financial assistance for businesses and individuals and targeted regulatory relief for financial institutions. Among many other things, the CARES Act suspends foreclosures and evictions for at least 60 days from March 18, 2020, on mortgages purchased or securitized by the GSEs, which moratorium has been extended by the GSEs through at least March 31, 2021 and may be further extended. In addition, the CARES Act provided for a requirement to offer payment forbearance on federally-backed mortgages to borrowers experiencing a hardship during the COVID-19 emergency. Forbearance under the CARES Act allows for a mortgage payment to be suspended for up to 360 days due to hardship caused by COVID-19. The CARES Act also provides for enhanced unemployment benefits and direct aid to individuals, among other things.

In addition, on December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law, which contains a nearly $900 billion COVID-19 aid package, including cash payments to individuals, enhanced federal unemployment benefits and additional support for the paycheck protection program enacted under the CARES Act. In addition, the U.S. federal government, by executive order or legislation, may implement additional relief measures, including foreclosure relief measures, from time to time. Many U.S. states have also implemented similar measures relating to forbearance relief and foreclosure or eviction moratoria.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the primary purchasers of mortgages we insure, have adopted relief measures consistent with the CARES Act to assist borrowers impacted by COVID-19. Under forbearance plans announced by the GSEs and implemented by their servicers, eligible homeowners who are adversely impacted by COVID-19 are permitted to temporarily reduce or suspend their mortgage payments for up to 15 months for borrowers entering forbearance before the end of February 2021. The GSEs have announced that, at the end of the forbearance plan, the homeowner may not be required to pay back their reduced or suspended mortgage payments in one lump sum, but may be eligible for a number of different options offered by their mortgage servicer, including repayment plans, resuming normal payments or lowering the monthly loan payment through a modification. However, there can be no assurances that homeowners will be able to remain current on their mortgages once the forbearance period ends, and a significant percentage could ultimately default and result in a mortgage insurance claim despite the GSE and other programs. Moreover, the expiration or discontinuation of any governmental or GSE forbearance or foreclosure relief program could further exacerbate the financial condition of borrowers on loans we insure or economic conditions generally, which could have a material adverse effect our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

~~The COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures have contributed to, among other things:~~

•The risk that policy losses and loss adjustment expenses we ultimately incur as a result of COVID-19 and the related economic impact may be substantially different than the loss reserves established on our financial statements at the end of each period. In accordance with industry practice and statutory accounting rules applicable to mortgage guaranty insurance companies, we establish loss reserves only for loans reported to us in default, including forbearance-related defaults. These reserves are established using estimated claim rates and claim amounts in estimating the ultimate loss, which estimates are subject to significant uncertainty given the unprecedented nature and magnitude of the COVID-19

pandemic. In addition, because our reserving method does not account for the impact of future losses that could occur from loans that are not yet delinquent, our obligation for ultimate losses that we expect to occur under our policies in force at any period end is not reflected in our financial statements, except in the case where a premium deficiency exists.

•A deterioration in the ability and willingness of homeowners to continue to make mortgage payments on loans that we insure, which could result in an increase in the amount of insurance regulatory and PMIERs capital we are required to hold for delinquent loans, including forbearance-related delinquencies, as well as an increase in claims ultimately made with respect to such mortgage loans. Mortgage delinquencies are typically affected by a variety of borrower-specific factors, such as job loss, illness, death and divorce, and macroeconomic factors, such as rising unemployment, market deterioration and home price depreciation, many of which are likely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

•Changes to the PMIERs and related guidance from the GSEs, which have been amended as a result of the pandemic and may be subject to future amendment, such as extending disaster related capital charges to all loans in pandemic-related forbearance programs and other amendments that include restrictions on our mortgage insurance business, operations and capital position.

•Decreases in overall policy persistency and an increased level of mortgage loan refinancings, driven by historically low mortgage rates as a result of U.S. monetary policy following COVID-19 and other reasons, which could reduce the profitability of our insurance portfolio.

•Adverse impacts on capital, credit and reinsurance market conditions, which may limit our ability to acquire reinsurance or access traditional financing methods. Such adverse impacts may increase our cost of capital and affect our ability to meet liquidity needs.

•~~An increased strain on our risk management policies generally, including, but not limited to, the effectiveness and accuracy of our models, given the lack of data inputs and comparable precedent.~~

•~~An increased risk to the value of our investments and other assets, which has the potential to result in impairment charges.~~

•~~Adverse impacts on our daily business operations and our employees’ ability to perform necessary business functions, including as a result of illness or as a result of restrictions on movement.~~

•Adverse impacts on our costs structure, including the need for increased staffing in certain segments of our business, increased spending on our business continuity efforts, such as technology, and readiness efforts for returning to our offices, which may in turn limit our ability to make investments in other areas.

•An increased risk of an information or cyber-security incident, fraud, a failure to maintain the uninterrupted operation of our information systems or a failure in the effectiveness of our anti-money laundering and other compliance programs due to, among other things, an increase in remote work.

The above impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures are likely to continue and in some cases, may worsen. The pandemic and containment measures may cause us to modify our strategic plans and business practices, and we may take further actions that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers and business partners. As a result of the above risks, COVID-19 could materially and adversely impact our business, results of operations, financial position and liquidity.

Risks Relating to the Operation of Our Business

Intense competition within the private mortgage insurance industry could result in the loss of customers, lower premiums, wider credit guidelines and other changes which could lower our revenues or raise our costs.

The private mortgage insurance industry is intensely competitive, with six private mortgage insurers currently approved and eligible to write business for the GSEs. We compete with other private mortgage insurers on the basis of pricing, terms and conditions, underwriting guidelines, loss mitigation practices, financial strength, reputation, customer relationships, service and other factors. One or more private mortgage insurers may seek increased market share from government-supported insurance programs, such as those sponsored by the FHA, or from other private mortgage insurers by reducing pricing, loosening their underwriting guidelines or relaxing their risk management practices, which could, in turn, improve their competitive position in

the industry and negatively impact our level of new insurance written, or NIW. A decline in industry NIW might result in increased competition as certain private mortgage insurance companies may seek to maintain their NIW levels within a smaller market. In addition, the perceived increase in the credit quality of loans that currently are being insured, the relative financial strength of the existing mortgage insurance companies and the possibility of the private mortgage insurance market acquiring a greater share of the overall mortgage insurance market may encourage new entrants into the private mortgage insurance industry, which could further increase competition in our business.

Our revenues, profitability and returns would decline if we lose a significant customer.

Our mortgage insurance business depends on our relationships with our largest lending customers. Our top ten customers generated ~~35.8%~~39.9% of our NIW during year ended December 31, ~~2020,~~2022, compared to ~~42.8%~~41.6% and ~~43.5%~~35.8% for the years ended December 31, ~~2019~~2021 and ~~2018,~~2020, respectively. For the year ended December 31, ~~2020, no~~2022, one customer represented more than 10% of our consolidated revenues. Maintaining our business relationships and business volumes with our largest lending customers remains critical to the success of our business.

Our master policies do not, and by law cannot, require our customers to do business with us. Under the terms of our master policy, our customers, or the parties they designate to service the loans we insure, have the unilateral right to cancel our insurance coverage at any time for any loan that we insure. Upon cancellation of coverage, subject to the type of coverage, we may be required to refund unearned premiums, if any.

In addition, adverse macroeconomic conditions could subject customers to serious financial constraints that may jeopardize the viability of their business plans or their access to additional capital, forcing them to consider alternatives such as bankruptcy or consolidation with others in the industry. Other factors, such as rising interest rates, which could reduce mortgage origination volumes generally, rising costs associated with regulatory compliance and the relative cost of capital, may also result in consolidation among our customers. In the event our customers consolidate, they may revisit their relationships with individual private mortgage insurers, such as us, which could result in a loss of customers or a reduction in our business. The loss of business from a significant customer could have a material adverse effect on the amount of new business we are able to write, and consequently, our revenue, and we can provide no assurance that any loss of business from a significant customer would be replaced from other new or existing lending customers.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity will depend on numerous evolving factors and future developments that we are not able to predict.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the primary purchasers of mortgages we insure, adopted relief measures consistent with the CARES Act to assist borrowers impacted by COVID-19. Under these forbearance plans announced by the GSEs and implemented by their servicers, eligible homeowners who were adversely impacted by COVID-19 were permitted to temporarily reduce or suspend their mortgage payments for up to 18 months for borrowers in an active COVID-19 related forbearance as of February 28, 2021. At the end of the forbearance plan, the homeowner was required to pay back their reduced or suspended mortgage payments in one lump sum, but may have been eligible for a number of different options offered by

their mortgage servicer, including repayment plans, resuming normal payments or lowering the monthly loan payment through a modification. However, there can be no assurances that homeowners will be able to remain current on their mortgages once the forbearance period ended, and a significant percentage could ultimately default and result in a mortgage insurance claim despite these forbearance programs.

Furthermore, the risk that policy losses and loss adjustment expenses we ultimately incur as a result of COVID-19 and the related economic impact may be substantially different than the loss reserves established on our financial statements at the end of each period. In accordance with industry practice and statutory accounting rules applicable to mortgage guaranty insurance companies, we establish loss reserves only for loans reported to us in default, including forbearance-related defaults. These reserves are established using estimated claim rates and claim amounts in estimating the ultimate loss, which estimates are subject to significant uncertainty given the unprecedented nature and magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, because our reserving method does not account for the impact of future losses that could occur from loans that are not yet delinquent, our obligation for ultimate losses that we expect to occur under our policies in force at any period end is not reflected in our financial statements, except in the case where a premium deficiency exists.

The actions of the FHFA and the GSEs in response to COVID-19 are likely to continue to significantly impact the United States housing finance system. These actions may include additional PMIERs capital requirements or other material restrictions on us. Because private mortgage insurance is an important component of this system, these actions (as well as other governmental actions in response to the pandemic) may have an adverse impact on our mortgage insurance operations and performance. Moreover, the expiration or discontinuation of any governmental or GSE forbearance or foreclosure relief program could further exacerbate the financial condition of borrowers on loans we insure or economic conditions generally, which could have a material adverse effect our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

The amount of insurance we may be able to write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance.

We compete for business with alternatives to private mortgage insurance, consisting primarily of government-supported mortgage insurance programs as well as home purchase or refinancing alternatives that do not use any form of mortgage insurance.

Government-supported mortgage insurance programs include, but are not limited to federal mortgage insurance programs, including those offered by the FHA and VA, and state-supported mortgage insurance funds, including, but not limited to, those funds supported by the states of California and New York.

Alternatives to mortgage insurance include, but are not limited to:

•lenders and other investors holding mortgages in their portfolios and self-insuring;

•investors using other risk mitigation techniques in conjunction with reduced levels of private mortgage insurance coverage, or accepting credit risk without credit enhancement;

•mortgage sellers retaining at least a 10% participation in a loan or mortgage sellers agreeing to repurchase or replace a loan upon an event of default; and

•lenders originating mortgages using "piggyback structures" which avoid private mortgage insurance, such as a first mortgage with an 80% loan-to-value ratio and a second mortgage with a 10%, 15% or 20% loan-to-value ratio (referred to as 80-10-10, 80-15-5 or 80-20 loans, respectively) rather than a first mortgage with a 90%, 95% or 100% loan-to-value ratio that has private mortgage insurance.

Any of these alternatives to private mortgage insurance could reduce or eliminate the demand for our product, cause us to lose business or limit our ability to attract the business that we would prefer to insure. Government-supported mortgage insurance programs are not subject to the same capital requirements, risk tolerance or business objectives that we and other

private mortgage insurance companies are, and therefore, generally have greater financial flexibility in setting their pricing, guidelines and capacity, which could put us at a competitive disadvantage. In addition, loans insured under FHA and other Federal government-supported mortgage insurance programs are eligible for securitization in Ginnie Mae securities, which may be viewed by investors as more desirable than Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities due to the explicit backing of Ginnie Mae securities by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Federal government.

Consequently, if the FHA or other government-supported mortgage insurance programs maintain or increase their share of the mortgage insurance market, our business could be affected. Factors that could cause the FHA or other government-supported mortgage insurance programs to maintain or increase their share of the mortgage insurance market include:

•a reduction in the premiums charged for government mortgage insurance or a loosening of underwriting guidelines;

•past and potential future capital constraints in the private mortgage insurance industry;

•increases in premium rates or tightening of underwriting guidelines by private mortgage insurers based on past loan performance or other risk concerns;

•increased levels of loss mitigation activity by private mortgage insurers on older vintage portfolios when compared to the more limited loss mitigation activities of government insurance programs;

•imposition of additional loan level delivery fees by the GSEs on loans that require mortgage insurance;

•increases in GSE guaranty fees and the difference in the spread between Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities;

•the perceived operational ease of using government insurance compared to the products of private mortgage insurers;

•differences in the enforcement of program requirements by the FHA relative to the enforcement of policy terms by private entities;

•the implementation of new or the amendment of current regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act (particularly with respect to the Qualified Mortgage and Qualified Residential Mortgage rules) and the Basel III Rules, which may be more favorable to the FHA than to private mortgage insurers (see "Risks Related to Regulation and Litigation—Our business prospects and operating results could be adversely impacted if, and to the extent that, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ("CFPB") ~~final~~ rule defining a qualified mortgage ("QM") reduces the size of the origination market or creates incentives to use government mortgage insurance programs", "Risks Related to Regulation and Litigation—The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected by the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act's risk retention requirements and the definition of Qualified Residential Mortgage ("QRM")" and "Risks Related to Regulation and Litigation—The implementation of the Basel ~~III Capital Accord, or other changes to our customers' capital requirements, may~~rules discourage the use of mortgage insurance"); and

•increases in FHA loan limits above GSE loan limits.

Further, at the direction of the FHFA, the GSEs continue to ~~expand their~~consider new, and to pursue existing, credit risk sharing programs. These programs have included the use of structured finance vehicles and off-shore reinsurance. The growth of these programs and the perception that some of these risk-sharing structures have beneficial features in comparison to private mortgage insurance (e.g. lower costs, reduced counterparty risk due to collateral on hand or more diversified insurance exposures) may create increased competition for mortgage insurance going forward on loans traditionally sold to the GSEs with private mortgage insurance. As part of their expanded risk sharing programs, the GSEs have also ~~developed pilot~~piloted programs to directly place mortgage insurance rather than have lenders place the mortgage insurance with private mortgage insurers. No assurances can be given that these practices may not be expanded to cover more loans traditionally insured by lenders with private mortgage insurance prior to sale to the GSEs, which could impact our business.

In addition, in the event that a government-supported mortgage insurance program in one of our markets reduces prices significantly or alters the terms and conditions of its mortgage insurance or other credit enhancement products in furtherance of political, social or other goals rather than a profit motive, we may be unable to compete in that market effectively, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

If the volume of low down payment home mortgage originations declines, the amount of insurance that we write could decline, which would reduce our revenues.

Our ability to write new business depends, among other things, on the origination volume of low down payment mortgages that require mortgage insurance. Factors that affect the volume of low down payment mortgage originations include:

•the level of home mortgage interest rates and the deductibility of mortgage interest and mortgage insurance for income tax purposes;

•the health of the domestic economy as well as conditions in regional and local economies;

•housing affordability;

•population trends, including the rate of household formation;

•the rate of home price appreciation, which in times of significant refinancing can affect whether refinance loans have loan-to-value ratios that require private mortgage insurance;

•government housing policies encouraging loans to borrowers that may need low down payment financing, such as first-time homebuyers;

•the extent to which the guaranty fees, loan-level price adjustments, credit underwriting guidelines and other business terms provided by the GSEs affect lenders' willingness to extend credit for low down payment mortgages;

•requirements for ability-to-pay determinations prior to extending credit as discussed below;

•restrictions on mortgage credit due to more stringent underwriting standards and the risk retention requirements for securitized mortgage loans affecting lenders as discussed below; and

•changes in the credit standards, premiums or other terms of obtaining FHA, VA or USDA insurance, which competes directly with private mortgage insurance.

If the volume of low down payment loan originations declines, then our ability to write new policies may suffer, and our revenue and results of operations may be negatively impacted.

We expect our claims to increase as our portfolio matures.

We believe that, based upon our experience and industry data, claims incidence for mortgage insurance is generally highest in the third through sixth years after loan origination. Although the claims experience on new insurance written by us since we began to write coverage in 2010 has been relatively favorable to date, we expect incurred losses and claims to increase as a greater amount of this book of insurance reaches its anticipated period of highest claim frequency. As a result of the significant decrease in our persistency rate largely as a result of a high level of refinancings in 2020 ~~largely resulting from~~and 2021 triggered by historically low interest rates precipitated by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately ~~70%~~84% of our aggregate insurance in force as of December 31, ~~2020~~2022 corresponds to policies we have written since January 1, ~~2019.~~2020. The actual default rate and the average reserve per default that we experience as our portfolio matures is difficult to predict, particularly in light of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is dependent on the specific characteristics of our current in-force book (including the credit score of the borrower, the loan-to-value ratio of the mortgage, geographic concentrations, etc.), as well as the profile of new business we write in the future. In addition, the default rate and the average reserve per default will be affected by future macroeconomic factors such as housing prices, interest rates and ~~employment.~~employment as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Incurred losses and claims could be further increased in the future in the event of general economic weakness or decreases in housing values. An increase in the number or size of claims, compared to what we anticipate, could adversely affect our results of operations or financial conditions.

Because we establish loss reserves only upon a loan default rather than based on estimates of our ultimate losses on risk in force, losses may have a disproportionate adverse effect on our earnings in certain periods.

In accordance with industry practice and statutory accounting rules applicable to mortgage guaranty insurance companies, we establish loss reserves only for loans in default. Reserves are established for reported insurance losses and loss adjustment expenses based on when notices of default on insured mortgage loans are received. Reserves are also established for estimated losses incurred in connection with defaults that have not yet been reported. We establish reserves using estimated claim rates

and claim amounts in estimating the ultimate loss. Because our reserving method does not account for the impact of future losses that could occur from loans that are not yet delinquent, our obligation for ultimate losses that we expect to occur under our policies in force at any period end is not reflected in our financial statements, except in the case where a premium deficiency exists. As a result, future losses may have a material impact on future results as defaults occur.

A downturn in the U.S. economy, a decline in the value of borrowers' homes from their value at the time their loans close and natural disasters, acts of terrorism or other catastrophic events may result in more homeowners defaulting and could increase our losses.

Losses result from events that reduce a borrower's ability to continue to make mortgage payments, such as increasing unemployment and whether the home of a borrower who defaults on his or her mortgage can be sold for an amount that will cover unpaid principal and interest and the expenses of the sale. In general, favorable economic conditions reduce the likelihood that borrowers will lack sufficient income to pay their mortgages and also favorably affect the value of homes, thereby reducing and in some cases even eliminating a loss from a mortgage default. Deterioration in economic conditions generally increases the likelihood that borrowers will not have sufficient income to pay their mortgages and can also adversely affect housing values, which in turn can decrease the willingness of borrowers with sufficient resources to make mortgage payments when the mortgage balance exceeds the value of the home. Housing values may decline even absent deterioration in economic conditions due to declines in demand for homes, which may result from changes in buyers' perceptions of the potential for future appreciation, restrictions on mortgage credit due to more stringent underwriting standards, liquidity issues affecting lenders or other factors, such as the phase-out of the mortgage interest deduction, reductions or elimination in the deductibility of mortgage insurance premiums or changes in the tax treatment of residential property. If our loss projections are inaccurate, our loss payments could materially exceed our expectations resulting in an adverse effect on our financial position and operating results. If economic conditions, such as employment and home prices, are less favorable than we expect, our premiums and underwriting standards may prove inadequate to shield us from a material increase in losses. In addition, natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, and acts of terrorism or other catastrophic events could result in increased claims against policies that we have written due to the impact that such events may have on the employment and income of borrowers and the value of affected homes, resulting in defaults on and claims under our policies. We cannot assure you that any strategies we may employ to mitigate the impact on us of such events, including limitations under our master policy on the payment of claims in certain circumstances where a property is damaged, the dispersal of our risk by geography and the potential use of third-party reinsurance structures, will be successful.

If interest rates decline, house prices appreciate or mortgage insurance cancellation requirements change, the length of time that our policies remain in force could decline and cause a decline in our revenue.

Generally, in each year, most of our premiums are from insurance that has been written in prior years. As a result, the length of time insurance remains in force, which is also generally referred to as persistency, is a significant determinant of our revenues. A lower level of persistency could reduce our future revenues. Our annual persistency rate was ~~60.1%~~82.1%, ~~77.5%~~65.4% and ~~84.9%~~60.1% at December 31, ~~2020, 2019~~2022, 2021 and ~~2018,~~2020, respectively. The factors affecting the persistency of our insurance portfolio include:

•the level of current mortgage interest rates compared to the mortgage interest rates on the insurance in force, which affects the incentives of borrowers we have insured to refinance;

•the amount of equity in a home, as homeowners with more equity in their homes can generally more readily move to a new residence or refinance their existing mortgage;

•the rate at which homeowners sell their existing homes and move to new locations, generally referred to as housing turnover, with more rapid economic growth and stronger job markets tending to increase housing turnover;

•the mortgage insurance cancellation policies of mortgage investors along with the current values of the homes underlying the mortgages in the insurance in force; and

•the cancellation of borrower-paid mortgage insurance mandated by law based on the amortization schedule of the loan, which generally occurs sooner the lower the note rate of the insured loan.

~~Although interest rates are currently at historic lows primarily as a result of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if~~If interest rates rise, persistency is likely to increase, which may extend the average life of our insured portfolio and result in higher levels of future claims as more loans remain outstanding.

The premiums we charge may not be adequate to compensate us for our liabilities for losses and, as a result, any inadequacy could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our mortgage insurance premium rates may not be adequate to cover future losses. We set premiums at the time a policy is issued based on a number of factors, including our expectations regarding likely mortgage performance over the expected life of the coverage as well as competition from other private mortgage insurers, government programs and other products. These

expectations may prove to be incorrect. Generally, we cannot cancel mortgage insurance coverage or adjust renewal premiums during the life of a mortgage insurance policy. As a result, higher than anticipated claims generally cannot be offset by premium increases on policies in force or mitigated by our non-renewal or cancellation of insurance coverage. The premiums we charge, and the associated investment income, may not be adequate to compensate us for the risks and costs associated with the insurance coverage provided to customers. Should we wish to increase our premium rates, any such change would be prospectively applied to new policies written, and the changes would be subject to approval by state regulatory agencies, which may delay or limit our ability to increase our premium rates.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to manage risks in our investment portfolio.

~~Our~~A substantial majority of our investment portfolio consists ~~predominantly~~ of investment-grade debt obligations. Our investments are subject to fluctuations in value as a result of broad changes in market conditions as well as risks inherent in particular securities. Changing market conditions could materially impact the future valuation of securities in our investment portfolio, which may cause us to impair, in the future, some portion of the value of those securities and which could have a significant adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition and operating results.

Income from our investment portfolio is a source of cash flow to support our operations and make claim payments. If we, or our investment advisors, improperly structure our investments to meet those future liabilities or we have unexpected losses, including losses resulting from the forced liquidation of investments before their maturity, we may be unable to meet those obligations. Our investments and investment policies are subject to state insurance laws, which results in our portfolio being predominantly limited to highly rated fixed income securities. If interest rates rise above the rates on our fixed income securities, the market value of our investment portfolio would decrease. Any significant decrease in the value of our investment portfolio would adversely impact our financial condition.

In addition, compared to historical averages, interest rates and investment yields on highly rated investments have generally been low during the period in which we purchased the securities in our portfolio, which limits the investment income we can generate. We depend on our investments as a source of revenue, and a prolonged period of low investment yields would have an adverse impact on our revenues and could adversely affect our operating results.

As part of our overall investment strategy, we also allocate a relatively small percentage of our portfolio to limited partnership investments in real estate, consumer credit and traditional venture capital and private equity investments. Fluctuations in the fair value of these entities may increase the volatility of our reported results of operations.

We may be forced to change our investments or investment policies depending upon regulatory, economic and market conditions, and our existing or anticipated financial condition and operating requirements, including the tax position, of our business. Our investment objectives may not be achieved. Although our portfolio consists predominantly of investment-grade fixed income securities and complies with applicable regulatory requirements, the success of our investment activity and the value of our portfolio is affected by general economic conditions, which may adversely affect the markets for credit and interest-rate-sensitive securities, including the extent and timing of investor participation in these markets and the level and volatility of interest rates.

Because loss reserve estimates are subject to uncertainties and are based on assumptions that may be volatile, ultimate losses may be substantially different than our loss reserves.

We establish reserves using estimated claim rates and claim amounts in estimating the ultimate loss on delinquent loans. The estimated claim rates and claim amounts represent our best estimates of what we will actually pay on the loans in default as of the reserve date. Our master policy provides us the right to rescind or deny claims under certain circumstances. Our reserve calculations do not currently include any estimate for claim rescissions, but we may be required to do so at some later time to ensure that our reserves meet the requirements of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

The establishment of loss reserves is subject to inherent uncertainty and requires judgment by management. Our estimates of claim rates and claim sizes will be strongly influenced by prevailing economic conditions, such as current rates or trends in unemployment, housing price appreciation and/or interest rates, and our best judgments as to the future values or trends of these macroeconomic factors. If prevailing economic conditions deteriorate suddenly and/or unexpectedly, our estimates of loss reserves could be materially understated, which may adversely impact our financial condition and operating results. Changes to our estimates could result in a material impact to our results of operations, even in a stable economic environment, and there can be no assurance that actual claims paid by us will not be substantially different than our loss reserves.

A downgrade in our financial strength ratings may adversely affect the amount of business that we write.

Financial strength ratings, which various ratings organizations publish as a measure of an insurance company's ability to meet contractholder and policyholder obligations, are important to maintain confidence in our products and our competitive position. A downgrade in our financial strength ratings, or the announced potential for a downgrade, could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations in many ways, including: (i) increased scrutiny of us and our financial condition by our customers, potentially resulting in a decrease in the amount of new insurance policies that we write; (ii) requiring us to reduce the premiums that we charge for mortgage insurance in order to remain competitive; and (iii) adversely affecting our ability to obtain reinsurance or to obtain reasonable pricing on reinsurance. A ratings downgrade could also increase our cost of capital and limit our access to the capital markets.

In addition, if the GSEs renew their historical focus on financial strength or other third-party credit ratings as components of their eligibility requirements for private mortgage insurers and do not set such requirements at a level that we can satisfy, or if as a result of a downgrade we would no longer comply with such rating requirements, our revenues and results of operations would be materially adversely affected. See "—Changes in the business practices of the GSEs, including actions or decisions to decrease or discontinue the use of mortgage insurance or changes in the GSEs' eligibility requirements for mortgage insurers, could reduce our revenues or adversely affect our profitability and returns" and "Business—Regulation—Direct U.S. Regulation—GSE Qualified Mortgage Insurer Requirements."

If servicers fail to adhere to appropriate servicing standards or experience disruptions to their businesses, our losses could unexpectedly increase.

We depend on reliable, consistent third-party servicing of the loans that we insure. Among other things, our mortgage insurance policies require our policyholders and their servicers to timely submit premium and monthly insurance in force and default reports and utilize commercially reasonable efforts to limit and mitigate loss when a loan is in default. If one or more servicers were to experience adverse effects to its business, such servicers could experience delays in their reporting and premium payment requirements. Without reliable, consistent third-party servicing, our insurance subsidiaries may be unable to correctly record new loans as they are underwritten, receive and process payments on insured loans and/or properly recognize and establish loss reserves on loans when a default exists or occurs but is not reported to us. In addition, if these servicers fail to limit and mitigate losses when appropriate, our losses may unexpectedly increase. Significant failures by large servicers or disruptions in the servicing of mortgage loans covered by our insurance policies would adversely impact our business, financial condition and operating results.

Furthermore, we have delegated to the GSEs, who have in turn delegated to most of their servicers, authority to accept modifications, short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure on loans we insure. Servicers are required to operate under protocols established by the GSEs in accepting these loss mitigation alternatives. We are dependent upon servicers in making these decisions and mitigating our exposure to losses. In some cases, loss mitigation decisions favorable to the GSEs may not be favorable to us, and may increase the incidence of paid claims. Inappropriate delegation protocols or failure of servicers to service in accordance with the protocols may increase the magnitude of our losses and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Our delegation of loss mitigation decisions to the GSEs is subject to cancellation but exercise of our cancellation rights may have an adverse impact on our relationship with the GSEs and lenders.

Our delegated underwriting program may subject our mortgage insurance business to unanticipated claims.

In our mortgage insurance business, we enter into agreements with our customers that commit us to insure loans made by them using pre-established underwriting guidelines. Once we accept a customer into our delegated underwriting program, we generally insure a loan originated by that customer without re-confirming the customer followed our specified underwriting guidelines. Under this program, a customer could commit us to insure a material number of loans with unacceptable risk profiles before we discover the problem and terminate that customer's delegated underwriting authority or pursue other rights that may be available to us, such as our rights to rescind coverage or deny claims, which rights are limited by the terms of our master policy.

We face risks associated with our contract underwriting business.

We provide contract underwriting services for certain of our customers, including on loans for which we are not providing mortgage insurance. For substantially all of the existing loans that were originated through our contract underwriting services, we have agreed that if we make a material error in providing these services and the error leads to a loss for the

customer, the customer may, subject to certain conditions and limitations, claim a remedy. Accordingly, we have assumed some risk in connection with providing these services. We also face regulatory and litigation risk in providing these services.

Our information technology systems may become outmoded, be temporarily interrupted or fail thereby causing us to fail to meet our customers' demands.

Our business is highly dependent on the effective operation of our information technology systems, which are vulnerable to damage or interruption from power outages, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, cyber-attacks, security breaches, catastrophic events and errors in usage. Although we have disaster recovery and business continuity plans in place, we may not be able to adequately execute these plans in a timely fashion. Additionally, we may not satisfy our customers' requirements if we fail to invest sufficient resources in, or otherwise are unable to maintain and upgrade our information technology systems. Because we rely on our information technology systems for many critical functions, including connecting with our customers, if such systems were to fail or become outmoded, we may experience a significant disruption in our operations and in the business we receive, which could negatively affect our operating results, financial condition and profitability.

The security of our information technology systems may be compromised and confidential information, including non-public personal information that we maintain, could be improperly disclosed.

Our information technology systems may be vulnerable to physical or electronic intrusions, computer viruses or other attacks. As part of our business, we maintain large amounts of confidential information, including non-public personal information on consumers and our employees. Breaches in security could result in the loss or misuse of this information, which could, in turn, result in potential regulatory actions or litigation, including material claims for damages, interruption to our operations, damage to our reputation or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Although we believe that we have appropriate information security policies and systems in place in order to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information, including non-public personal information, there can be no assurance that such use or disclosure will not occur.

We may not be able to collect all amounts due to us from reinsurers and reinsurance coverage may not be available to us in the future at commercially reasonable rates or at all.

We have ceded to third-party reinsurers and special purpose reinsurers funded through the issuance of insurance-linked notes certain risk that we have insured in order to limit our maximum net loss arising in periods of elevated claims as well as to claim reinsurance credit and capital relief under insurance laws applicable to us and the regulations of the GSEs. Although the reinsurers to which we have ceded such risk are liable to us to the extent of the ceded insurance, we remain liable as the direct insurer on all risks so reinsured. As a result, our reinsurance arrangements do not fully eliminate our obligation to pay claims, and we have assumed credit risk with respect to our ability to recover amounts due from our reinsurers. We may not be able to collect all amounts due to us from reinsurers, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

The availability and cost of reinsurance are subject to prevailing market conditions that are beyond our control. For example, reinsurance may be more difficult or costly to obtain following an economic downturn that results in a significant negative impact on the U.S. housing market. No assurances can be made that reinsurance will remain continuously available to us in amounts that we consider sufficient and at rates that we consider acceptable, which would cause us to increase the amount of risk we retain, reduce the amount of business we write or look for alternatives to reinsurance. If investors are unwilling to purchase, or to purchase at a reasonable price, insurance-linked notes that fund the type of special purpose reinsurers with which we have entered into reinsurance transactions, we may not be able to obtain reinsurance on business that we write in the future at a level consistent with the reinsurance we have obtained on our current business. This, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Risks Relating to Regulation and Litigation

Legislative or regulatory actions or decisions to change the role of the GSEs in the U.S. housing market generally, or changes to the charters of the GSEs with regard to the use of credit enhancements generally and private mortgage insurance specifically, could reduce our revenues or adversely affect our profitability and returns.

The Department of the Treasury and the FHFA placed the GSEs into conservatorship in September 2008, putting regulatory and operational control of the GSEs under the auspices of the FHFA. Although we believe the FHFA's conservatorship was intended to be temporary, the GSEs have remained in conservatorship for over 1214 years. During that time, there have been a wide-ranging set of GSE and secondary market reform advocacy proposals put forward, including nearly complete privatization of the mortgage market and elimination of the role of the GSEs, recapitalization of the GSEs and a set of

alternatives that would combine a Federal role with private capital, some of which eliminate the GSEs and others which envision an ongoing role for the GSEs.

It remains unclear whether any of these legislative or regulatory reforms will be enacted or implemented. Any changes to the charters or statutory authorities of the GSEs would require Congressional action to implement. Passage and timing of any GSE reform legislation or incremental change is uncertain and could change through the legislative process, which could take time, making the actual impact on us difficult to predict. As a result of the uncertainty regarding resolution of the conservatorship of the GSEs and the proper structure of any new secondary mortgage market, as well as the Federal government's increased role within the housing market since the start of the recent financial crisis, we cannot predict how or when the role of the GSEs may change. In addition, the size, complexity and centrality of the GSEs to the current housing finance system and the importance of housing to the nation's economy make the transition to any new housing finance system difficult and present risks to market participants, including to us.

The charters of the GSEs currently require certain credit enhancement for low down payment mortgage loans in order for such loans to be eligible for purchase or guarantee by the GSEs, and lenders historically have relied on mortgage insurance to a significant degree in order to satisfy these credit enhancement requirements. Because the overwhelming majority of our current and expected future business is the provision of mortgage insurance on loans sold to the GSEs, if the charters of the GSEs are amended to change or eliminate the acceptability of private mortgage insurance in their purchasing practices, then our volume of new business and our revenue may decline significantly.

Changes to the statutory requirements of the FHFA's conservatorship of the GSEs, the elimination of the GSEs or the replacement of the GSEs with any successor entities or structures, or changes to the GSE charters would require Federal legislative action, which makes predicting the timing or substance of such changes difficult. As a result, it is uncertain what role the GSEs, the FHFA, the government and private capital, including private mortgage insurance, will play in the U.S. housing finance system in the future or the impact and timing of any such changes on the market and our business.

Changes in the business practices of the GSEs, including actions or decisions to decrease or discontinue the use of mortgage insurance or changes in the GSEs' eligibility requirements for mortgage insurers, could reduce our revenues or adversely affect our profitability and returns.

Our business model is highly dependent on the GSEs, as the GSEs are the primary beneficiaries of most of our mortgage insurance policies. The GSEs’ business practices may be impacted by their results of operations, administrative policy decisions or legislative or regulatory changes. Recently, the GSEs have been focused on, among other things, supporting the housing finance system during times of stress as is currently occurring as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as equitable and affordable housing initiatives. Changes in the business practices of the GSEs, which can be implemented by the GSEs at the FHFA's direction, could negatively impact our operating results and financial performance, including changes to:

•the level of coverage when private mortgage insurance is used to satisfy the GSEs' charter requirements on low down payment mortgages;

•the overall level of guaranty fees or the amount of loan level delivery fees that the GSEs assess on loans that require mortgage insurance;

•the GSEs' influence in the mortgage lender's selection of the mortgage insurer providing coverage and, if so, any transactions that are related to that selection;

•the underwriting standards that determine what loans are eligible for purchase by the GSEs, which can affect the volume and quality of the risk insured by the mortgage insurer;

•the terms on which mortgage insurance coverage ~~can~~may be cancelled, ~~before~~including GSE requirements and programs that permit cancellation prior to reaching the ~~cancellation~~applicable thresholds and conditions established by ~~law;~~HOPA;

•programs established by the GSEs intended to avoid or mitigate loss on insured mortgages and the circumstances in which mortgage servicers must implement such programs;

•the extent to which the GSEs establish requirements for mortgage insurers' rescission practices or rescission settlement practices with lenders;

•the size of loans that are eligible for purchase or guaranty by the GSEs, which if reduced or otherwise limited may reduce the overall level of business and the number of low down payment loans with mortgage insurance that the GSEs purchase or guaranty; and

•requirements for a mortgage insurer to become and remain an approved eligible insurer for the GSEs, including, among other items, minimum capital adequacy targets, the credit received against such capital requirements for reinsurance, and the terms that the GSEs require to be included in mortgage insurance master policies for loans that they purchase or guaranty.

Effective for insurance applications received after October 1, 2014, the GSEs, in coordination with the FHFA, instituted minimum standards for mortgage insurer master policies, including standards relating to rescission rights. Pursuant to revised rules adopted by the GSEs for rescission relief, we implemented a new master policy effective March 1, 2020. The new master policy could result in us paying more claims than required under our prior master policy or could otherwise increase our operating costs. The imposition of standardized master policies may also make it more difficult for us to distinguish ourselves from our competitors on the basis of coverage terms. See "Business—Our Products and Services—Mortgage Insurance—Master Policy" above.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ~~at the direction of the FHFA, implemented new~~maintain coordinated Private Mortgage Insurer Eligibility Requirements, which we refer to as the ~~"PMIERs," beginning in 2016.~~"PMIERs". The PMIERs represent the standards by which private mortgage insurers are eligible to provide mortgage insurance on loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The PMIERs include financial strength requirements incorporating a risk-based framework that require approved insurers to have a sufficient level of liquid assets from which to pay claims. The PMIERs also include enhanced operational performance expectations and standards relating to rescission rights, and define remedial actions that apply should an approved insurer fail to comply with these requirements. ~~Revised PMIERs, which we refer to as "PMIERs 2.0," became effective on March 31, 2019.~~ Future revisions to these eligibility requirements could negatively impact our ability to write mortgage insurance at our current levels, generate the returns we anticipate from our business or otherwise participate in the private mortgage insurance market at all. See "Business—Regulation—Direct U.S. Regulation—GSE Qualified Mortgage Insurer Requirements" above.

Our business prospects and operating results could be adversely impacted if, and to the extent that, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ("CFPB") ~~final~~ rule defining a qualified mortgage ("QM") reduces the size of the origination market or creates incentives to use government mortgage insurance programs.

The Dodd-Frank Act established the CFPB to regulate the offering and provision of consumer financial products and services under Federal law, including residential mortgages, and generally requires creditors to make a reasonable, good faith determination of a consumer's ability-to-repay any consumer credit transaction secured by a dwelling prior to effecting such transaction. The CFPB is authorized to issue the regulations governing a good faith determination; the Dodd-Frank Act, however, provides a statutory presumption of eligibility of loans that satisfy the QM definition. The CFPB's final rule defining what constitutes a QM, which we refer to as the "QM Rule," a loan is deemed to be a QM if, among other factors:

•the term of the loan is less than or equal to 30 years;

•there are no negative amortization, interest only or balloon features;

•the lender properly documents the loan in accordance with the requirements;

•the total "points and fees" do not exceed certain thresholds, generally 3% of the total loan amount; and

•the total debt-to-income ratio of the borrower does not exceed 43%.

The Dodd-Frank Act separately granted statutory authority to HUD (for FHA-insured loans), the VA (for VA-guaranteed loans) and certain other government agency insurance programs to develop their own definitions of a qualified mortgage in consultation with CFPB. Under both the FHA's and the VA's QM standards, certain loans which would not qualify as QM loans in the conventional market would still be deemed to be QM loans if insured or guaranteed by FHA or VA. As a result, lenders may favor the use of FHA or VA insurance to achieve the legal protections of a making a QM loan through these agencies, even if the same loan could be made at the same or lower cost to the borrower using private mortgage insurance, which could adversely impact our business. To the extent that the other government agencies adopt their own definitions of a QM which are more favorable to lenders and mortgage holders than those applicable to the market in which we operate, our business may be adversely affected.

~~In October 2020, the CFPB announced a final rule that would implement a previously temporary second category under~~ the QM Rule, which we refer to as the "GSE Patch", for loans to be either (i) purchased or guaranteed by the GSEs while they are in conservatorship, which represents the overwhelming majority of our business, or (ii) insured by the FHA, the VA, the Department of Agriculture or the Rural Housing Service. The second category still requires that loans satisfy certain criteria, including the requirementa loan receives a conclusive presumption that the ~~loans are fully amortizing, have terms of 30 years~~consumer had the ability to repay if the annual percentage rate does not exceed the average prime offer rate (APOR) for a comparable transaction by 1.5 percentage points or ~~less and have points and fees representing 3% or less~~more as of the ~~total~~date the interest rate is set. A loan ~~amount.~~

~~On February 23, 2021,~~receives a rebuttable presumption that the ~~CFPB announced that, in light of~~consumer had the ~~economic dislocations resulting from~~ability to repay if the ~~COVID-19 pandemic, it intends to issue~~annual percentage rate exceeds the average prime offer rate for a ~~proposed rule to delay the implementation of the final QM Rule and the GSE Patch.~~comparable transaction by 1.5 percentage points or more but by less than 2.25 percentage points.

Failure to comply with the ability-to-repay requirement exposes a lender to substantial potential liability. As a result, we believe that the QM regulations may cause changes in the lending standards and origination practices of our customers. Under the QM Rule, mortgage insurance premiums that are payable by the consumer at or prior to consummation of the loan may be

included in the calculation of points and fees, including our borrower-paid single premium products. To the extent the use of private mortgage insurance causes a loan not to meet the definition of a QM, the volume of loans originated with mortgage insurance may decline or cause a change in the mix of premium plans and therefore our profitability.

The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected by the Dodd-Frank Act's risk retention requirements and the definition of Qualified Residential Mortgage ("QRM").

The Dodd-Frank Act requires an originator or issuer to retain a specified percentage of the credit risk exposure on securitized mortgages that do not meet the definition of QRM. As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development adopted in 2015 a joint final rule implementing the Qualified Residential Mortgage, or QRM, which aligns the definition of a QRM loan with that of a QM loan. If, however, the QRM definition is changed (or if the QM definition is amended) in a manner that is unfavorable to us, such as to give no consideration to mortgage insurance in computing LTV or to require a large down payment for a loan to qualify as a QRM, the attractiveness of originating and securitizing loans with lower down payments may be reduced, which may adversely affect the future demand for mortgage insurance.

The implementation of the Basel ~~III Capital Accord, or other changes to our customers' capital requirements,~~rules may discourage the use of mortgage insurance.

In 1988, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ~~which we refer to as the "Basel Committee,"~~(the “Basel Committee”), developed the Basel Capital Accord (“Basel I”), which ~~we refer to as "Basel I," which set~~sets out international benchmarks for assessing ~~banks'~~banks’ capital adequacy requirements. In 2005, the Basel Committee issued an update to Basel I ~~which we refer to as "Basel II,"~~(“Basel II”), which, among other things, ~~governs the~~sets forth capital treatment of mortgage insurance purchased and held on balance sheet by banks in respect of their origination and securitization activities. ~~In July 2013,~~Following the financial crisis of 2008, the Basel Committee made further revisions to Basel II (“Basel III”) to improve the quality and quantity of capital banking organizations hold. The Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ~~approved publication~~(collectively, the “Federal Banking Agencies”) implemented Basel III through the adoption of ~~final~~revisions to their regulatory capital rules (the “Basel III Rules”), which ~~we refer to as the "Basel III Rules," which govern almost all U.S.~~establish minimum risk-based capital and leverage capital requirements for most United States banking organizations ~~regardless of size or business model. The Basel III Rules revise and enhance~~(although banking organizations with less than $10 billion in total assets may now choose to comply with an alternative community bank leverage ratio framework established by the Federal banking agencies' general risk-based capital, advanced approaches and leverage rules. The Basel III Rules became effective on January 1, 2014, with a mandatory compliance date of January 1, 2015 for banking organizations other than advanced approaches banking organizations that are not savings and loans holding companies. On January 1, 2014, most banking organizations became required to begin a multi-year transition period to the full implementation of the new capital framework.Banking Agencies in 2019).

~~The Federal banking agencies' previously proposed Basel III rule would have made extensive changes~~If further revisions to the capital requirements for residential mortgages, including eliminating capital recognition for certain low down payment mortgages covered by mortgage insurance. The Federal banking agencies decided to retain in the Basel III Rules the treatment for residential mortgage exposures that is currently set forth in the general risk-based capital rules and the treatment of mortgage insurance. In addition, with regard to the separate Basel III Rules applicable to general credit risk mitigation for banking exposures, insurance companies engaged predominantly in the business of providing credit protection, such as private mortgage insurance companies, are not eligible guarantors.

~~If implementation of the Basel III Rules increases~~increase the capital requirements of banking organizations with respect to the residential mortgages we insure or do not provide sufficiently favorable treatment for the use of mortgage insurance purchased in respect of a bank’s origination and securitization activities it could adversely affect the ~~size~~demand for mortgage insurance. In December 2017, the Basel Committee published final revisions to the Basel III capital framework (“Basel IV”) which member countries were originally expected to by January 1, 2022. However, as a result of the ~~portfolio lending market,~~COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation date of the Basel IV standards has been postponed by one year to January 1, 2023. A number of countries have announced that they are not expected to meet the revised timeline. Implementation of the Basel III and Basel IV reforms requires national legislation and, therefore, the final rules and the timetable for their implementation in each jurisdiction may be subject to some level of national variation. For example, the United Kingdom (“UK”) and the European Union (“EU”) have each separately targeted an effective date of January 1, 2025 for their rules implementing the Basel IV reforms to enter into force, but there is some divergence between the content of the UK and EU legislative proposals for implementation.

Under Basel IV’s revisions to the international framework, banks using the standardized approach to determine their credit risk may consider mortgage insurance in calculating the exposure amount for real estate, but will determine the riskweight for residential mortgages based on the LTV ratio at loan origination, without consideration of mortgage insurance. Under the standardized approach, after the appropriate risk-weight is determined, the existence of mortgage insurance could be considered, but only if the company issuing the insurance has a lower risk-weight than the underlying exposure. Mortgage insurance issued by private companies would not meet this test. Therefore, under Basel IV, mortgage insurance could not mitigate credit and lower the capital charge under the standardized approach. It is possible that the Federal Banking Agencies could determine that their current capital rules are at least as stringent as Basel IV, in which ~~in turn~~case no change would ~~reduce~~be mandated. However, if the Federal Banking Agencies decide to implement Basel IV as specifically drafted by the Basel Committee, mortgage insurance would not lower the LTV ratio of residential loans for capital purposes, and therefore may decrease the demand for ~~our~~ mortgage insurance. IfFurther, it is possible (but not mandated by Basel IV) that the Federal ~~banking agencies revise~~Banking Agencies and the ~~Basel III Rules to reduce or eliminate the capital benefit banks receive from insuring low down payment loans with private~~GSEs might likewise discontinue taking mortgage insurance ~~or if our bank customers believe that such adverse changes may occur at some time in the future, our current and future business may be adversely~~into account when determining a mortgage’s LTV ratio for prudential (non-capital) purposes.

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affected. Furthermore, if mortgage insurance companies do not meet the requirements to be an eligible guarantor for purposes of general credit mitigation, our future business prospects may be adversely affected.

Our operating insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries are subject to regulation in various jurisdictions, and material changes in the regulation of their operations could adversely affect us.

Our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries are subject to government regulation in each of the jurisdictions in which they are licensed or authorized to do business. Governmental agencies have broad administrative power to regulate many aspects of the insurance business, which may include trade and claim practices, accounting methods, premium rates, marketing practices, advertising, policy forms, and capital adequacy. These agencies are concerned primarily with the protection of policyholders rather than shareholders. Moreover, insurance laws and regulations, among other things:

•establish solvency requirements, including minimum reserves and capital and surplus requirements;

•determine the credit that we receive for reinsurance arrangements into which we enter;

•limit the amount of dividends, tax distributions, intercompany loans and other payments our insurance subsidiaries can make without prior regulatory approval; and

•impose restrictions on the amount and type of investments we may hold.

The NAIC examines existing state insurance laws and regulations in the United States. During 2012, the NAIC established a Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Working Group, which we refer to as the "MGIWG," to determine and make recommendations to the NAIC's Financial Condition Committee including, but not limited to, revisions to Statement of Statutory Accounting Principles (SSAP) No. 58 - Mortgage Guaranty Insurance. In ~~December 2019,~~2021, the MGIWG adopted a new annual reporting schedule for mortgage insurers that was first required to be submitted by mortgage insurers to state insurance regulators in WI, NC and PA in 2022. In October 2022, the MGIWG released for public comment a draft revised ~~Mortgage Guaranty Insurance~~Model Act. The 2023 Adopted Charge of the MGIWG is to finalize the Model Act ~~and proposed a risk-based mortgage guaranty capital model. If~~by the ~~NAIC were to adopt a revised Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Model Act as proposed, it may result in state legislatures enacting and implementing the revised provisions.~~ end of March 2023.We cannot predict the effect that any NAIC recommendations or proposed or future legislation or rule-making in the United States or elsewhere may have on our financial condition or operations.

If our Bermuda principal operating subsidiary becomes subject to insurance statutes and regulations in jurisdictions other than Bermuda or if there is a change in Bermuda law or regulations or the application of Bermuda law or regulations, there could be a significant and negative impact on our business.

Our primary reinsurance subsidiary, Essent Reinsurance Ltd., is a registered Bermuda Class 3A insurer pursuant to Section 4 of the Insurance Act 1978. As such, it is subject to regulation and supervision in Bermuda and is not licensed or admitted to do business in any jurisdiction except Bermuda. Generally, Bermuda insurance statutes and regulations applicable to Essent Reinsurance Ltd. are less restrictive than those that would be applicable if they were governed by the laws of any state in the United States. We do not presently intend for Essent Reinsurance Ltd. to be admitted to do business in the United States, the U.K. or any jurisdiction other than Bermuda. However, recent scrutiny of the insurance and reinsurance industry in the United States and other countries could subject Essent Reinsurance Ltd. to additional regulation in the future that may make it unprofitable or illegal to operate a reinsurance business through our Bermuda subsidiary. We cannot assure you that insurance regulators in the United States, the U.K. or elsewhere will not review the activities of Essent Reinsurance Ltd. or its subsidiaries or agents and assert that Essent Reinsurance Ltd. is subject to such jurisdiction's licensing requirements. If in the future Essent Reinsurance Ltd. becomes subject to any insurance laws of the United States or any state thereof or of any other jurisdiction, we cannot assure you that Essent Reinsurance Ltd. would be in compliance with such laws or that complying with such laws would not have a significant and negative effect on our business.

The process of obtaining licenses is very time consuming and costly, and Essent Reinsurance Ltd. may not be able to become licensed in jurisdictions other than Bermuda should we choose to do so. The modification of the conduct of our business that would result if we were required or chose to become licensed in certain jurisdictions could significantly and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our inability to comply with insurance statutes and regulations could significantly and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations by limiting our ability to conduct business as well as subject us to penalties and fines.

Because Essent Reinsurance Ltd. is a Bermuda company, it is subject to changes in Bermuda law and regulation that may have an adverse impact on our operations, including through the imposition of tax liability or increased regulatory supervision. Bermuda insurance statutes and the regulations, and policies of the BMA, require Essent Reinsurance Ltd. to, among other things:

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•maintain a minimum level of capital and surplus;

•maintain an enhanced capital requirement, general business solvency margins and a minimum liquidity ratio;

•restrict dividends and distributions;

•obtain prior approval regarding the ownership and transfer of shares;

•maintain a principal office and appoint and maintain a principal representative in Bermuda;

•file annual financial statements, an annual statutory financial return and an annual capital and solvency return; and

•allow for the performance of certain periodic examinations of Essent Reinsurance Ltd. and its financial condition.

These statutes and regulations may restrict Essent Reinsurance Ltd.'s ability to write insurance and reinsurance policies, distribute funds and pursue its investment strategy. In addition, Essent Reinsurance Ltd. is exposed to any changes in the political environment in Bermuda. The Bermuda insurance and reinsurance regulatory framework recently has become subject to increased scrutiny in many jurisdictions, including the U.K. As a result of the delay in implementation of Solvency II Directive 2009/138/EC ("Solvency II"), it is unclear when the European Commission will make a final decision on whether or not it will recognize the solvency regime in Bermuda to be equivalent to that laid down in Solvency II. While we cannot predict the future impact on our operations of changes in the laws and regulation to which we are or may become subject, any such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The mortgage insurance industry is, and as a participant in that industry we are, subject to litigation and regulatory risk generally.

The mortgage insurance industry faces litigation risk in the ordinary course of operations, including the risk of class action lawsuits and administrative enforcement by Federal and state agencies. Consumers are bringing a growing number of lawsuits against home mortgage lenders and settlement service providers. Mortgage insurers have been involved in class action litigation alleging violations of Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, or RESPA, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA. Section 8 of RESPA generally precludes mortgage insurers from paying referral fees to mortgage lenders for the referral of mortgage insurance business. This limitation also can prohibit providing services or products to mortgage lenders free of charge, charging fees for services that are lower than their reasonable or fair market value and paying fees for services that mortgage lenders provide that are higher than their reasonable or fair market value, in exchange for the referral of mortgage insurance business services. Violations of the referral fee limitations of RESPA may be enforced by the CFPB, HUD, the Department of Justice, state attorneys general and state insurance commissioners, as well as by private litigants in class actions. In the past, a number of lawsuits have challenged the actions of private mortgage insurers under RESPA, alleging that the insurers have violated the referral fee prohibition by entering into captive reinsurance arrangements or providing products or services to mortgage lenders at improperly reduced prices in return for the referral of mortgage insurance, including the provision of contract underwriting services. In addition to these private lawsuits, other private mortgage insurance companies have received civil investigative demands from, and entered into consent orders with, the CFPB as part of its investigation to determine whether mortgage lenders and mortgage insurance providers engaged in acts or practices in connection with their captive mortgage insurance arrangements in violation of RESPA, the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB’s ruling in its enforcement order against PHH Corporation for alleged RESPA violations stemming from captive mortgage insurance arrangements was overturned on appeal by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a decision affirmed in January 2018 by the D.C. Circuit en banc. Although we did not participate in the practices that were the subject of the CFPB consent orders or the PHH case, the private mortgage insurance industry and our insurance subsidiaries are subject to substantial Federal and state regulation. Increased Federal or state regulatory scrutiny could lead to new legal precedents, new regulations or new practices, or regulatory actions or investigations, which could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

Risks Relating to Taxes and Our Corporate Structure

We and our non-U.S. subsidiaries may become subject to U.S. Federal income and branch profits taxation.

Essent Group Ltd. and Essent Reinsurance Ltd. intend to operate their business in a manner that will not cause them to be treated as engaged in a trade or business in the United States and, thus, will not be required to pay U.S. Federal income and branch profits taxes (other than U.S. excise taxes on insurance and reinsurance premium and withholding taxes on certain U.S.

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source investment income, and dividends paid from U.S. subsidiaries) on their income. However, because there is uncertainty as to the activities which constitute being engaged in a trade or business in the United States, there can be no assurances that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") will not contend successfully that Essent Group Ltd. or its non-U.S. subsidiaries are engaged in a trade or business in the United States. In addition, Section 845 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), was amended in 2004 to permit the IRS to reallocate, recharacterize or adjust items of income, deduction or certain other items related to a reinsurance contract between related parties to reflect the proper "amount, source or character" for each item (in contrast to prior law, which only covered "source and character"). Any U.S. Federal income and branch profits taxes levied upon earnings from our Bermuda operations could materially adversely affect our shareholders' equity and earnings.

Holders of 10% or more of our common shares may be subject to U.S. income taxation under the "controlled foreign corporation" ("CFC") rules.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”) contains substantial law changes to the CFC rules, and such changes could impact our shareholders under certain circumstances summarized below.

If you are a "10% U.S. Shareholder" (defined to be a "U.S. Person" (as defined below) who owns (directly, or indirectly through non-U.S. entities or "constructively," as defined below) at least 10% of the total combined value or voting power of all classes of stock) of a non-U.S. corporation that is a CFC at any time during a taxable year and you own shares in such non-U.S. corporation directly or indirectly through non-U.S. entities on the last day of the non-U.S. corporation's taxable year on which it is a CFC, you must include in your gross income for U.S. Federal income tax purposes your pro rata share of the CFC's "subpart F income," even if the subpart F income is not distributed. Also, due to attribution rule changes contained in TCJA, the Company believes that, based upon ownership of its U.S. subsidiaries, its foreign reinsurer (Essent Reinsurance Ltd.) will be deemed a CFC. Accordingly, any shareholder who becomes a “10% U.S. Shareholder” at any time during the calendar year, by either vote or value will be subject to a "Subpart F income" inclusion on a per share per day basis. Subpart F income of a non-U.S. insurance corporation typically includes "foreign personal holding company income" (such as interest, dividends and other types of passive income), as well as insurance and reinsurance income (including underwriting and investment income).

For purposes of this discussion, the term "U.S. Person" means: (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a partnership or corporation, created in or organized under the laws of the United States, or organized under the laws of any political subdivision thereof, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. Federal income taxation regardless of its source, (iv) a trust if either (x) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of such trust and one or more U.S. Persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of such trust or (y) the trust has a valid election in effect to be treated as a U.S. Person for U.S. Federal income tax purposes; or (v) any other person or entity that is treated for U.S. Federal income tax purposes as if it were one of the foregoing.

U.S. Persons who hold our shares may be subject to U.S. income taxation at ordinary income rates on their proportionate share of our "related party insurance income" ("RPII").

If the RPII (determined on a gross basis) of Essent Reinsurance Ltd. were to equal or exceed 20% of Essent Reinsurance Ltd.'s gross insurance income in any taxable year and direct or indirect policyholders (and persons related to those policyholders) own directly or indirectly through entities 20% or more of the voting power or value of the Company, then a U.S. Person who owns any shares of Essent Reinsurance Ltd. (directly or indirectly through non-U.S. entities) on the last day of the taxable year on which it is an RPII CFC would be required to include in its income for U.S. Federal income tax purposes such person's pro rata share of Essent Reinsurance Ltd.'s RPII for the entire taxable year, determined as if such RPII were distributed proportionately only to U.S. Persons at that date regardless of whether such income is distributed, in which case your investment could be materially adversely affected. In addition, any RPII that is includible in the income of a U.S. tax-exempt organization may be treated as unrelated business taxable income. The amount of RPII earned by a non-U.S. insurance subsidiary (generally, premium and related investment income from the indirect or direct insurance or reinsurance of any direct or indirect U.S. holder of shares or any person related to such holder) will depend on a number of factors, including the identity of persons directly or indirectly insured or reinsured by the company. We do not expect gross RPII of Essent Reinsurance Ltd. to equal or exceed 20% of its gross insurance income in any taxable year for the foreseeable future, but we cannot be certain that this will be the case because some of the factors which determine the extent of RPII may be beyond our control. Further, recently proposed regulations were published which could, if finalized in their current form, substantially expand the definition of RPII to include insurance income of Essent Reinsurance Ltd. related to affiliate reinsurance transactions. These regulations would apply to taxable years beginning after the date the regulations are finalized. Although we cannot predict whether, when or in what form the proposed regulations might be finalized, the proposed regulations, if finalized in their current form, could limit our ability to execute affiliate reinsurance transactions that would otherwise be undertaken for non-tax business reasons in

the future as that could increase the risk that gross RPII could constitute 20% or more of the gross insurance income of Essent Reinsurance Ltd. in a particular taxable year, which could result in such RPII being taxable to U.S. persons that own our shares.

U.S. Persons who dispose of our shares may be subject to U.S. Federal income taxation at the rates applicable to dividends on a portion of such disposition.

Section 1248 of the Code in conjunction with the RPII rules provides that if a U.S. Person disposes of shares in a non-U.S. corporation that earns insurance income in which U.S. Persons own 25% or more of the shares (even if the amount of gross RPII is less than 20% of the corporation's gross insurance income or the ownership of its shares by direct or indirect policyholders and related persons is less than the 20% threshold), any gain from the disposition will generally be treated as a

dividend to the extent of the holder's share of the corporation's undistributed earnings and profits that were accumulated during the period that the holder owned the shares (whether or not such earnings and profits are attributable to RPII). In addition, such a holder will be required to comply with certain reporting requirements, regardless of the amount of shares owned by the holder. These RPII rules should not apply to dispositions of our shares because the Company will not itself be directly engaged in the insurance business. The RPII provisions, however, have never been interpreted by the courts or the U.S. Treasury in final regulations, and regulations interpreting the RPII provisions of the Code exist only in proposed form. It is not certain whether these regulations will be adopted in their proposed form or what changes or clarifications might ultimately be made thereto or whether any such changes, as well as any interpretation or application of the RPII rules by the IRS, the courts, or otherwise, might have retroactive effect. The U.S. Treasury has authority to impose, among other things, additional reporting requirements with respect to RPII. Accordingly, the meaning of the RPII provisions and the application thereof to us is uncertain.

U.S. Persons who hold our shares will be subject to adverse tax consequences if we are considered to be a passive foreign investment company ("PFIC") for U.S. Federal income tax purposes.

The TCJA contains substantial law changes to the PFIC rules, and such changes could impact our shareholders under certain circumstances summarized below.

Due to changes to the PFIC rules contained in the TCJA, we believe that Essent Reinsurance Ltd. is a PFIC, and any U.S. Person directly owning shares in Essent Reinsurance Ltd. could be subject to adverse tax consequences. However, as 100% of the shares of Essent Reinsurance Ltd. are owned by Essent Group Ltd., based upon the current relative value of its U.S. subsidiaries vs. foreign subsidiaries, management believes that Essent Group Ltd. is not currently a PFIC. However, in the event that future business circumstances (i.e. relative value changes) and/or tax law changes occur, Essent Group Ltd. may be considered a PFIC. Management has operated, and intends to continue to operate, in a manner such as to avoid Essent Group Ltd. being deemed a PFIC based upon relative value of its subsidiaries; however, there can be no guaranty that management will be successful in the future. If Essent Group Ltd. is considered a PFIC, then any U.S. Person who owns any of our shares could be subject to adverse tax consequences, including becoming subject to a greater tax liability than might otherwise apply and to tax on amounts in advance of when tax would otherwise be imposed, in which case your investment could be materially adversely affected. In addition, if Essent Group Ltd. were considered a PFIC, upon the death of any U.S. individual owning shares, such individual's heirs or estate would not be entitled to a "step-up" in the basis of the shares that might otherwise be available under U.S. Federal income tax laws.

We believe that Essent Group Ltd. is not, has not been, and currently does not expect to become, a PFIC for U.S. Federal income tax purposes. New PFIC regulations have been recently made final; however, such regulations do not materially impact the manner in which Essent Group Ltd. conducts its PFIC testing, nor the outcome of such testing. These new final regulations are generally effective for tax years of US shareholders beginning on or after January 1, 2022. In addition to the final regulations, newly proposed PFIC regulations were issued, which among other provisions, would limit the amount of assets of a U.S. insurance subsidiary, which are deemed allowable in the overall PFIC asset test of a foreign holding company. We cannot predict the likelihood of finalization of the newly proposed PFIC regulations or the ultimate scope, nature, and impact of such regulations. There can be no assurance that such new regulations when adopted will not adversely impact Essent Group Ltd.'s PFIC status or U.S. Persons owning Essent Group Ltd. shares. If Essent Group Ltd. were considered a PFIC, it would have material adverse tax consequences for an investor that is subject to U.S. Federal income taxation.

Our tax liabilities and effective tax rate in the future could be adversely affected by changes in tax laws in countries in which we operate pursuant to ongoing efforts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”), the U.S. Congress, Ireland Revenue, or the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

The OECD and other government agencies have had an ongoing focus on issues related to the taxation of multinational corporations, such as the comprehensive plan set forth by the OECD to create an agreed-upon set of international rules designed to end so-called “base erosion and profit shifting”. Such efforts by the OECD could result in legislation in the respective jurisdictions in which we operate, and/or changes to treaties and regulations. Any of these occurrences could materially

adversely affect our tax position, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

U.S. tax-exempt organizations who own our shares may recognize unrelated business taxable income.

A U.S. tax-exempt organization may recognize unrelated business taxable income if a portion of the insurance income of any of our non-U.S. insurance subsidiaries is allocated to the organization, which generally would be the case if the tax-exempt shareholder is a 10% U.S. Shareholder or if there is RPII, and certain exceptions do not apply, and the tax-exempt organization owns any of our shares. Although we do not believe that any U.S. Persons should be allocated such insurance income, we cannot be certain that this will be the case. U.S. tax-exempt investors are advised to consult their own tax advisors.

There is the potential foreign bank account reporting and reporting of "Specified Foreign Financial Assets."

U.S. Persons holding our common shares should consider their possible obligation to file a FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts with respect to their shares. Additionally, such U.S. and non-U.S. persons should consider their possible obligations to annually report certain information with respect to us with their U.S. Federal income tax returns. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors with respect to these or any other reporting requirement which may apply with respect to their ownership of our common shares.

Reduced tax rates for qualified dividend income may not be available in the future.

We believe that the dividends paid on the common shares should qualify as "qualified dividend income" if, as is intended, our common shares remain listed on a national securities exchange and we are not a PFIC. Qualified dividend income received

by non-corporate U.S. Persons is generally eligible for long-term capital gain rates. There has been proposed legislation before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives that would exclude shareholders of certain foreign corporations from this advantageous tax treatment. If such legislation were to become law, non-corporate U.S. Persons would no longer qualify for the reduced tax rate on the dividends paid by us.

Proposed U.S. tax legislation could have an adverse impact on us or holders of our common shares.

It is possible that legislation could be introduced and enacted by the current Congress or future Congresses that could have an adverse impact on us or holders of our common shares. It is also possible that Treasury Regulations, and/or IRS administrative rulings could be written under the TCJA that could have an adverse impact on the Company or the holders of our common shares. We cannot be certain if, when or in what form such Treasury Regulations or IRS administrative pronouncements may be provided and whether such guidance will have a retroactive effect, and/or a negative impact upon an investor subject to U.S. taxation.

The TCJA contains provisions intended to eliminate certain perceived tax advantages of companies (including insurance companies) that have legal domiciles outside the United States but have certain affiliate transactions, U.S. connections, and/or United States persons investing in such companies. For example, the TCJA includes a base erosion anti-abuse tax or “BEAT” that could make certain levels of affiliate reinsurance between United States and non-U.S. members of our group economically unfeasible. Although we are not currently impacted by BEAT, there can be no assurance that changes to future taxable income calculations or future changes to BEAT will not have a negative impact on us. ~~Further, it is possible that other~~Future legislation ~~could be introduced and enacted by~~adverse to the ~~current Congress or future Congresses that could adversely impact us.~~Company's effective tax rate may also extend beyond changes to the BEAT.

Our holding company structure and certain regulatory and other constraints, including adverse business performance, could negatively impact our liquidity and potentially require us to raise more capital.

Essent Group Ltd. serves as the holding company for our insurance and other subsidiaries and does not have any significant operations of its own. As a result, its principal source of funds is income from our investment portfolio, dividends and other distributions from our insurance and other subsidiaries, including permitted payments under our expense-sharing arrangements, and funds that may be raised from time to time in the capital markets. Our dividend income is limited to upstream dividend payments from our insurance and other subsidiaries, which may be restricted by applicable state insurance laws. Under Pennsylvania law, our insurance subsidiaries may pay ordinary dividends without prior approval of the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner, ~~(the "Commissioner"),~~ but are not permitted to pay extraordinary dividends without the prior approval of the Commissioner. An extraordinary dividend is a dividend or distribution which, together with other dividends and distributions made within the preceding 12 months, exceeds the greater of (i) 10% of our surplus as shown in our last annual statement on file with the Commissioner, or (ii) our net income for the period covered by such statement, but shall not include pro rata distributions of any class of our own securities. Moreover, under Pennsylvania law, dividends and other distributions may only be paid out of unassigned surplus unless approved by the Commissioner. Our primary operating subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, Inc., had unassigned surplus of approximately ~~$343.6~~$314.7 million as of December 31, ~~2020.~~2022, and paid to its parent, Essent US Holdings, Inc., dividends totaling $315.0 million in 2022. In addition, Essent Guaranty of PA, Inc. had unassigned surplus of approximately ~~$15.4~~$13.6 million as of December 31, ~~2020.~~2022 and paid to its parent, Essent US Holdings, Inc., dividends totaling $5 million in 2022. For further information, see Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements entitled "Dividends Restrictions" included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Our ability to pay dividends is dependent on our receipt of dividends and other funds from our subsidiaries.

Essent Group Ltd. is a holding company. As a result, our ability to pay dividends on our common shares in the future will depend on the earnings and cash flows of our operating subsidiaries and the ability of those subsidiaries to pay dividends or to advance or repay funds to it. This ability is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, regulatory and other factors beyond our control. Furthermore, our subsidiaries are restricted by state insurance laws and regulations from declaring dividends to us. Our subsidiaries are also restricted by state insurance laws and regulations from declaring dividends to us. See "Risks Related to Taxes and Our Corporate Structure—Our holding company structure and certain regulatory and other constraints, including adverse business performance, could negatively impact our liquidity and potentially require us to raise more capital." Accordingly, our operating subsidiaries may not be able to pay dividends up to Essent Group Ltd. in the future, which could prevent us from paying dividends on our common shares.

Holders of our shares may have difficulty effecting service of process on us or enforcing judgments against us in the United States.

We are a Bermuda exempted company. As a result, the rights of holders of our common shares are governed by Bermuda law and our memorandum of association and bye-laws. The rights of shareholders under Bermuda law may differ from the rights of shareholders of companies incorporated in other jurisdictions. Certain of our directors are not residents of the United

States, and a substantial portion of our assets are owned by subsidiaries domiciled outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process on those persons in the United States or to enforce in the United States judgments obtained in U.S. courts against us or those persons based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws. It is doubtful whether courts in Bermuda will enforce judgments obtained in other jurisdictions, including the United States, against us or our directors or officers under the securities laws of those jurisdictions or entertain actions in Bermuda against us or our directors or officers under the securities laws of other jurisdictions.

We may repurchase a shareholder's common shares without the shareholder's consent.

Under our bye-laws and subject to Bermuda law, we have the option, but not the obligation, to require a shareholder to sell to us at fair market value the minimum number of common shares which is necessary to avoid or cure any adverse tax consequences or materially adverse legal or regulatory treatment to us, our subsidiaries or our shareholders if our board of directors reasonably determines, in good faith, that failure to exercise our option would result in such adverse consequences or treatment.

Provisions in our bye-laws may reduce or increase the voting rights of our shares.

In general, and except as provided under our bye-laws and as provided below, our shareholders have one vote for each common share held by them and are entitled to vote, on a non-cumulative basis, at all meetings of shareholders. However, if, and so long as, the shares of a shareholder are treated as "controlled shares" (as determined pursuant to sections 957 and 958 of

the Code) of any U.S. Person that owns shares directly or indirectly through non-U.S. entities) and such controlled shares constitute 9.5% or more of the votes conferred by our issued shares, the voting rights with respect to the controlled shares owned by such U.S. Person will be limited, in the aggregate, to a voting power of less than 9.5%, under a formula specified in our bye-laws. The formula is applied repeatedly until the voting power of all 9.5% U.S. Shareholders has been reduced to less than 9.5%. In addition, our board of directors may limit a shareholder's voting rights when it deems it appropriate to do so to (i) avoid the existence of any 9.5% U.S. Shareholder; and (ii) avoid certain material adverse legal or regulatory consequences to us, any of our subsidiaries or any direct or indirect shareholder or its affiliates. The amount of any reduction of votes that occurs by operation of the above limitations will generally be reallocated proportionately among our other shareholders whose shares were not "controlled shares" of the 9.5% U.S. Shareholder so long as such reallocation does not cause any person to become a 9.5% U.S. Shareholder.

Under these provisions, certain shareholders may have their voting rights limited, while other shareholders may have voting rights in excess of one vote per share. Moreover, these provisions could have the effect of reducing the votes of certain shareholders who would not otherwise be subject to the 9.5% limitation by virtue of their direct share ownership.

We are authorized under our bye-laws to request information from any shareholder for the purpose of determining whether a shareholder's voting rights are to be reallocated under the bye-laws. If any holder fails to respond to this request or submits incomplete or inaccurate information, we may, in our sole discretion, eliminate the shareholder's voting rights.

There are regulatory limitations on the ownership and transfer of our common shares.

Common shares may be offered or sold in Bermuda only in compliance with the provisions of the Companies Act and the Bermuda Investment Business Act 2003, which regulates the sale of securities in Bermuda. In addition, the BMA must approve all issues and transfers of shares of a Bermuda exempted company. However, the BMA has pursuant to its statement of June 1, 2005 given its general permission under the Exchange Control Act 1972 (and related regulations) for the issue and free transfer of our common shares to and among persons who are non-residents of Bermuda for exchange control purposes as long as the shares are listed on an appointed stock exchange, which includes the New York Stock Exchange. This general permission would cease to apply if the Company were to cease to be so listed. We have obtained consent under the Bermuda Exchange Control Act 1972 (and its related regulations) from the BMA for the issue and transfer of our common shares to and between residents and non-residents of Bermuda for exchange control purposes provided our common shares remain listed on an appointed stock exchange, which includes the NYSE. Bermuda insurance law requires that any person who becomes a holder of at least 10%, 20%, 33% or 50% of the common shares of an insurance or reinsurance company or its parent company must notify the BMA in writing within 45 days of becoming such a holder or 30 days from the date they have knowledge of having such a holding, whichever is later. The BMA may, by written notice, object to a person holding 10%, 20%, 33% or 50% of our common shares if it appears to the BMA that the person is not fit and proper to be such a holder. The BMA may require the holder to reduce their shareholding in us and may direct, among other things, that the voting rights attaching to their shares shall not be exercisable. A person that does not comply with such a notice or direction from the BMA will be guilty of an offense.

The insurance holding company laws and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the state in which our insurance subsidiaries are domiciled, require that, before a person can acquire direct or indirect control of an insurer domiciled in the state, prior written approval must be obtained from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. The state insurance regulators are required to consider various factors, including the financial strength of the acquirer, the integrity and management experience of the acquirer's board of directors and executive officers, and the acquirer's plans for the future operations of the reinsurer or insurer. Pursuant to applicable laws and regulations, "control" over an insurer is generally presumed to exist if any person, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, holds the power to vote or holds proxies representing, 10% or more of the voting securities of that reinsurer or insurer. Indirect ownership includes ownership of our common shares.

Except in connection with the settlement of trades or transactions entered into through the facilities of the NYSE, our board of directors may generally require any shareholder or any person proposing to acquire our shares to provide the information required under our bye-laws. If any such shareholder or proposed acquirer does not provide such information, or if the board of directors has reason to believe that any certification or other information provided pursuant to any such request is inaccurate or incomplete, the board of directors may decline to register any transfer or to effect any issuance or purchase of shares to which such request is related. Although these restrictions on transfer will not interfere with the settlement of trades on the NYSE, we may decline to register transfers in accordance with our bye-laws and board of directors resolutions after a settlement has taken place.

U.S. persons who own our shares may have more difficulty in protecting their interests than U.S. persons who are shareholders of a U.S. corporation.

The Bermuda Companies Act 1981 (the "Companies Act"), which applies to us, differs in certain material respects from laws generally applicable to U.S. corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of certain significant provisions of the Companies Act and our bye-laws which differ in certain respects from provisions of Delaware corporate law. Because the following statements are summaries, they do not discuss all aspects of Bermuda law that may be relevant to us and our shareholders.

Interested Directors: Bermuda law provides that if a director has an interest in a material contract or proposed material contract with us or any of our subsidiaries or has a material interest in any person that is a party to such a contract, the director must disclose the nature of that interest at the first opportunity either at a meeting of directors or in writing to the board. Under Delaware law such transaction would not be voidable if:

•the material facts as to such interested director's relationship or interests were disclosed or were known to the board of directors and the board of directors had in good faith authorized the transaction by the affirmative vote of a majority of the disinterested directors;

•such material facts were disclosed or were known to the shareholders entitled to vote on such transaction and the transaction were specifically approved in good faith by vote of the majority of shares entitled to vote thereon; or

•the transaction was fair as to the corporation as of the time it was authorized, approved or ratified. Under Delaware law, the interested director could be held liable for a transaction in which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

Business Combinations with Large Shareholders or Affiliates. As a Bermuda company, we may enter into business combinations with our large shareholders or affiliates, including mergers, asset sales and other transactions in which a large shareholder or affiliate receives, or could receive, a financial benefit that is greater than that received, or to be received, by other shareholders, without obtaining prior approval from our board of directors or from our shareholders. If we were a Delaware company, we would need prior approval from our board of directors or a supermajority of our shareholders to enter into a business combination with an interested shareholder for a period of three years from the time the person became an interested shareholder, unless we opted out of the relevant Delaware statute. Our bye-laws also include a provision restricting business combinations with interested shareholders consistent with the corresponding Delaware statute.

Shareholders' Suits. The rights of shareholders under Bermuda law are not as extensive as the rights of shareholders in many U.S. jurisdictions. Class actions and derivative actions are generally not available to shareholders under the laws of Bermuda. However, the Bermuda courts ordinarily would be expected to follow English case law precedent, which would permit a shareholder to commence an action in the name of the company to remedy a wrong done to the company where an act is alleged to be beyond the corporate power of the company, is illegal or would result in the violation of our memorandum of association or bye-laws. Furthermore, a court would consider acts that are alleged to constitute a fraud against the minority shareholders or where an act requires the approval of a greater percentage of our shareholders than actually approved it. The

prevailing party in such an action generally would be able to recover a portion of attorneys' fees incurred in connection with such action. Our bye-laws provide that shareholders waive all claims or rights of action that they might have, individually or in the right of the company, against any director or officer for any act or failure to act in the performance of such director's or officer's duties, except with respect to any fraud or dishonesty of such director or officer. Class actions and derivative actions generally are available to shareholders under Delaware law for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate waste and actions not taken in accordance with applicable law. In such actions, the court has discretion to permit the winning party to recover attorneys' fees incurred in connection with such action.

Indemnification of Directors. We may indemnify our directors or officers or any person appointed to any committee by the board of directors acting in their capacity as such in relation to any of our affairs for any loss arising or liability attaching to them by virtue of any rule of law in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust of which such person may be guilty in relation to the company other than in respect of his own fraud or dishonesty. Under Delaware law, a corporation may indemnify a director or officer of the corporation against expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in defense of an action, suit or proceeding by reason of such position if such director or officer acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not be opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, such director or officer had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

General Risk Factors

We may face difficulties, unforeseen liabilities or rating actions from acquisitions or the integration of such acquired businesses.

We have completed, and expect to complete, acquisitions in an effort to achieve profitable growth in our operations and to create additional value, such as the recently announced plans to acquire Agents National Title Holding Company and Boston National Holdings LLC from Incenter LLC. Acquisitions and other structural changes expose us to a number of risks arising from, among other factors, economic, operational, strategic, financial, tax, legal, regulatory and compliance, any one, or a combination, of which could possibly result in the failure to realize the anticipated economic, strategic or other benefits of a transaction. Such events could likewise involve numerous additional risks, including potential losses from unanticipated litigation or levels of claims, the failure to accurately value the investment and/or an inability to generate sufficient revenue to offset acquisition costs. Further, the integration of the operations and personnel of acquired businesses may prove more difficult than anticipated, which may result in failure to achieve financial objectives associated with the acquisition or a diversion of management attention. Such events may also have unintended consequences on ratings assigned by the rating agencies to the Company. Any of these risks, if realized, could prevent us from achieving the benefits we expect from such transactions and/or result in a material adverse effect on our business.

We rely on our senior management team and our business could be harmed if we are unable to retain qualified personnel.

Our success depends, in part, on the skills, working relationships and continued services of our senior management team. We have employment agreements with each of our senior executives. The departure of any of our key executives could adversely affect the conduct of our business. In such an event, we would be required to obtain other personnel to manage and operate our business, and there can be no assurance that we would be able to employ a suitable replacement for the departing individual, or that a replacement could be hired on terms that are favorable to us. Volatility or lack of performance in our share price may affect our ability to retain our key personnel or attract replacements should key personnel depart.

We may need additional capital to fund our operations or expand our business, and if we are unable to obtain sufficient financing or such financing is obtained on adverse terms, we may not be able to operate or expand our business as planned, which could negatively affect our results of operations and future growth.

We may require incremental capital to support our growth and comply with regulatory requirements. To the extent that we require capital in the future, we may need to obtain financing from the capital markets or other third-party sources of financing. We may also seek to reinsure part of our risk in force with third-party reinsurers in order to obtain reinsurance credit and capital relief under insurance laws applicable to us and the regulations of the GSEs. Potential investors, lenders or reinsurers may be unable to provide us with financing or reinsurance that is attractive to us. Our access to such financing will depend, in part, on:

•general market conditions;

•the market's perception of our growth potential;

•our debt levels, if any;

•our expected results of operations;

•our cash flow;

•the availability of capital to third-party reinsurers to reinsurer our risks; and

•the market price of our common shares.

Our principal capital demands include funds for (i)��the expansion of our business, (ii) the payment of certain corporate operating expenses, (iii) capital support for our subsidiaries, and (iv) Federal, state and local taxes. We may need to provide additional capital support to our insurance subsidiaries if required pursuant to insurance laws and regulations or by the GSEs. If we were unable to meet our obligations, our insurance subsidiaries could lose GSE approval or be required to cease writing business in one or more states, which would adversely impact our business, financial condition and operating results.

We are exposed to risks relating to the discontinuation of LIBOR and to other benchmark ~~rates~~.rates.

Regulators, law enforcement agencies, or the ICE Benchmark Association (the current administrator of LIBOR) may take actions resulting in changes to the way LIBOR is determined, the discontinuance of reliance on LIBOR as a benchmark rate or the establishment of alternative reference rates.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) announced the publication cessation dates for all U.S. Dollar and non-U.S. Dollar LIBOR settings. Most settings ceased at the end of December 2021 and the remaining U.S. Dollar settings (overnight and one-, three-, six- and 12-month U.S. Dollar LIBOR) will cease at the end of June 2023. The FCA has ~~announced~~proposed that ~~it intends to stop persuading~~the Intercontinental Benchmark Administration continue publication of one-, three- and six-month U.S. Dollar LIBOR settings on a “synthetic,” or ~~compelling banks to submit LIBOR rates after 2021.~~non-representative, basis through the end of September 2024. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York ~~has begun publishing~~publishes a Secured Overnight Funding Rate (“SOFR”), which is intended to replace U.S. dollar LIBOR, and central banks in several other jurisdictions have also announced plans for alternative reference rates for other currencies. At this time, we cannot predict how markets will respond to ~~these new~~alternative reference rates, and we cannot predict the effect of ~~any changes to or~~the discontinuation of LIBOR on new or existing financial instruments to which we have exposure. ~~Any changes to~~ The effects on markets and/or of such exposure will vary depending on many factors, including whether, how, and when industry participants adopt alternative reference rates for new products or instruments, the availability of “synthetic” LIBOR and the applicability of U.S. legislative remedies that address LIBOR transition risk for various legacy U.S. Dollar LIBOR instruments.

The discontinuation of LIBOR may also have an adverse effect on the reinsurance premium rates we are required to pay in connection with our “Radnor Re” insurance-linked notes transactions, which are tied to LIBOR, or other assets or liabilities whose value is tied to LIBOR or to a LIBOR alternative, including floating rate bonds we hold in our investment portfolio. Furthermore, ~~changes to or~~ the discontinuation of LIBOR may impact other aspects of our business, including products, pricing, and models.

Moreover, we may not effectively hedge or manage risks from differences among applicable alternative reference rates or timing of when such rates take effect. We may fail to adequately prepare for or react to LIBOR discontinuation and replacement, or fail to fully protect ourselves from all the effects of such changes. Any such uncertainties or ineffective management may harm our reputation, our relationships with our investors, customers, or regulators, our financial condition, and our business operations.

Our success will depend on our ability to maintain and enhance effective operating procedures and internal controls.

Operational risk and losses can result from, among other things, fraud, errors, failure to document transactions properly or to obtain proper internal authorization, failure to comply with regulatory requirements, information technology failures, failure to appropriately transition new hires or external events. We continue to enhance our operating procedures and internal controls to effectively support our business and our regulatory and reporting requirements. Our management does not expect that our disclosure controls or our internal controls will prevent all potential errors and fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. As a result of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons or by collusion of two or more people. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. As a result of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatement due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected. Accordingly, our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Any ineffectiveness in our controls or procedures could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We have a risk management framework designed to assess and monitor our risks. However, there can be no assurance that we can effectively review and monitor all risks or that all of our employees will operate within our risk management framework, nor can there can be any assurance that our risk management framework will result in accurately identifying all risks and accurately limiting our exposures based on our assessments. Moreover, risk management is expected to be a new and important focus of regulatory examinations of companies under supervision. There can be no assurance that our risk management framework and documentation will meet the expectations of such regulators.

Our share price may be volatile or may decline regardless of operating performance.

The market price of our common shares may fluctuate significantly in the future. Some of the factors that could negatively affect the market price of our common shares include:

•actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results;

•changes in our earnings estimates or publication of research reports about us or the real estate industry;

•changes in market valuations of similar companies;

•any indebtedness we incur in the future;

•changes in credit markets and interest rates;

•changes in government policies, laws and regulations;

•changes impacting Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae;

•additions to or departures of our key management personnel;

•actions by shareholders;

•speculation in the press or investment community;

•strategic actions by us or our competitors;

•changes in our credit ratings;

•the availability of third-party reinsurance for the insurance coverage that we write;

•general market and economic conditions;

•our failure to meet, or the lowering of, our earnings estimates or those of any securities analysts; and

•price and volume fluctuations in the stock market generally.

The stock markets have experienced extreme volatility in recent years that has been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common shares. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation, even if it does not result in liability for us, could result in substantial costs to us and divert management's attention and resources.

Future sales of shares by existing shareholders could cause our share price to decline.

Sales of substantial amounts of our common shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our common shares to decline. As of February ~~19, 2021,~~14, 2023, we had ~~112,840,615~~108,095,924 outstanding common shares. In the future, we may issue additional common shares or other equity or debt securities convertible into common shares in connection with a financing, acquisition, and litigation settlement or employee arrangement or otherwise. Any of these issuances could result in substantial dilution to our existing shareholders and could cause the trading price of our common shares to decline.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish misleading or unfavorable research about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common shares depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of these analysts downgrades our shares or publishes misleading or unfavorable research about our business, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our Company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our shares could decrease, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.

Future offerings of debt or equity securities, which may rank senior to our common shares, may restrict our operating flexibility and adversely affect the market price of our common shares.

If we decide to issue debt securities in the future, it is likely that they will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Additionally, any equity securities or convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our

common shares and may adversely affect the market price of our common shares. Any such debt or preference equity securities will rank senior to our common shares and will also have priority with respect to any distributions upon a liquidation, dissolution or similar event, which could result in the loss of all or a portion of your investment. Our decision to issue such securities will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

We lease office facilities in Radnor, Pennsylvania and additional offices in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, New York, New York, and ~~Irvine, California~~Reston, Virginia, for our U.S. operations headquarters, and we lease office facilities in Bermuda for our Bermuda-based reinsurance company. We believe our current facilities are adequate for our current needs and that suitable additional space will be available as and when needed.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

5150

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE COMPANY'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol "ESNT." As of February ~~19, 2021,~~14, 2023, we had approximately 11 holders of record of our common shares.

We have paid a quarterly dividend since September 2019. A dividend of ~~$0.16~~$0.20 per share, $0.21 per share, $0.22 per share and $0.23 per share for each of the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2022, respectively, was declared and ~~paid for each quarter in 2020 as well as for the first quarter of 2021.~~paid. We presently expect to continue to declare a comparable regular quarterly dividend on our common stock in the future. For information on Essent Group's ability to pay dividends, see Item 7 "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources."

Performance Graph

The following performance graph compares, for the period from ~~October 31, 2013 (the date our common shares commenced trading on the NYSE)~~January 1, 2018 through December 31, ~~2020,~~2022, the cumulative total shareholder return of an investment in (i) our common shares, (ii) the S&P 500 and (iii) a composite peer group selected by us consisting of Arch Capital Group Ltd., Enact Holdings, Inc. (from and after September 16, 2021), Genworth Financial, Inc. (through September 15, 2021), MGIC Investment Corporation, NMI Holdings, Inc. and Radian Group Inc. (collectively, the "Peer Index"). We selected the members of ~~this~~each peer group because each iswas, at the time, a direct competitor of ours in the private mortgage insurance industry. On September 16, 2021, shares of common stock Enact Holdings, Inc. began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, independent of the shares of its parent company, Genworth Financial, Inc. (which retained approximately 80% of the outstanding common shares of Enact Holdings, Inc. after its initial public offering on such date).

The graph assumes an initial investment of $100 and the reinvestment of dividends, if any. Such returns are based on historical results and are not intended to suggest future performance.

10/31/2013 12/31/2013 12/31/2014 12/31/2015 12/31/2016 12/31/2017 12/31/2018 12/31/2019 12/31/2020
S&P 500 $100.00 $ 105.23 $ 117.21 $ 116.36 $ 127.46 $ 152.21 $ 142.71 $ 183.93 $ 213.83
Peer Index $100.00 $ 100.90 $ 101.24 $ 133.32 $ 166.77 $ 173.37 $ 152.23 $ 262.00 $ 224.15
ESNT $100.00 $ 114.57 $ 122.43 $ 104.24 $ 154.14 $ 206.76 $ 162.76 $ 254.50 $ 228.16


	12/31/2018	12/31/2019	12/31/2020	12/31/2021	12/31/2022
S&P 500	$93.76	$120.84	$140.49	$178.27	$143.61
Peer Index	$85.29	$143.18	$122.95	$152.22	$215.81
ESNT	$78.72	$121.92	$106.54	$117.53	$106.45

The performance graph and related information shall not be deemed "soliciting material" or to be "filed" with the Securities and Exchange Commission for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference

into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filing.

Issuer Purchase of Equity Securities

~~We did not repurchase any~~The table below sets forth information regarding repurchases of our common shares during the ~~fourth quarter~~three months ended December 31, 2022.


Period ($ in thousands, except per share amounts)	Total Number of Shares Purchased	Average Price Paid Per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (1)
October 1 - October 31, 2022	4,145	$	34.87	—
November 1 - November 30, 2022	—	N/A		—
December 1 - December 31, 2022	—	N/A		—
Total	4,145			—	$	250,000

(1)As of ~~2020.~~December 31, 2022, the Company was authorized to purchase up to $250 million of its common shares under the share repurchase plan announced in May 2022, of which none had been utilized as of such date.

ITEM 6. [RESERVED]

~~ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA~~

Year Ended December 31,
Summary of Operations
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Revenues:
Net premiums written $ 834,113 $ 760,845 $ 685,287 $ 570,186 $ 441,278
Decrease (increase) in unearned premiums 28,451 16,580 (35,795) (40,056) (18,571)
Net premiums earned 862,564 777,425 649,492 530,130 422,707
Net investment income 80,087 83,542 64,091 40,226 27,890
Realized investment gains, net 2,697 3,229 1,318 2,015 1,934
Other income 9,806 3,371 4,452 4,140 5,727
Total revenues 955,154 867,567 719,353 576,511 458,258
Losses and expenses:
Provision for losses and LAE 301,293 32,986 11,575 27,232 15,525
Other underwriting and operating expenses 154,691 165,369 150,900 145,533 130,425
Interest expense 9,074 10,151 10,179 5,178 426
Total losses and expenses 465,058 208,506 172,654 177,943 146,376
Income before income taxes 490,096 659,061 546,699 398,568 311,882
Income tax expense 77,055 103,348 79,336 18,821 89,276
Net income $ 413,041 $ 555,713 $ 467,363 $ 379,747 $ 222,606
Earnings per share (EPS):
Basic $ 3.89 $ 5.68 $ 4.80 $ 4.07 $ 2.45
Diluted $ 3.88 $ 5.66 $ 4.77 $ 3.99 $ 2.41
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic 106,098 97,762 97,403 93,330 90,913
Diluted 106,376 98,227 97,974 95,211 92,245
Dividends declared per common share $ 0.64 $ 0.30 $ — $ — $ —

December 31,
Balance sheet data
($ in thousands)
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Total investments $ 4,654,277 $ 3,429,620 $ 2,791,018 $ 2,305,565 $ 1,615,102
Cash 102,830 71,350 64,946 43,524 27,531
Total assets 5,202,724 3,873,425 3,149,971 2,674,368 1,882,998
Reserve for losses and LAE 374,941 69,362 49,464 46,850 28,142
Unearned premium reserve 250,436 278,887 295,467 259,672 219,616
Credit facility borrowings 321,720 224,237 223,664 248,591 100,000
Total stockholders' equity $ 3,862,633 $ 2,984,845 $ 2,365,717 $ 1,940,436 $ 1,343,773

December 31,
Selected additional data
($ in thousands)
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
New insurance written(1) $ 107,944,065 $ 63,569,183 $ 47,508,525 $ 43,858,322 $ 34,949,319
Loss ratio(2) 34.9 % 4.2 % 1.8 % 5.1 % 3.7 %
Expense ratio(3) 17.9 21.3 23.2 27.5 30.9
Combined ratio 52.9 % 25.5 % 25.0 % 32.6 % 34.5 %
Return on average equity 12.1 % 20.8 % 21.7 % 23.1 % 18.1 %

December 31,
Insurance portfolio
($ in thousands)
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Insurance in force $ 198,882,352 $ 164,005,853 $ 137,720,786 $ 110,461,950 $ 83,265,522
Risk in force $ 41,339,262 $ 38,947,857 $ 33,892,869 $ 27,443,985 $ 20,627,317
Policies in force 799,893 702,925 608,135 496,477 375,898
Loans in default 31,469 5,947 4,024 4,783 1,757
Percentage of loans in default 3.93 % 0.85 % 0.66 % 0.96 % 0.47 %
Insurance company capital
($ in thousands)

U.S. Mortgage Insurance Subsidiaries
Combined statutory capital(4) $ 2,659,161 $ 2,335,828 $ 1,886,929 $ 1,528,869 $ 1,144,279
Risk-to-capital ratios:
Essent Guaranty, Inc. 11.5:1 13.1:1 14.4:1 14.7:1 15.3:1
Essent Guaranty of PA, Inc. 1.7:1 2.9:1 4.2:1 5.4:1 6.8:1
Combined(5) 11.1:1 12.6:1 13.9:1 14.2:1 14.7:1

Essent Reinsurance Ltd.
Stockholder's equity (GAAP basis) $ 1,101,003 $ 939,360 $ 798,612 $ 662,819 $ 401,273
Net risk in force(6) $ 12,892,300 $ 10,314,942 $ 8,265,763 $ 6,299,437 $ 4,181,737

~~(1)~~New insurance written ("NIW") includes NIW on a flow basis (in which loans are insured in individual, loan-by-loan transactions) and bulk insurance that we write (in which each loan in a portfolio of loans is insured in a single transaction).

~~(2)Loss ratio is calculated by dividing the provision for losses and loss adjustment expenses ("LAE") by net premiums earned.~~

~~(3)Expense ratio is calculated by dividing other underwriting and operating expenses by net premiums earned.~~

~~(4)~~Combined statutory capital equals the sum of statutory capital of Essent Guaranty, Inc. plus Essent Guaranty of PA, Inc., after eliminating the impact of intercompany transactions. Statutory capital is computed based on accounting practices prescribed or permitted by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual.

~~(5)Combined risk-to-capital ratio equals the sum of net risk in force of Essent Guaranty, Inc. and Essent Guaranty of PA, Inc. divided by combined statutory capital.~~

~~(6)Net risk in force represents total risk in force, net of reinsurance ceded and net of exposures on policies for which loss reserves have been established.~~

ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the "Selected Financial Data" and our financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this report. In addition to historical information, this discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from management’s expectations. Factors that could cause such differences are discussed in the sections entitled "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors." We are not undertaking any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or other statements we may make in the following discussion or elsewhere in this document even though these statements may be affected by events or circumstances occurring after the forward-looking statements or other statements were made.

Overview

We are an established ~~and growing~~ private mortgage insurance company. Essent Guaranty, Inc., our wholly-owned insurance subsidiary which we refer to as "Essent Guaranty," is licensed to write coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The financial strength ratings of Essent Guaranty are A3 with a stable outlook by Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's"), BBB+ with a ~~negative~~stable outlook by S&P Global Ratings ("S&P") and A (Excellent) with a stable outlook by A.M. Best.

Our holding company is domiciled in Bermuda and our U.S. insurance business is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania. We operate an additional underwriting and service ~~centers~~center in Winston-Salem, North ~~Carolina and Irvine, California.~~Carolina. We have a highly experienced, talented team with ~~381~~346 employees as of December 31, ~~2020.~~2022. For the years ended December 31, ~~2020, 2019~~2022, 2021 and ~~2018,~~2020, we generated new insurance written, or NIW, of approximately ~~$107.9~~$63.1 billion, ~~$63.6~~$84.2 billion and ~~$47.5~~$107.9 billion, respectively. As of December 31, ~~2020,~~2022, we had approximately ~~$198.9~~$227.1 billion of insurance in force. Our top ten customers represented approximately ~~35.8%~~39.9%, ~~42.8%~~41.6% and ~~43.5%~~35.8% of our NIW on a flow basis for the years ended December 31, ~~2020, 2019~~2022, 2021 and ~~2018,~~2020, respectively.

We also offer mortgage-related insurance and reinsurance through our wholly-owned Bermuda-based subsidiary, Essent Reinsurance Ltd., which we refer to as "Essent Re." As of December 31, ~~2020,~~2022, Essent Re provided insurance or reinsurance relating to GSE risk share and other reinsurance transactions covering approximately ~~$1.4~~$2.0 billion of risk. Essent Re also reinsures ~~25% of~~ Essent Guaranty's NIW under a quota share reinsurance agreement. In April 2021, Essent Guaranty and Essent Re agreed to increase the quota share reinsurance coverage of Essent Guaranty’s NIW provided by Essent Re from 25% to 35% effective January 1, 2021. The quota share reinsurance coverage provided by Essent Re for Essent Guaranty’s NIW prior to January 1, 2021 will continue to be 25%, the quota share percentage in effect at the time NIW was first ceded. The insurer financial strength ratings of Essent Re are BBB+ with a ~~negative~~stable outlook by S&P and A (Excellent) with a stable outlook by A.M. Best.

COVID-19

~~The~~Due to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19") ~~was first identified~~, we experienced a significant increase in ~~December 2019~~the amount of new defaults reported in ~~Wuhan, China. On March 11,~~ 2020, especially during the ~~outbreak had spread such that it was declared~~second and third quarters of 2020. We segmented these two quarters’ 49,398 defaults as specifically COVID-19 related (“Early COVID Defaults”) and provided losses for these two cohorts differently as compared to ~~be a pandemic by the World Health Organization (“WHO”). Within a week~~our normal loss reserving methodology. The default-to-claim transition patterns of the WHO's declaration, most major economies had announced significant and increasing restrictions on the movement and interaction of people. By the end of March 2020, it was estimated that a quarter of the world’s population was under some form of lockdown or stay-at-home order. Most state governments in the United States implemented some form of travel and/or business restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19. Due to business restrictions, stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions initially implemented in March 2020, unemployment in the United States increased significantly in the second quarter of 2020 and remained elevated at December 31, 2020. As unemployment is one of the most common reasons for borrowers to default on their mortgage, the increase in unemployment has increased the number of delinquencies and has the potential to increase claim frequencies on the mortgages we insure.

In response to the impact of COVID-19, the federal government has implemented unprecedented measures to assist borrowers in avoiding foreclosures and allow families to remain in their homes. Most notably, under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act"), consumers with federally backed mortgages were granted two financial protections: (1) a temporary moratorium on foreclosures, and (2) mortgage forbearance, either in the form of a lower monthly payment or temporarily suspending payments. Under the new law, borrowersEarly COVID Defaults have ~~the right to request forbearance for up to 360 days due to hardship caused by COVID-19.~~been different than our historical defaults. We believe that the borrowers associated with the Early COVID Defaults have been able to take advantage of foreclosure moratoriums and mortgage forbearance programs instituted by Federal legislation along with actions taken by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively the “GSEs”) which has extend traditional default-to-claim timelines. As a result of these ~~measures will likely increase~~programs, along with Federal stimulus, these borrowers associated with the ~~overall duration of~~Early COVID Defaults have had more resources and an extended time period to address the issues that triggered the default, ~~resolution process and reduce the number of defaults~~ that we believe will result in ~~claims compared to our~~a higher cure rate, and correspondingly lower claim payments than historical ~~default-to-claim experience. However, the increase in the default resolution process may result in increases in claim severities for loans that proceed to claim.~~defaults.

Over 90% of loans insured by Essent are federally backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. As a mortgage loan in forbearance is considered delinquent, we will provide loss reserves as loans in forbearance are reported to us as delinquent once the borrower has missed two consecutive payments. However, we believe providing borrowers time to recover from the adverse

financial impact of the COVID-19 event may allow some families to be able to remain in their homes and avoid foreclosure. For borrowers that have the ability to begin to pay their mortgage at the end of the forbearance period, we expect that mortgage servicers will work with them to modify their loans at which time the mortgage will be removed from delinquency status.

Essent has had a Pandemic Plan in place as part of its comprehensive Business Continuity Program for a number of years and invoked the Pandemic Plan in light of the COVID-19 event. A majority of our workforce has been working remotely since March 16, 2020. Through the use of technology, our national and regional account managers and customer service team have been in contact with our policyholders and their servicers, and we have made several COVID-19-related announcements which have been posted on our mortgage insurance website.

As of ~~March~~December 31, ~~2020, COVID-19~~2022, approximately 99% of the Early COVID Defaults had cured. While this level of cure activity exceeded our initial expectations for the Early COVID Defaults, the transition of defaults to foreclosure or claim has not ~~had~~returned to pre-pandemic levels. As a ~~significant impact on our financial position or results~~result, the level of ~~operations. Beginning in April 2020 through December 2020, we experienced an increase~~defaults in the ~~number and percentage of mortgage loans we insure~~default inventory that ~~were reported to~~ have missed ~~at least two consecutive~~twelve or more payments is above pre-pandemic levels.

Current Economic Developments

The economy in the United States is currently experiencing elevated levels of ~~principal and interest as a result of COVID-19, which~~consumer price inflation. The Federal Reserve has increased the target federal funds rate several times during 2022 in an effort to reduce consumer price inflation. These rate increases have resulted in ~~an increase in our provision for losses in~~higher mortgage interest rates which may lower home sale activity and affect the ~~year ended December 31, 2020.~~options available to delinquent borrowers. The impact on our reserves in future periods will be dependent upon the amount of delinquent notices received from loan servicers and our expectations for the amount of ultimate losses on these delinquencies. As noted in “— Liquidity and Capital Resources,” Essent had substantial liquidity and had Available Assets in excess of Minimum Required Assets under PMIERs 2.0 as of December 31, ~~2020. In order to maintain continuous MI coverage, mortgage servicers are required to advance MI premiums to us even if borrowers are in a forbearance plan.~~2022. Future increases in defaults may result in an increase in our provisions for loss and loss adjustment expenses compared to prior periods, reduced profit commission under our quota share reinsurance ~~agreement~~agreements with ~~a panel~~panels of third-party reinsurers ~~(the "QSR Agreement"~~("the QSR Agreements") and an increase in our Minimum Required Assets.

Legislative and Regulatory Developments

Our results are significantly impacted by, and our future success may be affected by, legislative and regulatory developments affecting the housing finance industry. Key regulatory and legislative developments that may affect us include:

Housing Finance, GSE Reform and GSE Qualified Mortgage Insurer Requirements

Because a substantial majority of our current and expected future business is the provision of mortgage insurance on loans sold to the GSEs, changes to the business practices of the GSEs or any regulation relating to the GSEs may impact our business and our results of operations. The Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") is the regulator and conservator of the GSEs with authority to control and direct their operations. The FHFA has directed, and is likely to continue to direct, changes to the business operations of the GSEs in ways that affect the mortgage insurance industry.

It is likely that Federal legislation will be necessary to resolve the conservatorship of the GSEs, and such legislation could materially affect the role and charter of the GSEs and the operation of the housing finance system. In 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury recommended options for winding down the GSEs and using a combination of Federal housing policy changes to contract the government's footprint in housing finance and restore a larger role for private capital. Since 2011, members of Congress have introduced several bills intended to reform the secondary market and the role of the GSEs, although no comprehensive housing finance or GSE reform legislation has been enacted to date.

Any changes to the charters or statutory authorities of the GSEs would require Congressional action to implement. Congress, however, has not enacted any legislation to date. See "Business—Regulation—Federal Mortgage-Related Laws and Regulations—Housing Finance Reform," "Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Regulation and Litigation—Legislative or regulatory actions or decisions to change the role of the GSEs in the U.S. housing market generally, or changes to the charters of the GSEs with regard to the use of credit enhancements generally and private mortgage insurance specifically, could reduce our revenues or adversely affect our profitability and returns," and "—Changes in the business practices of the GSEs, including actions or decisions to decrease or discontinue the use of mortgage insurance or changes in the GSEs' eligibility requirements for mortgage insurers, could reduce our revenues or adversely affect our profitability and returns."

~~Effective December 31, 2015,~~ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ~~at the direction of the FHFA, implemented new~~maintain coordinated Private Mortgage Insurer Eligibility Requirements, which we refer to as the "PMIERs." The PMIERs represent the standards by which private mortgage insurers are eligible to provide mortgage insurance on loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The PMIERs include financial strength requirements incorporating a risk-based framework that require approved insurers to have a sufficient level of liquid assets from which to pay claims. The PMIERs also include enhanced operational performance expectations and define remedial actions that apply should an approved insurer fail to comply with these requirements. ~~A revised PMIERs framework, which we refer to as "PMIERs 2.0," became effective on March 31, 2019.~~ As of December 31, ~~2020,~~2022, Essent Guaranty, our GSE-approved mortgage insurance company, was in compliance with ~~PMIERs 2.0.~~

the PMIERs.

Dodd-Frank Act

Various regulatory agencies have produced, and are now in the process of developing additional, new rules under the Dodd-Frank Act that are expected to have a significant impact on the housing finance industry, including the Qualified Mortgage, or QM, definition and the risk retention requirement and related Qualified Residential Mortgage, or QRM, definition.

QM Definition

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ~~("CFPB")~~or CFPB, is authorized to issue regulations governing a loan originator's determination that, at the time a loan is originated, the consumer has a reasonable ability to repay the loan. The Dodd-Frank Act provides a statutory presumption that a borrower will have the ability to repay a loan if the loan has characteristics satisfying the QM definition. Under the CFPB's final rule regarding QMs, which we refer to as the "QM Rule," a loan is deemed to be a QM if it has certain loan features, satisfies extensive documentation requirements and meets limitations on fees and points and APRs.

The QM Rule provides a "safe harbor" for QM loans with annual percentage rates, or APRs, below the threshold of 150 basis points over the Average Prime Offer Rate, or APOR, and a "rebuttable presumption" for QM loans with an APR above that threshold. In October 2020, the CFPB announced a final rule that would implement a previously temporary second category underUnder the QM Rule, ~~providing~~a loan receives a conclusive presumption that the consumer had the ability to repay if the annual percentage rate does not exceed the average prime offer rate (APOR) for a comparable transaction by 1.5 percentage points or more flexible underwriting requirements (the "GSE Patch"). To qualify under this category, a mortgage must meet the general product feature requirements and be eligible to be purchased or guaranteed by eitheras of the ~~GSEs (while they remain under FHFA conservatorship),~~date the ~~FHA,~~interest rate is set. A loan receives a rebuttable presumption that the ~~VA, and~~consumer had the ~~U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program. On February 23, 2021,~~ability to repay if the ~~CFPB announced that, in light of~~annual percentage rate exceeds the ~~economic dislocations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, it intends to issue~~average prime offer rate for a ~~proposed rule to delay the implementation of the final QM Rule and the GSE Patch.~~comparable transaction by 1.5 percentage points or more but by less than 2.25 percentage points.

We expect that most lenders will be reluctant to make non-QM loans because they will not be entitled to the presumption against civil liability under the Dodd-Frank Act, and mortgage investors may be reluctant to purchase mortgages or mortgage-backed securities that are not QMs due to potential assignee liability for such loans. As a result, we believe that the QM regulations have a direct impact on establishing a subset of borrowers who can meet the regulatory standards and directly affect the willingness of lenders and mortgage investors to extend mortgage credit and therefore the size of the residential mortgage market. To the extent the use of private mortgage insurance causes a loan not to meet the definition of a QM, the volume of loans originated with mortgage insurance may decline. In addition, the impact of the mortgage insurance premiums on the calculation of points and fees for purposes of QM may influence the use of mortgage insurance, as well as our mix of premium plans and therefore our profitability. See "—Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations—Persistency and Business Mix" and "Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Regulation and Litigation—Our business prospects and operating results could be adversely impacted if, and to the extent that, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ("CFPB") ~~final~~ rule defining a qualified mortgage ("QM") reduces the size of the origination market or creates incentives to use government mortgage insurance programs."

Risk Retention Requirements and QRM Definition

The Dodd-Frank Act provides for an originator or issuer risk retention requirement on securitized mortgage loans that do not meet the definition of a QRM. The QRM regulations align the definition of a QRM loan with that of a QM loan. If, however, the QRM definition is changed (or the QM definition is amended) in a manner that is unfavorable to us, such as to give no consideration to mortgage insurance in computing LTV or to require a large down payment for a loan to qualify as a QRM, the attractiveness of originating and securitizing loans with lower down payments may be reduced, which may adversely affect the future demand for mortgage insurance. See "Business—Regulation—Federal Mortgage-Related Laws and Regulation—Dodd-Frank Act—Qualified Residential Mortgage Regulations—Risk Retention Requirements" and "Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—The amount of insurance we write could be adversely affected by the Dodd-Frank Act's risk retention requirements and the definition of Qualified Residential Mortgage ("QRM")."

FHA Reform

We compete with the single-family mortgage insurance programs of the FHA, which is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The most recent FHA report to Congress dated November ~~13, 2020~~15, 2022 on the financial status of the FHA's Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, or MMIF, showed the capital reserve ratio of the MMIF at ~~6.10%~~11.1%, above the Congressionally mandated required minimum level of 2%. See "Risk Factors—Risks Relating to the Operation of Our ~~Business~~

—Business—The amount of insurance we may be able to write could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private mortgage insurance."

Tax Reform

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Department of the Treasury published both final and newly proposed regulations in January 2021 relating to the tax treatment of passive foreign investment companies ("PFICs"). The final regulations provide guidance on various PFIC rules, including changes resulting from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In addition, the Company is evaluating the potential impact of the newly proposed PFIC regulations to its shareholders and business operations. The newly proposed regulations, among other provisions, set a limit on the amount of assets that may be deemed ~~“good~~“non-passive assets” within the PFIC asset test of a foreign holding company. See "Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Taxes and our Corporate Structure—U.S. Persons who hold our shares will be subject to adverse tax consequences if we are considered to be a passive foreign investment company ("PFIC") for U.S. Federal income tax purposes."

On August 16, 2022, the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022” (“IRA”), was enacted, which, among other things, provides for a corporate alternative minimum tax and an excise tax on corporate stock repurchases. Based on our current analysis of the provisions, we do not expect the IRA to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations. As the IRS issues additional guidance related to the IRA, we will evaluate any potential impact to our consolidated financial statements.

Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

Net Premiums Written and Earned

Premiums associated with our U.S. mortgage insurance business are based on insurance in force, or IIF, during all or a portion of a period. A change in the average IIF during a period causes premiums to increase or decrease as compared to prior periods. Average net premium rates in effect during a given period will also cause premiums to differ when compared to earlier periods. IIF at the end of a reporting period is a function of the IIF at the beginning of such reporting period plus NIW less policy cancellations (including claims paid) during the period. As a result, premiums are generally influenced by:

•NIW, which is the aggregate principal amount of the new mortgages that are insured during a period. Many factors affect NIW, including, among others, the volume of low down payment home mortgage originations, the competition to provide credit enhancement on those mortgages, the number of customers who have approved us to provide mortgage insurance and changes in our NIW from certain customers;

•Cancellations of our insurance policies, which are impacted by payments on mortgages, home price appreciation, or refinancings, which in turn are affected by mortgage interest rates. Cancellations are also impacted by the levels of claim payments and rescissions;

•Premium rates, which represent the amount of the premium due as a percentage of IIF. Premium rates are based on the risk characteristics of the loans insured, the percentage of coverage on the loans, competition from other mortgage insurers and general industry conditions; and

•Premiums ceded or assumed under reinsurance arrangements. ~~Prior to March 2018, we had not ceded any premiums under third-party reinsurance contracts. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, Essent Guaranty entered into third-party reinsurance agreements.~~ See Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements.

Premiums are paid either on a monthly installment basis ("monthly premiums"), in a single payment at origination ("single premiums"), or in some cases as an annual premium. For monthly premiums, we receive a monthly premium payment which is recorded as net premiums earned in the month the coverage is provided. Monthly premium payments are based on the original mortgage amount rather than the amortized loan balance. Net premiums written may be in excess of net premiums earned due to single premium policies. For single premiums, we receive a single premium payment at origination, which is recorded as "unearned premium" and earned over the estimated life of the policy, which ranges from 36 to 156 months depending on the term of the underlying mortgage and loan-to-value ratio at date of origination. If single premium policies are cancelled due to repayment of the underlying loan and the premium is non-refundable, the remaining unearned premium balance is immediately recognized as earned premium revenue. Substantially all of our single premium policies in force as of December 31, ~~2020~~2022 were non-refundable. Premiums collected on annual policies are recognized as net premiums earned on a straight-line basis over the year of coverage. For the years ended December 31, ~~2020~~2022 and ~~2019,~~2021, monthly premium policies comprised ~~91%~~94% and ~~89%~~96% of our NIW, respectively.

Premiums associated with our GSE and other risk share transactions are based on the level of risk in force and premium rates on the transactions.

Persistency and Business Mix

The percentage of IIF that remains on our books after any 12-month period is defined as our persistency rate. Because our insurance premiums are earned over the life of a policy, higher persistency rates can have a significant impact on our profitability. The persistency rate on our portfolio was ~~60.1%~~82.1% at December 31, ~~2020.~~2022. Generally, higher prepayment speeds lead to lower persistency.

Prepayment speeds and the relative mix of business between single premium policies and monthly premium policies also impact our profitability. Our premium rates include certain assumptions regarding repayment or prepayment speeds of the mortgages. Because premiums are paid at origination on single premium policies, assuming all other factors remain constant, if loans are prepaid earlier than expected, our profitability on these loans is likely to increase and, if loans are repaid slower than expected, our profitability on these loans is likely to decrease. By contrast, if monthly premium loans are repaid earlier than

anticipated, our premium earned with respect to those loans and therefore our profitability declines. Currently, the expected return on single premium policies is less than the expected return on monthly policies.

Net Investment Income

Our investment portfolio was predominantly comprised of investment-grade fixed income securities and money market funds as of December 31, ~~2020.~~2022. The principal factors that influence investment income are the size of the investment portfolio and the yield on individual securities. As measured by amortized cost (which excludes changes in fair market value, such as from changes in interest rates), the size of our investment portfolio is mainly a function of increases in capital and cash generated from or used in operations which is impacted by net premiums received, investment earnings, net claim payments and expenses. Realized gains and losses are a function of the difference between the amount received on the sale of a security and the security's amortized cost, as well as any provision for credit losses or impairments recognized in earnings. The amount received on the sale of fixed income securities is affected by the coupon rate of the security compared to the yield of comparable securities at the time of sale.

Income from Other Invested Assets

As part of our overall investment strategy, we also allocate a relatively small percentage of our portfolio to limited partnership investments in real estate, consumer credit and traditional venture capital and private equity investments. The results of these investing activities are reported in income from other invested assets. These investments are generally accounted for under the equity method or fair value using net asset value (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient. For entities accounted for under the equity method that follow industry-specific guidance for investment companies, our proportionate share of earnings or losses includes changes in the fair value of the underlying assets of these entities. Fluctuations in the fair value of these entities may increase the volatility of the Company’s reported results of operations.

Other Income

Other income includes revenues associated with contract underwriting services and underwriting consulting services to third-party reinsurers. The level of contract underwriting revenue is dependent upon the number of customers who have engaged us for this service and the number of loans underwritten for these customers. Revenue from underwriting consulting services to third-party reinsurers is dependent upon the number of customers who have engaged us for this service and the level of premiums associated with the transactions underwritten for these customers.

In connection with the acquisition of our mortgage insurance platform, we entered into a services agreement with Triad Guaranty Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Triad Guaranty Insurance Corporation, which we refer to collectively as "Triad," to provide certain information technology maintenance and development and customer support-related services. In return for these services, we receive a flat monthly fee which is recorded in other income. Prior to December 1, 2019, this fee was adjusted monthly based on the number of Triad’s mortgage insurance policies in force and, accordingly, decreased over time as Triad’s existing policies were cancelled. Effective December 1, 2019,During 2022, Triad exercised its one year renewal option extending the services agreement ~~was amended providing for a flat monthly fee~~ through November ~~30, 2021. The services agreement provides for two subsequent one-year renewals at Triad's option.~~2023.

As more fully described in Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements, the premiums ceded under certain reinsurance contracts with unaffiliated third parties varies based on changes in market interest rates. Under GAAP, these contracts contain embedded derivatives that are accounted for separately as freestanding derivatives. The change in the fair value of the embedded derivatives is reported in earnings and included in other income.

Provision for Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses

The provision for losses and loss adjustment expenses reflects the current expense that is recorded within a particular period to reflect actual and estimated loss payments that we believe will ultimately be made as a result of insured loans that are in default.

Losses incurred are generally affected by:

•the overall state of the economy, which broadly affects the likelihood that borrowers may default on their loans and have the ability to cure such defaults;

•changes in housing values, which affect our ability to mitigate our losses through the sale of properties with loans in default as well as borrower willingness to continue to make mortgage payments when the value of the home is below or perceived to be below the mortgage balance;

•the product mix of IIF, with loans having higher risk characteristics generally resulting in higher defaults and claims;

•the size of loans insured, with higher average loan amounts tending to increase losses incurred;

•the loan-to-value ratio, with higher average loan-to-value ratios tending to increase losses incurred;

•the percentage of coverage on insured loans, with deeper average coverage tending to increase losses incurred;

•credit quality of borrowers, including higher debt-to-income ratios and lower FICO scores, which tend to increase incurred losses;

•the level and amount of reinsurance coverage maintained with third parties;

•the rate at which we rescind policies. Because of tighter underwriting standards generally in the mortgage lending industry and terms set forth in our master policy, we expect that our level of rescission activity will be lower than rescission activity seen in the mortgage insurance industry for vintages originated prior to the financial crisis; and

•the distribution of claims over the life of a book. As of December 31, ~~2020, 80%~~2022, 84% of our IIF relates to business written since January 1, ~~2018~~2020 and was less than three years old. As a result, based on historical industry performance, we expect the number of defaults and claims we experience, as well as our provision for losses and loss adjustment expenses ("LAE"), to increase as our portfolio seasons. See "—Mortgage Insurance Earnings and Cash Flow Cycle" below.

We establish loss reserves for delinquent loans when we are notified that a borrower has missed at least two consecutive monthly payments ("Case Reserves"), as well as estimated reserves for defaults that may have occurred but not yet been reported to us ("IBNR Reserves"). We also establish reserves for the associated loss adjustment expenses, consisting of the estimated cost of the claims administration process, including legal and other fees. Using both internal and external information, we establish our reserves based on the likelihood that a default will reach claim status and estimated claim severity. See "—Critical Accounting Policies" for further information.

Based upon our experience and industry data, claims incidence for mortgage insurance is generally highest in the third through sixth years after loan origination. Claims incidence for defaults associated with COVID-19 may not follow this pattern. As of December 31, ~~2020, 80%~~2022, 84% of our IIF relates to business written since January 1, ~~2018~~2020 and was less than three years old. Although the claims experience on new insurance written by us to date has been favorable, we expect incurred losses and claims to increase as a greater amount of this book of insurance reaches its anticipated period of highest claim frequency. The actual default rate and the average reserve per default that we experience as our portfolio matures is difficult to predict and is dependent on the specific characteristics of our current in-force book (including the credit score of the borrower, the loan-to-value ratio of the mortgage, geographic concentrations, etc.), as well as the profile of new business we write in the future. In addition, the default rate and the average reserve per default will be affected by future macroeconomic factors such as housing prices, interest rates and employment.

Due to business restrictions, stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions initially implemented in March 2020 as a result of COVID-19, unemployment in the United States increased significantly in the second quarter of 2020, ~~and remained elevated at December 31, 2020.~~declining during the second half of 2020 through 2022. As unemployment is one of the most common reasons for borrowers to default on their mortgage, the increase in unemployment has increased the number of delinquencies on the mortgages we insure, and has the potential to increase claim frequencies on defaults. As ~~of December~~a result, we received 36,784 defaults in the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 12,614 defaults in the three months ended September 30, 2020, which resulted in a significant increase in our default rate from 0.83% at March 31, 2020 ~~insured~~to 4.54% at September 30, 2020.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States government enacted a number of policies to provide fiscal stimulus to the economy and relief to those affected by this global disaster. Specifically, mortgage forbearance programs and foreclosure moratoriums were instituted by Federal legislation along with actions taken by FHFA and the GSEs. The mortgage forbearance plans permit these borrowers to temporarily reduce or suspend their mortgage payments for up to 18 months for loans in ~~default totaled 31,469 and included 28,922 defaults classified as COVID-19 defaults compared to 5,947 total defaults and no COVID-19 defaults~~an active COVID-19-related forbearance program as of ~~December 31, 2019.~~February 28, 2021. For borrowers that have the ability to begin to pay their mortgage at the end of the forbearance period, we expect that mortgage servicers will continue to work with them to modify their loans at which time the mortgage will be removed from delinquency status. We believe that the forbearance process could have a favorable effect on the frequency of claims that we ultimately pay. Based on the forbearance programs in place and the credit characteristics of the ~~COVID-19 defaulted loans,~~Early COVID Defaults, we ~~expect~~believe that the ultimate number of ~~COVID-19-related defaults~~Early COVID Defaults that result in claims will be less than our historical default-to-claim experience. WeAccordingly, we applied a lower reserve rate to ~~COVID-19 default notices received in April 2020 through September 2020~~

the Early COVID Defaults than the rate used for defaults that had missed a comparable number of payments as of ~~December~~March 31, ~~2019 due~~2020 and in prior periods that did not have access to ~~the sudden impact on the economy following the onset of the pandemic. The credit characteristics of defaults reported in October 2020 through December 2020~~forbearance plans.

have trended towards those of the pre-pandemic periods and we have observed the normalization of other default patterns during this period. In addition, the economic conditions during the fourth quarter of 2020 have been different than those experiencedThe defaulted loans reported to us in the second and third quarters of ~~2020. We believe that while defaults in October~~ 2020 ~~through December 2020 were impacted~~had reached the end of their forbearance periods as of March 31, 2022. During the first quarter of 2022, the Early COVID Defaults cured at elevated levels, and the cumulative cure rate for the Early COVID Defaults at March 31, 2022 exceeded our initial estimated cure rate implied by ~~the pandemic’s effect on the economy, the underlying credit performance~~our estimate of ultimate loss for these defaults ~~may not be the same as the expected performance for default notices received in April 2020 through September 2020 that occurred following~~established at the onset of the ~~pandemic~~pandemic. Based on cure activity through March 31, 2022 and our expectations for future cure activity, as of March 31, 2022, we lowered our estimate of ultimate loss for the Early COVID Defaults. During the three months ended June 30, 2022, Early COVID Defaults cured at levels that exceeded our estimate as of March 31, 2022, and we further lowered our estimate of loss for these defaults ~~are more likely~~as of June 30, 2022 to ~~transition like pre-pandemic defaults. Accordingly, although these defaults are classified as COVID-19 defaults,~~2% of the initial risk in force. These revisions to our estimate of ultimate loss for the Early COVID Defaults resulted in a benefit recorded to the provision for losses of $164.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2022, approximately 99% of the Early COVID Defaults had cured. Due to the level of Early COVID Defaults remaining in the default inventory, beginning in the third quarter of 2022, we ~~established reserves~~resumed reserving for ~~defaults reported in October 2020 through December 2020~~the Early COVID Defaults using our normal reserve methodology. While the level of cure activity for the Early COVID Defaults exceeded our initial expectations, the transition of defaults to foreclosure or claim has not returned to pre-pandemic levels as of December 31, 2022. As a result, the level of defaults in the default inventory that have missed twelve or more payments is above pre-pandemic levels.

The economy in the United States is currently experiencing elevated levels of consumer price inflation. The Federal Reserve has increased the target federal funds rate several times during 2022 in an effort to reduce consumer price inflation. These rate increases have resulted in higher mortgage interest rates which may lower home sale activity and affect the options available to delinquent borrowers. It is reasonably possible that our estimate of ~~the~~ losses ~~for the COVID-19 defaults~~ could change in the near term as a result of ~~the continued impact of the pandemic on~~changes in the economic environment, the ~~results~~impact of ~~existing~~elevated levels of consumer price inflation on home sale activity, housing inventory, and ~~future governmental programs designed~~home prices.

In September 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida and caused property damage in certain counties. There are many factors contributing to ~~assist individuals and businesses impacted by~~ the ~~virus and~~uncertainty surrounding these insured loans. Under our master policy, loan servicers are not required to notify us of a default until the ~~performance~~borrower has missed two consecutive minimum payments. Also, the level of damage being reported in these areas varies significantly from region to region. Further, under our master policy, our exposure may be limited on hurricane-related claims. For example, we are permitted to exclude a claim entirely where estimated restoration costs from damage to the property underlying a mortgage equal 20% or more of the ~~COVID-19 defaults~~property’s original value and adjust a claim where the property underlying a mortgage in ~~the forbearance programs.~~ default is subject to unrestored physical damage. This event has not materially affected our reserves as of December 31, 2022.

As more fully described in Note 5 to our condensed consolidated financial statements, at December ~~31, 2020,~~31,2022, we had approximately ~~$2.0~~$2.5 billion of excess of loss reinsurance covering NIW from January 1, 2015 to ~~July~~December 31, ~~2020~~2022 and a quota share reinsurance ~~transaction~~ on ~~a portion~~portions of our NIW effective September 1, 2019 through December 31, ~~2020.~~2020 and January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022. The impact on our reserves in future periods will be dependent upon the amount of delinquent notices received from loan servicers, the performance of ~~COVID-19~~ defaults and our expectations for the amount of ultimate losses on these delinquencies.

Third-Party Reinsurance

We use third-party reinsurance to provide protection against adverse loss experience and to expand our capital sources. When we enter into a reinsurance agreement, the reinsurer receives a premium and, in exchange, agrees to insure an agreed upon portion of incurred losses. These arrangements have the impact of reducing our earned premiums, but also reduce our risk in force ("RIF"), which provides capital relief, and may include capital relief under the PMIERs financial strength requirements. Our incurred losses are reduced by any incurred losses ceded in accordance with the reinsurance agreement. For additional information regarding reinsurance, see Note 5 to our consolidated financial statements.

Other Underwriting and Operating Expenses

Our other underwriting and operating expenses include components that are substantially fixed, as well as expenses that generally increase or decrease in line with the level of NIW.

Our most significant expense is compensation and benefits for our employees, which represented ~~60%~~59%, ~~57%~~61% and 60% of other underwriting and operating expenses for the years ended December 31, ~~2020, 2019~~2022, 2021 and ~~2018,~~2020, respectively. Compensation and benefits expense includes base and incentive cash compensation, stock compensation expense, benefits and payroll taxes.

Underwriting and other expenses include legal, consulting, other professional fees, premium taxes, travel, entertainment, marketing, licensing, supplies, hardware, software, rent, utilities, depreciation and amortization and other expenses. We anticipate that as we continue to add new customers and increase our IIF, our expenses will also continue to increase.

Interest Expense

Interest expense is incurred as a result of borrowings under our secured credit facility (the “Credit Facility”). Borrowings under the Credit Facility may be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, capital contributions to Essent’s insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries. Borrowings accrue interest at a floating rate tied to a standard short-term borrowing index, selected at the Company’s option, plus an applicable margin.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are incurred based on the amount of earnings or losses generated in the jurisdictions in which we operate and the applicable tax rates and regulations in those jurisdictions. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are generally not subject to income taxes in ~~the~~most states in which we operate; however, our non-insurance subsidiaries are subject to state income taxes. In lieu of state income taxes, our insurance subsidiaries pay premium taxes that are recorded in other underwriting and operating expenses.

Essent Group Ltd. ("Essent Group") and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Essent Re, are domiciled in Bermuda, which does not have a corporate income tax. Under a quota share reinsurance agreement, Essent Re reinsures 25% of Essent Guaranty's NIW ~~under a quota share reinsurance agreement.~~through December 31, 2020 and 35% of Essent Guaranty’s NIW after December 31, 2020. Essent Re also provides insurance and reinsurance to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The amount of income tax expense or benefit recorded in future periods will be dependent on the jurisdictions in which we operate and the tax laws and regulations in effect.

Mortgage Insurance Earnings and Cash Flow Cycle

In general, the majority of any underwriting profit (premium revenue minus losses) that a book generates occurs in the early years of the book, with the largest portion of any underwriting profit realized in the first year. Subsequent years of a book generally result in modest underwriting profit or underwriting losses. This pattern generally occurs because relatively few of the claims that a book will ultimately experience typically occur in the first few years of the book, when premium revenue is highest, while subsequent years are affected by declining premium revenues, as the number of insured loans decreases (primarily due to loan prepayments), and by increasing losses.

Key Performance Indicators

Insurance In Force

As discussed above, premiums we collect and earn are generated based on our IIF, which is a function of our NIW and cancellations. The following table includes a summary of the change in our IIF for the years ended December 31, ~~2020, 2019~~2022, 2021 and ~~2018~~2020 for our U.S. mortgage insurance portfolio. In addition, this table includes our RIF at the end of each period.


		Year Ended December 31,							Year Ended December 31,
($ in thousands)	($ in thousands)	2020		2019		2018		($ in thousands)	2022		2021		2020
IIF, beginning of period	IIF, beginning of period	$	164,005,853	$	137,720,786	$	110,461,950	IIF, beginning of period	$	207,190,544	$	198,882,352	$	164,005,853
NIW	NIW	107,944,065		63,569,183		47,508,525		NIW	63,061,262		84,218,250		107,944,065
Cancellations	Cancellations	(73,067,566)		(37,284,116)		(20,249,689)		Cancellations	(43,189,751)		(75,910,058)		(73,067,566)
IIF, end of period	IIF, end of period	$	198,882,352	$	164,005,853	$	137,720,786	IIF, end of period	$	227,062,055	$	207,190,544	$	198,882,352
Average IIF during the period	Average IIF during the period	$	178,294,034	$	152,001,491	$	123,361,264	Average IIF during the period	$	215,485,518	$	202,890,292	$	178,294,034
RIF, end of period	RIF, end of period	$	41,339,262	$	38,947,857	$	33,892,869	RIF, end of period	$	49,903,626	$	45,273,383	$	41,339,262


Bermuda						Not Applicable
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)						(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)


Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Shares, $0.015 par value	ESNT	New York Stock Exchange


		Page
	PART I
ITEM 1.	BUSINESS	1
ITEM 1A.	RISK FACTORS	2928
ITEM 1B.	UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS	5150
ITEM 2.	PROPERTIES	5150
ITEM 3.	LEGAL PROCEEDINGS	5150
ITEM 4.	MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES	5150
	PART II
ITEM 5.	MARKET FOR THE COMPANY'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES	5251
ITEM 6.	~~SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA~~[RESERVED]	5352
ITEM 7.	MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS	5553
ITEM 7A.	QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK	79
ITEM 8.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA	8081
ITEM 9.	CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE	~~122~~124
ITEM 9A.	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES	~~122~~124
ITEM 9B.	OTHER INFORMATION	~~122~~124
ITEM 9C.	DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS	124
	PART III
ITEM 10.	DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE	~~123~~125
ITEM 11.	EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION	~~123~~125
ITEM 12.	SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS	~~123~~125
ITEM 13.	CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE	~~123~~125
ITEM 14.	PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES	~~124~~125
	PART IV
ITEM 15.	EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES	~~124~~125
ITEM 16.	FORM 10-K SUMMARY	~~125~~127
SIGNATURES		~~126~~128


($ in thousands)	($ in thousands)	$		%		($ in thousands)	$		%
2022						2022	60,609,538		26.7	%
2021						2021	71,533,600		31.5
2020	2020	$	102,123,354	51.3	%	2020	59,228,334		26.1
2019	2019	38,688,532		19.5		2019	14,742,465		6.5
2018	2018	18,677,363		9.4		2018	6,714,277		3.0
2017		16,268,294		8.2
2016		11,314,546		5.7
2015 and prior		11,810,263		5.9
2017 and prior						2017 and prior	14,233,841		6.2
		$	198,882,352	100.0	%		$	227,062,055	100.0	%


		December 31,									December 31,
IIF by FICO score ($ in thousands)	IIF by FICO score ($ in thousands)	2020				2019				IIF by FICO score ($ in thousands)	2022				2021
>=760	>=760	$	82,452,139	41.5	%	$	68,123,523	41.5	%	>=760	$	93,389,066	41.1	%	$	85,501,113	41.3	%
740-759	740-759	34,538,761		17.3		27,886,603		17.0		740-759	38,842,311		17.2		35,111,019		17.0
720-739	720-739	29,599,646		14.9		24,069,139		14.7		720-739	34,981,632		15.4		31,158,325		15.0
700-719	700-719	23,807,982		12.0		19,183,219		11.7		700-719	29,146,543		12.8		26,105,790		12.6
680-699	680-699	15,538,235		7.8		13,713,164		8.4		680-699	18,859,824		8.3		16,819,629		8.1
<=679	<=679	12,945,589		6.5		11,030,205		6.7		<=679	11,842,679		5.2		12,494,668		6.0
Total	Total	$	198,882,352	100.0	%	$	164,005,853	100.0	%	Total	$	227,062,055	100.0	%	$	207,190,544	100.0	%


		December 31,									December 31,
Gross RIF (1) by FICO score ($ in thousands)	Gross RIF (1) by FICO score ($ in thousands)	2020				2019				Gross RIF (1) by FICO score ($ in thousands)	2022				2021
>=760	>=760	$	20,336,799	41.0	%	$	17,082,683	41.3	%	>=760	$	24,152,726	40.8	%	$	21,488,011	40.9	%
740-759	740-759	8,682,265		17.5		7,056,654		17.0		740-759	10,255,195		17.3		8,992,181		17.1
720-739	720-739	7,504,065		15.1		6,150,334		14.9		720-739	9,276,750		15.6		8,029,952		15.3
700-719	700-719	5,970,851		12.1		4,873,597		11.8		700-719	7,696,965		13.0		6,693,045		12.7
680-699	680-699	3,887,059		7.9		3,491,755		8.4		680-699	4,963,470		8.4		4,299,245		8.2
<=679	<=679	3,184,111		6.4		2,747,927		6.6		<=679	2,931,383		4.9		3,051,812		5.8
Total	Total	$	49,565,150	100.0	%	$	41,402,950	100.0	%	Total	$	59,276,489	100.0	%	$	52,554,246	100.0	%


		December 31,									December 31,
IIF by LTV ($ in thousands)	IIF by LTV ($ in thousands)	2020				2019				IIF by LTV ($ in thousands)	2022				2021
85.00% and below	85.00% and below	$	27,308,296	13.7	%	$	17,128,008	10.5	%	85.00% and below	$	24,454,468	10.8	%	$	27,362,267	13.2	%
85.01% to 90.00%	85.01% to 90.00%	58,606,394		29.5		46,771,386		28.5		85.01% to 90.00%	63,436,445		27.8		59,567,378		28.7
90.01% to 95.00%	90.01% to 95.00%	86,169,485		43.3		76,611,494		46.7		90.01% to 95.00%	107,932,064		47.6		91,350,909		44.1
95.01% and above	95.01% and above	26,798,177		13.5		23,494,965		14.3		95.01% and above	31,239,078		13.8		28,909,990		14.0
Total	Total	$	198,882,352	100.0	%	$	164,005,853	100.0	%	Total	$	227,062,055	100.0	%	$	207,190,544	100.0	%


		December 31,									December 31,
Gross RIF (1) by LTV ($ in thousands)	Gross RIF (1) by LTV ($ in thousands)	2020				2019				Gross RIF (1) by LTV ($ in thousands)	2022				2021
85.00% and below	85.00% and below	$	3,142,034	6.3	%	$	1,977,361	4.8	%	85.00% and below	$	2,903,877	4.9	%	$	3,200,124	6.1	%
85.01% to 90.00%	85.01% to 90.00%	14,061,553		28.4		11,249,383		27.2		85.01% to 90.00%	15,477,031		26.1		14,366,450		27.3
90.01% to 95.00%	90.01% to 95.00%	24,895,471		50.2		21,981,598		53.1		90.01% to 95.00%	31,642,669		53.4		26,592,162		50.6
95.01% and above	95.01% and above	7,466,092		15.1		6,194,608		14.9		95.01% and above	9,252,912		15.6		8,395,510		16.0
Total	Total	$	49,565,150	100.0	%	$	41,402,950	100.0	%	Total	$	59,276,489	100.0	%	$	52,554,246	100.0	%


		December 31,									December 31,
IIF by Loan Amortization Period ($ in thousands)	IIF by Loan Amortization Period ($ in thousands)	2020				2019				IIF by Loan Amortization Period ($ in thousands)	2022				2021
FRM 30 years and higher	FRM 30 years and higher	$	187,704,000	94.4	%	$	154,905,519	94.5	%	FRM 30 years and higher	$	219,416,408	96.7	%	$	198,243,758	95.7	%
FRM 20-25 years	FRM 20-25 years	4,365,585		2.2		2,854,560		1.7		FRM 20-25 years	2,601,108		1.1		3,658,366		1.8
FRM 15 years	FRM 15 years	4,776,068		2.4		3,300,715		2.0		FRM 15 years	2,552,931		1.1		3,996,684		1.9
ARM 5 years and higher	ARM 5 years and higher	2,036,699		1.0		2,945,059		1.8		ARM 5 years and higher	2,491,608		1.1		1,291,736		0.6
Total	Total	$	198,882,352	100.0	%	$	164,005,853	100.0	%	Total	$	227,062,055	100.0	%	$	207,190,544	100.0	%


		December 31, 2020					December 31, 2019						December 31, 2022					December 31, 2021
Originating Year	Originating Year	Loans in Default	Percentage of policies written in period		Defaulted RIF (in thousands)		Loans in Default	Percentage of policies written in period		Defaulted RIF (in thousands)		Originating Year	Loans in Default	Percentage of policies written in period		Defaulted RIF (in thousands)		Loans in Default	Percentage of policies written in period	Defaulted RIF (in thousands)
2010 - 2014	2010 - 2014	1,985	0.7	%	106,380		888	0.3	%	46,989		2010 - 2014	523	0.7	%	26,524		900	0.3	47,150
2015	2015	1,615	1.4		91,288		669	0.6		36,362		2015	425	0.4		21,778		742	0.7	39,580
2016	2016	3,154	2.2		188,240		948	0.7		51,304		2016	758	0.5		39,044		1,327	0.9	71,467
2017	2017	5,614	3.0		307,133		1,623	0.9		81,398		2017	1,432	0.8		68,374		2,458	1.3	$	124,177
2018	2018	6,903	3.6		414,691		1,398	0.7		76,955		2018	1,748	0.9		88,034		3,096	1.6	$	171,083
2019	2019	9,230	4.0		666,756		421	0.2		26,902		2019	2,158	0.9		126,869		3,953	1.7	$	260,477
2020	2020	2,968	0.8		234,117		N/A	N/A		N/A		2020	2,856	0.8		201,400		3,490	1.0	$	267,341
2021												2021	2,750	1.1		231,413		997	0.4	$	85,441
2022												2022	783	0.4		77,712		N/A	N/A	N/A
Total	Total	31,469			$	2,008,605	5,947			$	319,910	Total	13,433			$	881,148	16,963		$	1,066,716


	10/31/2013	12/31/2013		12/31/2014		12/31/2015		12/31/2016		12/31/2017		12/31/2018		12/31/2019		12/31/2020
S&P 500	$100.00	$	105.23	$	117.21	$	116.36	$	127.46	$	152.21	$	142.71	$	183.93	$	213.83
Peer Index	$100.00	$	100.90	$	101.24	$	133.32	$	166.77	$	173.37	$	152.23	$	262.00	$	224.15
ESNT	$100.00	$	114.57	$	122.43	$	104.24	$	154.14	$	206.76	$	162.76	$	254.50	$	228.16


	Year Ended December 31,
Summary of Operations (In thousands, except per share amounts)	2020		2019		2018		2017		2016
Revenues:
Net premiums written	$	834,113	$	760,845	$	685,287	$	570,186	$	441,278
Decrease (increase) in unearned premiums	28,451		16,580		(35,795)		(40,056)		(18,571)
Net premiums earned	862,564		777,425		649,492		530,130		422,707
Net investment income	80,087		83,542		64,091		40,226		27,890
Realized investment gains, net	2,697		3,229		1,318		2,015		1,934
Other income	9,806		3,371		4,452		4,140		5,727
Total revenues	955,154		867,567		719,353		576,511		458,258
Losses and expenses:
Provision for losses and LAE	301,293		32,986		11,575		27,232		15,525
Other underwriting and operating expenses	154,691		165,369		150,900		145,533		130,425
Interest expense	9,074		10,151		10,179		5,178		426
Total losses and expenses	465,058		208,506		172,654		177,943		146,376
Income before income taxes	490,096		659,061		546,699		398,568		311,882
Income tax expense	77,055		103,348		79,336		18,821		89,276
Net income	$	413,041	$	555,713	$	467,363	$	379,747	$	222,606
Earnings per share (EPS):
Basic	$	3.89	$	5.68	$	4.80	$	4.07	$	2.45
Diluted	$	3.88	$	5.66	$	4.77	$	3.99	$	2.41
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic	106,098		97,762		97,403		93,330		90,913
Diluted	106,376		98,227		97,974		95,211		92,245

Dividends declared per common share	$	0.64	$	0.30	$	—	$	—	$	—


	December 31,
Balance sheet data ($ in thousands)	2020		2019		2018		2017		2016
Total investments	$	4,654,277	$	3,429,620	$	2,791,018	$	2,305,565	$	1,615,102
Cash	102,830		71,350		64,946		43,524		27,531
Total assets	5,202,724		3,873,425		3,149,971		2,674,368		1,882,998
Reserve for losses and LAE	374,941		69,362		49,464		46,850		28,142
Unearned premium reserve	250,436		278,887		295,467		259,672		219,616
Credit facility borrowings	321,720		224,237		223,664		248,591		100,000
Total stockholders' equity	$	3,862,633	$	2,984,845	$	2,365,717	$	1,940,436	$	1,343,773


	December 31,
Selected additional data ($ in thousands)	2020			2019			2018			2017			2016
New insurance written(1)	$	107,944,065		$	63,569,183		$	47,508,525		$	43,858,322		$	34,949,319
Loss ratio(2)	34.9		%	4.2		%	1.8		%	5.1		%	3.7		%
Expense ratio(3)	17.9			21.3			23.2			27.5			30.9
Combined ratio	52.9		%	25.5		%	25.0		%	32.6		%	34.5		%
Return on average equity	12.1		%	20.8		%	21.7		%	23.1		%	18.1		%


	December 31,
Insurance portfolio ($ in thousands)	2020			2019			2018			2017			2016
Insurance in force	$	198,882,352		$	164,005,853		$	137,720,786		$	110,461,950		$	83,265,522
Risk in force	$	41,339,262		$	38,947,857		$	33,892,869		$	27,443,985		$	20,627,317
Policies in force	799,893			702,925			608,135			496,477			375,898
Loans in default	31,469			5,947			4,024			4,783			1,757
Percentage of loans in default	3.93		%	0.85		%	0.66		%	0.96		%	0.47		%

Insurance company capital ($ in thousands)
U.S. Mortgage Insurance Subsidiaries
Combined statutory capital(4)	$	2,659,161		$	2,335,828		$	1,886,929		$	1,528,869		$	1,144,279
Risk-to-capital ratios:
Essent Guaranty, Inc.	11.5:1			13.1:1			14.4:1			14.7:1			15.3:1
Essent Guaranty of PA, Inc.	1.7:1			2.9:1			4.2:1			5.4:1			6.8:1
Combined(5)	11.1:1			12.6:1			13.9:1			14.2:1			14.7:1

Essent Reinsurance Ltd.
Stockholder's equity (GAAP basis)	$	1,101,003		$	939,360		$	798,612		$	662,819		$	401,273
Net risk in force(6)	$	12,892,300		$	10,314,942		$	8,265,763		$	6,299,437		$	4,181,737


		December 31,					December 31,
		2020		2019			2022		2021
IIF by State	IIF by State					IIF by State
CA	CA	12.0	%	10.0	%	CA	13.2	%	13.1	%
TX	TX	9.7		8.6		TX	10.4		9.9
FL	FL	8.7		7.9		FL	10.2		9.7
CO	CO	4.1		3.7		CO	4.2		4.1
AZ						AZ	3.5		3.3
WA	WA	3.8		4.4		WA	3.4		3.7
AZ		3.6		3.3
GA						GA	3.2		3.1
IL	IL	3.4		3.7		IL	3.1		3.3
VA						VA	3.0		3.1
NJ	NJ	3.3		3.6		NJ	3.0		3.1
VA		3.1		3.2
MD		3.0		2.8
All Others	All Others	45.3		48.8		All Others	42.8		43.6
Total	Total	100.0	%	100.0	%	Total	100.0	%	100.0	%


		December 31,					December 31,
		2020		2019			2022		2021
Gross RIF by State	Gross RIF by State					Gross RIF by State
CA	CA	11.8	%	9.8	%	CA	13.0	%	13.0	%
TX	TX	10.0		8.9		TX	10.7		10.2
FL	FL	9.0		8.0		FL	10.5		10.0
CO	CO	4.1		3.6		CO	4.1		4.0
AZ						AZ	3.6		3.3
WA	WA	3.8		4.4		WA	3.3		3.6
AZ		3.5		3.2
GA						GA	3.2		3.1
IL	IL	3.3		3.5		IL	3.0		3.2
VA						VA	3.0		3.0
NJ	NJ	3.2		3.6		NJ	2.9		3.0
GA		3.1		3.3
VA		3.1		3.1
All Others	All Others	45.1		48.6		All Others	42.7		43.6
Total	Total	100.0	%	100.0	%	Total	100.0	%	100.0	%


		December 31,					December 31,
		2020		2019			2022		2021
IIF by Metropolitan Statistical Area	IIF by Metropolitan Statistical Area					IIF by Metropolitan Statistical Area
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX						Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	3.0	%	3.0	%
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	3.0	%	2.7	%	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	3.0		2.8
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX		2.8		2.4
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	2.6		2.3		Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	2.7		2.6
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA						Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA	2.7		2.6
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	2.6		2.5		Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	2.5		2.6
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA						Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	2.5		2.4
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA						Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA	2.4		2.3
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX	Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX	2.3		2.0		Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX	2.4		2.3
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA		2.3		2.0
Chicago-Naperville-Evanston, IL	Chicago-Naperville-Evanston, IL	2.3		2.5		Chicago-Naperville-Evanston, IL	2.1		2.2
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA		2.2		2.4
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA		2.1		1.6
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	2.0		2.3		Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	1.8		1.9
All Others	All Others	75.8		77.3		All Others	74.9		75.3
Total	Total	100.0	%	100.0	%	Total	100.0	%	100.0	%


		December 31,					December 31,
		2020		2019			2022		2021
Gross RIF by Metropolitan Statistical Area	Gross RIF by Metropolitan Statistical Area					Gross RIF by Metropolitan Statistical Area
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX						Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	3.1	%	3.1	%
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	3.0	%	2.7	%	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	3.0		2.8
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX		2.9		2.5
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	2.6		2.3		Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	2.6		2.5
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA						Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA	2.6		2.6
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	2.5		2.5		Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	2.5		2.5
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA						Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	2.5		2.4
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA						Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA	2.5		2.4
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX	Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX	2.4		2.0		Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX	2.5		2.3
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA		2.3		2.4
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA		2.2		2.0
Chicago-Naperville-Evanston, IL	Chicago-Naperville-Evanston, IL	2.2		2.3		Chicago-Naperville-Evanston, IL	2.0		2.2
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA		2.2		1.6
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	1.9		2.3		Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	1.8		1.9
All Others	All Others	75.8		77.4		All Others	74.9		75.3
Total	Total	100.0	%	100.0	%	Total	100.0	%	100.0	%


		Year Ended December 31,							Year Ended December 31,
Summary of Operations (In thousands)	Summary of Operations (In thousands)	2020		2019		2018		Summary of Operations (In thousands)	2022		2021		2020
Revenues:	Revenues:							Revenues:
Net premiums written	Net premiums written	$	834,113	$	760,845	$	685,287	Net premiums written	$	820,029	$	807,492	$	834,113
Decrease (increase) in unearned premiums		28,451		16,580		(35,795)
Decrease in unearned premiums								Decrease in unearned premiums	22,498		65,051		28,451
Net premiums earned	Net premiums earned	862,564		777,425		649,492		Net premiums earned	842,527		872,543		862,564
Net investment income	Net investment income	80,087		83,542		64,091		Net investment income	124,409		88,765		80,087
Realized investment gains, net		2,697		3,229		1,318
Realized investment (losses) gains, net								Realized investment (losses) gains, net	(13,172)		418		2,697
Income (loss) from other invested assets								Income (loss) from other invested assets	28,676		56,386		(215)
Other income	Other income	9,806		3,371		4,452		Other income	18,384		10,398		10,021
Total revenues	Total revenues	955,154		867,567		719,353		Total revenues	1,000,824		1,028,510		955,154

Losses and expenses:	Losses and expenses:							Losses and expenses:
Provision for losses and LAE		301,293		32,986		11,575
(Benefit) provision for losses and LAE								(Benefit) provision for losses and LAE	(174,704)		31,057		301,293
Other underwriting and operating expenses	Other underwriting and operating expenses	154,691		165,369		150,900		Other underwriting and operating expenses	171,733		166,857		154,691
Interest expense	Interest expense	9,074		10,151		10,179		Interest expense	15,608		8,282		9,074
Total losses and expenses	Total losses and expenses	465,058		208,506		172,654		Total losses and expenses	12,637		206,196		465,058
Income before income taxes	Income before income taxes	490,096		659,061		546,699		Income before income taxes	988,187		822,314		490,096
Income tax expense	Income tax expense	77,055		103,348		79,336		Income tax expense	156,834		140,531		77,055
Net income	Net income	$	413,041	$	555,713	$	467,363	Net income	$	831,353	$	681,783	$	413,041


		Year Ended December 31,					Year Ended December 31,
(In thousands)	(In thousands)	2020		2019		(In thousands)	2022		2021
Fixed maturities	Fixed maturities	$	83,313	$	82,194	Fixed maturities	$	129,530	$	94,117
Short-term investments	Short-term investments	1,669		5,049		Short-term investments	2,319		171
Gross investment income	Gross investment income	84,982		87,243		Gross investment income	131,849		94,288
Investment expenses	Investment expenses	(4,895)		(3,701)		Investment expenses	(7,440)		(5,523)
Net investment income	Net investment income	$	80,087	$	83,542	Net investment income	$	124,409	$	88,765


		As of December 31,							As of December 31,
		2020			2019				2022			2021
Case reserves (in thousands) (1)	Case reserves (in thousands) (1)	$	343,290		$	63,180		Case reserves (in thousands) (1)	$	199,419		$	375,396
Total reserves (in thousands) (1)	Total reserves (in thousands) (1)	$	373,868		$	69,183		Total reserves (in thousands) (1)	$	216,390		$	406,096
Ending default inventory	Ending default inventory	31,469			5,947			Ending default inventory	13,433			16,963
Average case reserve per default (in thousands)	Average case reserve per default (in thousands)	$	10.9		$	10.6		Average case reserve per default (in thousands)	$	14.8		$	22.1
Average total reserve per default (in thousands)	Average total reserve per default (in thousands)	$	11.9		$	11.6		Average total reserve per default (in thousands)	$	16.1		$	23.9
Default rate	Default rate	3.93		%	0.85		%	Default rate	1.66		%	2.16		%
Claims received included in ending default inventory	Claims received included in ending default inventory	52			129			Claims received included in ending default inventory	121			60


		As of December 31, 2020												As of December 31, 2022
($ in thousands)	($ in thousands)	Number of Policies in Default	Percentage of Policies in Default		Amount of Reserves		Percentage of Reserves		Defaulted RIF		Reserves as a Percentage of Defaulted RIF		($ in thousands)	Number of Policies in Default	Percentage of Policies in Default		Amount of Reserves		Percentage of Reserves		Defaulted RIF		Reserves as a Percentage of Defaulted RIF
Missed payments:	Missed payments:												Missed payments:
Three payments or less	Three payments or less	6,631	21	%	$	47,905	14	%	$	384,668	12	%	Three payments or less	6,154	46	%	$	32,242	16	%	$	411,624	8	%
Four to eleven payments	Four to eleven payments	23,543	75		260,593		76		1,553,593		17		Four to eleven payments	4,684	35		65,071		33		317,417		21
Twelve or more payments	Twelve or more payments	1,243	4		32,593		9		67,501		48		Twelve or more payments	2,474	18		98,291		49		147,247		67
Pending claims	Pending claims	52	—		2,199		1		2,843		77		Pending claims	121	1		3,815		2		4,860		78
Total case reserves (1)	Total case reserves (1)	31,469	100	%	343,290		100	%	$	2,008,605	17		Total case reserves (1)	13,433	100	%	199,419		100	%	$	881,148	23
IBNR	IBNR				25,747								IBNR				14,956
LAE	LAE				4,831								LAE				2,015
Total reserves for losses and LAE (1)	Total reserves for losses and LAE (1)				$	373,868							Total reserves for losses and LAE (1)				$	216,390


		As of December 31, 2019												As of December 31, 2021
($ in thousands)	($ in thousands)	Number of Policies in Default	Percentage of Policies in Default		Amount of Reserves		Percentage of Reserves		Defaulted RIF		Reserves as a Percentage of Defaulted RIF		($ in thousands)	Number of Policies in Default	Percentage of Policies in Default		Amount of Reserves		Percentage of Reserves		Defaulted RIF		Reserves as a Percentage of Defaulted RIF
Missed payments:	Missed payments:												Missed payments:
Three payments or less	Three payments or less	3,310	56	%	$	15,793	25	%	$	177,238	9	%	Three payments or less	4,113	24	%	$	20,712	5	%	$	243,511	9	%
Four to eleven payments	Four to eleven payments	2,035	34		28,006		44		108,743		26		Four to eleven payments	5,459	32		77,822		21		349,494		22
Twelve or more payments	Twelve or more payments	473	8		13,549		22		27,152		50		Twelve or more payments	7,331	43		274,465		73		470,859		58
Pending claims	Pending claims	129	2		5,832		9		6,777		86		Pending claims	60	1		2,397		1		2,852		84
Total case reserves (2)	Total case reserves (2)	5,947	100	%	63,180		100	%	$	319,910	20		Total case reserves (2)	16,963	100	%	375,396		100	%	$	1,066,716	35
IBNR	IBNR				4,738								IBNR				28,155
LAE	LAE				1,265								LAE				2,545
Total reserves for losses and LAE (2)	Total reserves for losses and LAE (2)				$	69,183							Total reserves for losses and LAE (2)				$	406,096


QSR Agreement	Eligible Policy Period	Ceding Percentage	Ceding Commission	Profit Commission
QSR-2019	September 1, 2019-December 31, 2020	(1)	20%	63%	(2)
QSR-2022	January 1, 2022-December 31, 2022	20%	20%	62%
QSR-2023	January 1, 2023-December 31, 2023	17.5%	20%	58%


Combined statutory capital: ($ in thousands)
Policyholders’ surplus	$	~~1,103,347~~1,072,667
Contingency reserves	~~1,555,814~~2,105,484
Combined statutory capital	$	~~2,659,161~~3,178,151
Combined net risk in force	$	~~29,493,572~~32,265,701
Combined risk-to-capital ratio	~~11.1:~~10.2:1


Asset Class	Asset Class	December 31, 2020				December 31, 2019				Asset Class	December 31, 2022				December 31, 2021
($ in thousands)	($ in thousands)	Fair Value		Percent		Fair Value		Percent		($ in thousands)	Fair Value		Percent		Fair Value		Percent
U.S. Treasury securities	U.S. Treasury securities	$	268,444	5.9	%	$	242,206	7.2	%	U.S. Treasury securities	$	556,438	11.7	%	$	448,793	9.1	%
U.S. agency securities	U.S. agency securities	18,085		0.4		33,605		1.0		U.S. agency securities	49,058		1.0		5,504		0.1
U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	995,905		21.8		848,334		25.3		U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	783,743		16.5		1,008,863		20.3
Municipal debt securities(1)	Municipal debt securities(1)	551,517		12.1		361,638		10.8		Municipal debt securities(1)	602,690		12.8		627,599		12.7
Non-U.S. government securities	Non-U.S. government securities	61,607		1.3		54,995		1.7		Non-U.S. government securities	62,399		1.3		79,743		1.6
Corporate debt securities(2)	Corporate debt securities(2)	1,126,512		24.7		880,301		26.3		Corporate debt securities(2)	1,414,321		29.8		1,455,247		29.3
Residential and commercial mortgage securities	Residential and commercial mortgage securities	409,282		9.0		288,281		8.6		Residential and commercial mortgage securities	511,824		10.8		545,423		11.0
Asset-backed securities	Asset-backed securities	454,717		9.9		326,025		9.7		Asset-backed securities	624,561		13.2		581,703		11.7
Money market funds	Money market funds	679,304		14.9		315,362		9.4		Money market funds	136,591		2.9		210,012		4.2
Total Investments Available for Sale	Total Investments Available for Sale	$	4,565,373	100.0	%	$	3,350,747	100.0	%	Total Investments Available for Sale	$	4,741,625	100.0	%	$	4,962,887	100.0	%


Rating(1)	Rating(1)	December 31, 2020				December 31, 2019				Rating(1)	December 31, 2022				December 31, 2021
($ in thousands)	($ in thousands)	Fair Value		Percent		Fair Value		Percent		($ in thousands)	Fair Value		Percent		Fair Value		Percent
Aaa	Aaa	$	2,564,746	56.2	%	$	1,817,905	54.2	%	Aaa	$	2,226,951	46.9	%	$	2,412,273	48.6	%
Aa1	Aa1	133,100		2.9		109,122		3.3		Aa1	111,342		2.3		96,331		1.9
Aa2	Aa2	260,462		5.7		145,282		4.3		Aa2	327,742		6.9		354,951		7.2
Aa3	Aa3	204,917		4.5		159,599		4.8		Aa3	234,994		5.0		221,914		4.5
A1	A1	249,710		5.5		206,643		6.2		A1	421,752		8.9		263,820		5.3
A2	A2	401,175		8.8		183,780		5.5		A2	411,670		8.7		427,282		8.6
A3	A3	229,882		5.0		191,933		5.7		A3	268,928		5.7		274,525		5.5
Baa1	Baa1	260,602		5.7		232,490		6.9		Baa1	236,793		5.0		305,204		6.1
Baa2	Baa2	178,926		3.9		179,664		5.4		Baa2	221,308		4.7		274,011		5.5
Baa3	Baa3	48,199		1.1		65,119		1.9		Baa3	187,117		3.9		240,755		4.9
Below Baa3	Below Baa3	33,654		0.7		59,210		1.8		Below Baa3	93,028		2.0		91,821		1.9

Total Investments Available for Sale	Total Investments Available for Sale	$	4,565,373	100.0	%	$	3,350,747	100.0	%	Total Investments Available for Sale	$	4,741,625	100.0	%	$	4,962,887	100.0	%


Effective Duration	Effective Duration	December 31, 2020				December 31, 2019				Effective Duration	December 31, 2022				December 31, 2021
($ in thousands)	($ in thousands)	Fair Value		Percent		Fair Value		Percent		($ in thousands)	Fair Value		Percent		Fair Value		Percent
< 1 Year	< 1 Year	$	1,568,505	34.4	%	$	1,038,782	31.0	%	< 1 Year	$	1,245,839	26.3	%	$	1,104,397	22.2	%
1 to < 2 Years	1 to < 2 Years	581,003		12.7		306,148		9.1		1 to < 2 Years	534,038		11.3		561,297		11.3
2 to < 3 Years	2 to < 3 Years	616,069		13.5		348,708		10.4		2 to < 3 Years	511,701		10.8		539,174		10.9
3 to < 4 Years	3 to < 4 Years	426,333		9.3		361,147		10.8		3 to < 4 Years	525,683		11.1		593,663		12.0
4 to < 5 Years	4 to < 5 Years	367,633		8.1		443,382		13.2		4 to < 5 Years	400,540		8.4		663,127		13.4
5 or more Years	5 or more Years	1,005,830		22.0		852,580		25.5		5 or more Years	1,523,824		32.1		1,501,229		30.2
Total Investments Available for Sale	Total Investments Available for Sale	$	4,565,373	100.0	%	$	3,350,747	100.0	%	Total Investments Available for Sale	$	4,741,625	100.0	%	$	4,962,887	100.0	%


		December 31, 2020										December 31, 2022
Rank ($ in thousands)	Rank ($ in thousands)	Security	Fair Value			Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gain (Loss)(1)		Credit Rating(2)	Rank ($ in thousands)	Security	Fair Value			Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gain (Loss)(1)		Credit Rating(2)
1	1	Fannie Mae 3.500% 1/1/2058	$	26,634		$	25,184	$	1,450	Aaa	1	US Treasury 2.875% 06/15/2025	$	39,908		$	40,914	$	(1,006)	Aaa
2	2	U.S. Treasury 0.250% 5/31/2025	25,558			25,565		(7)		Aaa	2	US Treasury 1.500% 08/15/2026	31,025			34,413		(3,388)		Aaa
3	3	U.S. Treasury 2.625% 6/30/2023	20,966			19,685		1,281		Aaa	3	Federal Home Loan Banks 0.000% 01/03/2023	27,080			27,077		3		A2
4	4	Fannie Mae 2.000% 8/1/2050	20,549			20,315		234		Aaa	4	US Treasury 0.250% 05/31/2025	23,249			25,585		(2,336)		Aaa
5	5	U.S. Treasury 5.250% 11/15/2028	20,540			18,558		1,982		Aaa	5	US Treasury 2.500% 01/31/2024	19,911			20,389		(478)		Aaa
6	6	Freddie Mac 4.000% 11/1/2048	20,371			19,691		680		Aaa	6	US Treasury 0.000% 02/23/2023	19,879			19,970		(91)		Aaa
7	7	U.S. Treasury 1.500% 8/15/2026	18,525			17,453		1,072		Aaa	7	US Treasury 2.625% 06/30/2023	19,562			19,737		(175)		Aaa
8	8	U.S. Treasury 0.125% 10/15/2023	17,611			17,595		16		Aaa	8	US Treasury 2.000% 04/30/2024	19,369			19,470		(101)		Aaa
9	9	Freddie Mac 2.500% 7/1/2050	17,063			16,902		161		Aaa	9	US Treasury 0.875% 06/30/2026	17,584			19,640		(2,056)		Aaa
10	10	U.S. Treasury 2.625% 7/15/2021	14,946			14,746		200		Aaa	10	US Treasury 0.125% 10/15/2023	17,003			17,617		(614)		Aaa
Total	Total		$	202,763		$	195,694	$	7,069		Total		$	234,570		$	244,812	$	(10,242)
Percent of Investments Available for Sale	Percent of Investments Available for Sale		4.4		%						Percent of Investments Available for Sale		4.9		%


Rank	Rank	December 31, 2019				Rank	December 31, 2021
($ in thousands)	($ in thousands)	Security	Fair Value			($ in thousands)	Security	Fair Value
1	1	Fannie Mae 3.500% 1/1/2058	$	30,112		1	Fannie Mae 2.000% 10/1/2051	$	34,743
2	2	U.S. Treasury 5.250% 11/15/2028	29,480			2	U.S. Treasury 1.500% 8/15/2026	34,404
3	3	Freddie Mac 4.000% 11/1/2048	28,530			3	U.S. Treasury 0.000% 6/30/2022	28,548
4	4	U.S. Treasury 2.625% 6/30/2023	20,465			4	U.S. Treasury 0.250% 5/31/2025	24,918
5	5	U.S. Treasury 1.500% 8/15/2026	17,161			5	Fannie Mae 3.500% 1/1/2058	21,424
6	6	Fannie Mae 4.500% 5/1/2048	16,972			6	U.S. Treasury 2.625% 6/30/2023	20,348
7	7	Freddie Mac 4.500% 4/1/2049	16,585			7	U.S. Treasury 0.000% 12/29/2022	19,376
8	8	U.S. Treasury 2.625% 7/15/2021	14,978			8	U.S. Treasury 0.875% 6/30/2026	19,349
9	9	Freddie Mac 4.000% 5/15/2050	14,700			9	U.S. Treasury 5.250% 11/15/2028	19,082
10	10	Fannie Mae 4.000% 5/1/2056	13,079			10	U.S. Treasury 0.125% 10/15/2023	17,449
Total	Total		$	202,062		Total		$	239,641
Percent of Investments Available for Sale	Percent of Investments Available for Sale		6.0		%	Percent of Investments Available for Sale		4.8		%


		Payments due by period											Payments due by period
($ in thousands)	($ in thousands)	Total		Less than 1 year		1 - 3 years		3 - 5 years		More than 5 years		($ in thousands)	Total		Less than 1 year		1 - 3 years		3 - 5 years		More than 5 years
Credit facility borrowings	Credit facility borrowings	$	325,000	$	—	$	325,000	$	—	$	—	Credit facility borrowings	$	425,000	$	—	$	—	$	425,000	$	—
Estimated loss and LAE payments(1)		374,941		37,396		250,132		87,413		—
Estimated loss and LAE payments (1)												Estimated loss and LAE payments (1)	216,464		57,198		115,508		43,758		—
Operating lease obligations	Operating lease obligations	11,714		3,261		6,326		2,127		—		Operating lease obligations	16,831		4,302		4,667		2,535		5,327
Unfunded investment commitments(2)	Unfunded investment commitments(2)	67,810		31,500		30,000		6,310		—		Unfunded investment commitments(2)	117,400		117,400		—		—		—
Total	Total	$	779,465	$	72,157	$	611,458	$	95,850	$	—	Total	$	775,695	$	178,900	$	120,175	$	471,293	$	5,327



			Page
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (Auditor Firm ID: 238)			8182
Consolidated Balance Sheets			8384
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income			8485
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity			8586
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows			8687
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements			8788
FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Schedule I—Summary of Investments—Other Than Investments in Related Parties as of December 31, ~~2020~~2022			~~116~~118
Schedule II—Condensed Financial Information of Registrant at December 31, ~~2020~~2022 and ~~2019~~2021 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, ~~2020~~2022			~~117~~119
Schedule IV—Reinsurance for the years ended December 31, ~~2020, 2019~~2022, 2021 and ~~2018~~2020			~~121~~123


	December 31,
(In thousands, except per share amounts)	2020		2019
Assets
Investments
Fixed maturities available for sale, at fair value (amortized cost: 2020 — $3,677,815; 2019 — $2,967,225)	$	3,838,513	$	3,035,385
Short-term investments available for sale, at fair value (amortized cost: 2020 — $726,875; 2019 — $315,360)	726,860		315,362
Total investments available for sale	4,565,373		3,350,747
Other invested assets	88,904		78,873
Total investments	4,654,277		3,429,620
Cash	102,830		71,350
Accrued investment income	19,948		18,535
Accounts receivable	50,140		40,655
Deferred policy acquisition costs	17,005		15,705
Property and equipment (at cost, less accumulated depreciation of $60,967 in 2020 and $57,639 in 2019)	15,095		17,308
Prepaid federal income tax	302,636		261,885
Other assets	40,793		18,367
Total assets	$	5,202,724	$	3,873,425

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Liabilities
Reserve for losses and LAE	$	374,941	$	69,362
Unearned premium reserve	250,436		278,887
Net deferred tax liability	305,109		249,620
Credit facility borrowings (at carrying value, less unamortized deferred costs of $3,280 in 2020 and $763 in 2019)	321,720		224,237
Other accrued liabilities	87,885		66,474
Total liabilities	1,340,091		888,580
Commitments and contingencies (see Note 8)	0		0
Stockholders' Equity
Common shares, $0.015 par value:
Authorized - 233,333; issued and outstanding - 112,423 shares in 2020 and 98,394 shares in 2019	1,686		1,476
Additional paid-in capital	1,571,163		1,118,655
Accumulated other comprehensive income	138,274		56,187
Retained earnings	2,151,510		1,808,527
Total stockholders' equity	3,862,633		2,984,845
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$	5,202,724	$	3,873,425


December 31, 2020 (In thousands)		Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gains		Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
December 31, 2022 (In thousands)										December 31, 2022 (In thousands)	Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gains		Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
U.S. Treasury securities	U.S. Treasury securities	$	259,378	$	9,088	$	(22)	$	268,444	U.S. Treasury securities	$	584,173	$	341	$	(28,076)	$	556,438
U.S. agency securities	U.S. agency securities	17,930		155		0		18,085		U.S. agency securities	49,059		7		(8)		49,058
U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	963,670		33,205		(970)		995,905		U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	898,675		258		(115,190)		783,743
Municipal debt securities (1)	Municipal debt securities (1)	513,870		37,662		(15)		551,517		Municipal debt securities (1)	661,934		2,010		(61,254)		602,690
Non-U.S. government securities	Non-U.S. government securities	56,045		5,562		0		61,607		Non-U.S. government securities	69,651		—		(7,252)		62,399
Corporate debt securities (2)	Corporate debt securities (2)	1,070,027		56,864		(379)		1,126,512		Corporate debt securities (2)	1,546,513		1,195		(133,387)		1,414,321
Residential and commercial mortgage securities	Residential and commercial mortgage securities	391,921		18,641		(1,280)		409,282		Residential and commercial mortgage securities	577,915		390		(66,481)		511,824
Asset-backed securities	Asset-backed securities	452,527		3,246		(1,056)		454,717		Asset-backed securities	660,345		72		(35,856)		624,561
Money market funds	Money market funds	679,322		0		(18)		679,304		Money market funds	136,591		—		—		136,591
Total investments available for sale	Total investments available for sale	$	4,404,690	$	164,423	$	(3,740)	$	4,565,373	Total investments available for sale	$	5,184,856	$	4,273	$	(447,504)	$	4,741,625


December 31, 2019 (In thousands)		Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gains		Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
December 31, 2021 (In thousands)										December 31, 2021 (In thousands)	Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gains		Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
U.S. Treasury securities	U.S. Treasury securities	$	239,087	$	3,526	$	(407)	$	242,206	U.S. Treasury securities	$	447,926	$	3,833	$	(2,966)	$	448,793
U.S. agency securities	U.S. agency securities	33,620		36		(51)		33,605		U.S. agency securities	5,501		3		—		5,504
U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	836,710		13,956		(2,332)		848,334		U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	1,005,611		13,365		(10,113)		1,008,863
Municipal debt securities (1)	Municipal debt securities (1)	339,511		22,245		(118)		361,638		Municipal debt securities (1)	598,764		30,122		(1,287)		627,599
Non-U.S. government securities	Non-U.S. government securities	52,230		2,812		(47)		54,995		Non-U.S. government securities	77,366		3,232		(855)		79,743
Corporate debt securities (2)	Corporate debt securities (2)	856,638		24,255		(592)		880,301		Corporate debt securities (2)	1,428,645		36,067		(9,465)		1,455,247
Residential and commercial mortgage securities	Residential and commercial mortgage securities	282,840		6,542		(1,101)		288,281		Residential and commercial mortgage securities	541,638		10,452		(6,667)		545,423
Asset-backed securities	Asset-backed securities	326,589		857		(1,421)		326,025		Asset-backed securities	582,144		1,673		(2,114)		581,703
Money market funds	Money market funds	315,360		2		0		315,362		Money market funds	210,012		—		—		210,012
Total investments available for sale	Total investments available for sale	$	3,282,585	$	74,231	$	(6,069)	$	3,350,747	Total investments available for sale	$	4,897,607	$	98,747	$	(33,467)	$	4,962,887


(In thousands)	Amortized Cost		Fair Value
U.S. Treasury securities:
Due in 1 year	$	78,956	$	79,335
Due after 1 but within 5 years	130,312		134,802
Due after 5 but within 10 years	49,125		53,165
Due after 10 years	985		1,142
Subtotal	259,378		268,444
U.S. agency securities:
Due in 1 year	8,906		8,958
Due after 1 but within 5 years	9,024		9,127
Subtotal	17,930		18,085
Municipal debt securities:
Due in 1 year	6,881		6,892
Due after 1 but within 5 years	91,122		95,567
Due after 5 but within 10 years	235,030		254,387
Due after 10 years	180,837		194,671
Subtotal	513,870		551,517
Non-U.S. government securities:
Due in 1 year	0		0
Due after 1 but within 5 years	22,710		24,257
Due after 5 but within 10 years	24,246		27,680
Due after 10 years	9,089		9,670
Subtotal	56,045		61,607
Corporate debt securities:
Due in 1 year	148,292		149,617
Due after 1 but within 5 years	576,987		602,286
Due after 5 but within 10 years	322,649		350,632
Due after 10 years	22,099		23,977
Subtotal	1,070,027		1,126,512
U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	963,670		995,905
Residential and commercial mortgage securities	391,921		409,282
Asset-backed securities	452,527		454,717
Money market funds	679,322		679,304
Total investments available for sale	$	4,404,690	$	4,565,373


		Less than 12 months				12 months or more				Total					Less than 12 months				12 months or more				Total
December 31, 2020 (In thousands)		Fair Value		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value		Gross Unrealized Losses
December 31, 2022 (In thousands)														December 31, 2022 (In thousands)	Fair Value		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value		Gross Unrealized Losses
U.S. Treasury securities	U.S. Treasury securities	$	28,776	$	(22)	$	0	$	0	$	28,776	$	(22)	U.S. Treasury securities	$	321,848	$	(12,381)	$	169,795	$	(15,695)	$	491,643	$	(28,076)

U.S. agency securities														U.S. agency securities	7,117		(8)		—		—		7,117		(8)
U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	152,671		(924)		3,007		(46)		155,678		(970)		U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities	351,310		(34,193)		415,743		(80,997)		767,053		(115,190)
Municipal debt securities	Municipal debt securities	3,838		(15)		0		0		3,838		(15)		Municipal debt securities	335,784		(41,620)		64,766		(19,634)		400,550		(61,254)

Non-U.S. government securities														Non-U.S. government securities	48,071		(2,914)		14,328		(4,338)		62,399		(7,252)
Corporate debt securities	Corporate debt securities	141,803		(379)		0		0		141,803		(379)		Corporate debt securities	811,217		(69,415)		421,307		(63,972)		1,232,524		(133,387)
Residential and commercial mortgage securities	Residential and commercial mortgage securities	63,203		(777)		9,516		(503)		72,719		(1,280)		Residential and commercial mortgage securities	265,934		(22,628)		242,366		(43,853)		508,300		(66,481)
Asset-backed securities	Asset-backed securities	124,165		(483)		65,897		(573)		190,062		(1,056)		Asset-backed securities	333,080		(15,454)		258,572		(20,402)		591,652		(35,856)
Money market funds		99,995		(18)		0		0		99,995		(18)

Total	Total	$	614,451	$	(2,618)	$	78,420	$	(1,122)	$	692,871	$	(3,740)	Total	$	2,474,361	$	(198,613)	$	1,586,877	$	(248,891)	$	4,061,238	$	(447,504)


QSR Agreement	Coverage Period	Ceding Percentage	Ceding Commission	Profit Commission
QSR-2019	September 1, 2019-December 31, 2020	(1)	20%	63%	(2)
QSR-2022	January 1, 2022-December 31, 2022	20%	20%	62%