NMIH US Equity☆

nmih-20211231

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

OR

Commission file number 001-36174

NMI Holdings, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(855) 530-6642

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered

Class A Common Stock, $.01 par value per share NMIH NASDAQ

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐

Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐No ☒

As of June 30, 2021, the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the calculated aggregate market value of common stock held by non-affiliates was 1,620,671,412.

The number of shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share, of the registrant outstanding on February 11, 2022 was 85,839,783 shares.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant's Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated herein by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the extent stated herein. Such Proxy Statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements 3

PART I 5

Item 1. Business 5

Item 1A. Risk Factors 30

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 55

Item 2. Properties 55

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 55

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 55

Item 6. [Reserved] 56

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 92

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 93

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 130

Item 9B. Other Information 132

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 133

Item 11. Executive Compensation 133

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 133

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 134

Index to Financial Statement Schedules 138

2

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report contains forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward looking. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "could," "may," "predict," "assume," "potential," "should," "will," "estimate," "perceive," "plan," "project," "continuing," "ongoing," "expect," "intend" or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for our future business and financial performance. All forward looking statements are necessarily only estimates of future results, and actual results may differ materially from expectations. You are, therefore, cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements which should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included elsewhere in this report. Further, any forward looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We have based these forward looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, operating results, business strategy and financial needs. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements including, but not limited to:

•uncertainty relating to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the measures taken by governmental authorities and other third parties to combat it, including their impact on the global economy, the U.S. housing, real estate, housing finance and mortgage insurance markets, and our business, operations and personnel;

•changes in the charters, business practices, policy or priorities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively, the GSEs), which may include decisions that have the impact of decreasing or discontinuing the use of mortgage insurance as credit enhancement generally, or with first time homebuyers or on very high loan-to-value mortgages; or changes in the direction of housing policy objectives of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), such as the FHFA's priority to increase the accessibility to and affordability of homeownership for low-and-moderate income borrowers and minority communities;

•our ability to remain an eligible mortgage insurer under the private mortgage insurer eligibility requirements (PMIERs) and other requirements imposed by the GSEs, which they may change at any time;

•retention of our existing certificates of authority in each state and the District of Columbia (D.C.) and our ability to remain a mortgage insurer in good standing in each state and D.C.;

•our future profitability, liquidity and capital resources;

•actions of existing competitors, including other private mortgage insurers and government mortgage insurers such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (collectively, government MIs), and potential market entry by new competitors or consolidation of existing competitors;

•developments in the world's financial and capital markets and our access to such markets, including reinsurance;

•adoption of new or changes to existing laws, rules and regulations that impact our business or financial condition directly or the mortgage insurance industry generally or their enforcement and implementation by regulators, including the implementation of the final rules defining and/or concerning "Qualified Mortgage" and "Qualified Residential Mortgage";

•U.S. federal tax reform and other potential changes in tax law and their impact on us and our operations;

•legislative or regulatory changes to the GSEs' role in the secondary mortgage market or other changes that could affect the residential mortgage industry generally or mortgage insurance industry in particular;

•potential future lawsuits, investigations or inquiries or resolution of current lawsuits or inquiries;

•changes in general economic, market and political conditions and policies, interest rates, inflation and investment results or other conditions that affect the housing market or the markets for home mortgages or mortgage insurance;

3

•our ability to successfully execute and implement our capital plans, including our ability to access the capital, credit and reinsurance markets and to enter into, and receive approval of, reinsurance arrangements on terms and conditions that are acceptable to us, the GSEs and our regulators;

•our ability to implement our business strategy, including our ability to write mortgage insurance on high quality low down payment residential mortgage loans, implement successfully and on a timely basis, complex infrastructure, systems, procedures, and internal controls to support our business and regulatory and reporting requirements of the insurance industry;

•our ability to attract and retain a diverse customer base, including the largest mortgage originators;

•failure of risk management or pricing or investment strategies;

•decrease in the length of time our insurance policies are in force;

•emergence of unexpected claim and coverage issues, including claims exceeding our reserves or amounts we had expected to experience;

•potential adverse impacts arising from natural disasters, including, with respect to affected areas, a decline in new business, adverse effects on home prices, and an increase in notices of default on insured mortgages;

•the inability of our counter-parties, including third-party reinsurers, to meet their obligations to us;

•failure to maintain, improve and continue to develop necessary information technology (IT) systems or the failure of technology providers to perform;

•effectiveness and security of our information technology systems and digital products and services, including the risks these systems, products or services may fail to operate as expected or planned, or expose us to cybersecurity or third-party risks; and

•ability to recruit, train and retain key personnel.

For more information regarding these risks and uncertainties as well as certain additional risks that we face, you should refer to the Risk Factors described in this report in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and elsewhere in this report, including the exhibits hereto.

Unless expressly indicated or the context requires otherwise, the terms "we," "our," "us," "Company" and "NMI" in this document refer to NMI Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its wholly-owned subsidiaries on a consolidated basis.

4

PART I

Item 1. Business

General

We provide mortgage insurance (referred to as mortgage insurance or MI) through our wholly-owned insurance subsidiaries, National Mortgage Insurance Corporation (NMIC) and National Mortgage Reinsurance Inc One (Re One). NMIC and Re One are domiciled in Wisconsin and principally regulated by the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (Wisconsin OCI). NMIC is our primary insurance subsidiary, and is approved as an MI provider by the GSEs and is licensed to write MI coverage in all 50 states and D.C. Our subsidiary, NMI Services, Inc. (NMIS), provides outsourced loan review services to mortgage loan originators and our subsidiary, Re One, historically provided reinsurance coverage to NMIC in accordance with certain statutory risk retention requirements. Such requirements have been repealed and the reinsurance coverage provided by Re One to NMIC has been commuted. Re One remains a wholly-owned, licensed insurance subsidiary; however, it does not currently have active insurance exposures.

MI protects lenders and investors from default-related losses on a portion of the unpaid principal balance of a covered mortgage. MI plays a critical role in the U.S. housing market by mitigating mortgage credit risk and facilitating the secondary market sale of high loan-to-value (LTV) (i.e., above 80%) residential loans to the GSEs, who are otherwise restricted by their charters from purchasing or guaranteeing high-LTV mortgages that are not covered by certain credit protections. Such credit protection and secondary market sales allow lenders to increase their capacity for mortgage commitments and expand financing access to existing and prospective homeowners.

NMI Holdings, Inc. (NMIH), a Delaware corporation, was incorporated in May 2011, and we began start-up operations in 2012 and wrote our first MI policy in 2013. Since formation, we have sought to establish customer relationships with a broad group of mortgage lenders and build a diversified, high-quality insured portfolio. As of December 31, 2021, we had issued master policies with 1,732 customers, including national and regional mortgage banks, money center banks, credit unions, community banks, builder-owned mortgage lenders, internet-sourced lenders and other non-bank lenders. As of December 31, 2021, we had $153.6 billion of total insurance-in-force (IIF), including primary IIF of $152.3 billion, and $38.8 billion of gross risk-in-force (RIF), including primary RIF of $38.7 billion. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we generated new insurance written (NIW) of $85.6 billion. As of December 31, 2021, we had 247 full-time and part-time employees.

We believe that our success in acquiring a large and diverse group of lender customers and growing a portfolio of high-quality IIF traces to our founding principles, whereby we aim to help qualified individuals achieve their homeownership goals, ensure that we remain a strong and credible counter-party, deliver a unique customer service experience, establish a differentiated risk management approach that emphasizes the individual underwriting review or validation of the vast majority of the loans we insure, utilize our proprietary Rate GPS® pricing platform to dynamically evaluate risk and price our policies, and foster a culture of collaboration and excellence that helps us attract and retain experienced industry leaders.

Our strategy is to continue to build on our position in the private MI market, expand our customer base and grow our insured portfolio of high-quality residential loans by focusing on long-term customer relationships, disciplined and proactive risk selection and pricing, fair and transparent claims payment practices, responsive customer service, financial strength and profitability.

Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol "NMIH".

Overview of Residential Mortgage Finance and the Role of the Private MI Industry in the Current Operating Environment

U.S. Residential Mortgage Market

According to statistics published by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the U.S. residential mortgage market is one of the largest in the world, with approximately $12 trillion of mortgage debt outstanding as of December 31, 2021, and includes both primary and secondary components. The primary market consists of lenders originating home loans to borrowers and includes loans made in connection with home purchases, which are referred to as purchase originations, and loans made to refinance existing mortgages, which are referred to as refinancing originations. The secondary market includes institutions that buy and sell mortgages in the form of whole loans or securitized assets, such as mortgage-backed securities.

The U.S. residential mortgage market attracts and involves participation from a range of private and governmental institutions. Private industry participants include national and regional mortgage banks, money center banks, mortgage brokers,

5

community banks, builder-owned mortgage lenders, internet-sourced lenders, commercial, regional and investment banks, savings institutions, credit unions, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other financial institutions. Government participants include government agencies such as the government MIs (e.g., FHA, USDA and VA) and Ginnie Mae, as well as government-sponsored enterprises, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

GSEs

The GSEs are the largest participants in the secondary mortgage market, buying residential mortgages from banks and other primary lenders in connection with their federal mandate to provide liquidity and promote stability in the U.S. housing finance system. The GSEs' charters prohibit them from purchasing or guaranteeing high-LTV loans unless such loans are covered by an authorized form of credit enhancement, including insurance from a GSE-approved MI company, retention by the mortgage seller of at least a 10% participation in the loan or agreement by the seller to repurchase or replace the loan in the event of a default. As the largest participants in the secondary mortgage market, the GSEs are the principal purchasers of mortgages insured by mortgage insurers, including NMIC. As a result, the private MI industry in the U.S. is driven in large part by the GSEs' demand for high-LTV loans, mortgage insurance requirements and business practices. See "Business - U.S. Mortgage Insurance Regulation - GSE Oversight," below.

Mortgage Insurance

MI protects lenders and investors from default-related losses on a portion of the unpaid principal balance of a covered mortgage and plays a central role in the U.S. housing market. MI is provided by both government MIs and private MI companies, such as NMIC, and is primarily geared toward high-LTV loans where borrowers make a down-payment that is less than 20% of the value of a home. MI helps facilitate secondary market sales of such mortgages, primarily to the GSEs, and provides lenders and investors a means to diversify and mitigate their exposure to mortgage credit risk. Such credit protection and secondary market sales allow lenders to increase their capacity for mortgage commitments and expand financing access to existing and prospective homeowners.

Competition

Our competition includes other private mortgage insurers, government MIs and other alternatives designed to eliminate the need for MI, such as piggy-back loans or front-end risk sharing arrangements that do not require private MI on loans sold to the GSEs.

The private MI industry is highly competitive and currently consists of six active participants, including us, Arch Capital Group Ltd., Essent Group Ltd. (Essent), Enact Holdings, Inc. (Enact), MGIC Investment Corporation (MGIC), and Radian Group Inc. (Radian). Private mortgage insurers generally compete based on terms of coverage, underwriting guidelines, pricing, customer service (including speed of MI underwriting and decisioning), availability of ancillary products and services (including training and loan review services), financial strength, customer relationships, name recognition and reputation, the strength of management teams and sales organizations, the effective use of technology, and innovation in the delivery and servicing of insurance products. We expect the MI market to remain competitive, with pressure for industry participants to grow or maintain their market share.

We and other private mortgage insurers also compete directly with the government MI companies, who significantly increased their share in the MI market following the 2008 financial crisis. Prior to the financial crisis, private mortgage insurers accounted for the majority of the insured mortgage origination market. During the financial crisis, the government MIs captured an increasing share of the high-LTV MI market as incumbent private mortgage insurers came under significant financial stress. According to data reported by Inside Mortgage Finance, in 2007, government MIs accounted for 23% of the total insured mortgage origination market. By 2009, government MI share had peaked at approximately 82% of the total insured mortgage origination market. Government MI share has since declined and is estimated to have been 57% in 2021. Previous rate actions and product introductions continue to impact the government mortgage insurers' market share and by extension the private MI market. Although there has been broad policy consensus toward the need for increasing private capital participation and decreasing government exposure to credit risk in the U.S. housing finance system, it remains difficult to predict whether the combined market share of government MIs will recede to pre-2008 levels. A range of factors influence a lender's decision to choose private over government MI, including among others, GSE demand, premium rates and other charges, loan eligibility requirements, cancelability, loan size limits and the relative ease of use of private MI products compared to government MI alternatives.

6

Products and Services

Mortgage Insurance Products

We offer two principal types of MI coverage, primary and pool.

Primary Mortgage Insurance

Primary MI provides default protection on individual mortgage loans at specified coverage percentages. Primary MI is typically written on a flow basis, whereby mortgages are insured on an individual, loan-by-loan basis at the time of origination. Primary MI can also be written on an aggregated basis, whereby each mortgage in a given loan portfolio is individually insured in a single transaction after the point of origination.

All of our primary insurance is written on first-lien mortgage loans, with nearly all secured by owner occupied single-family homes (defined as one-to-four family homes and condominiums). We also write a small amount of primary insurance on first-lien mortgages secured by vacation properties, second homes and investment properties, although we have formal risk policies in place to limit the amount of such business we underwrite.

Lenders select specific coverage levels for each loan insured on a primary basis. For loans sold to a GSE, the coverage level must comply with the requirements established by that GSE. For other loans, lenders determine their desired coverage levels.

IIF is the unpaid principal balance of all insured loans on a given date, and RIF is the product of the coverage percentages multiplied by the IIF on such date. We expect our RIF across all policies written to approximate 25% of primary IIF; however, coverage levels will vary on an individual loan basis between 6% and 35%. Higher coverage percentages generally result in greater amounts paid per claim relative to policies with lower coverage percentages. In general, our premium rates increase as coverage levels increase.

Our maximum obligation with respect to a claim is generally determined by multiplying the selected coverage percentage by the loss amount on an insured loan. The loss amount is defined in the applicable master mortgage insurance policy (together with any related endorsements, a Master Policy) and includes, subject to certain limitations, unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest and certain expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure or sale of the property securing the insured loan. See "Business - Defaults and Claims; Loss Mitigation - Defaults and Claims," below for a description of our claim settlement processes.

The terms of our primary mortgage insurance coverage are governed by the applicable Master Policy, which we issue to each approved lender with which we do business. The Master Policy sets forth the terms and conditions of our MI coverage, including, among others, loan eligibility requirements, coverage terms, premium payment obligations, exclusions or reductions in coverage, rescission and rescission relief provisions, policy administration requirements, conditions precedent to payment of a claim and loss payment procedures. In March 2020, we introduced a new Master Policy (the 2020 Master Policy), which replaced our previous form (the 2014 Master Policy) for MI applications received on and after March 1, 2020. We implemented the 2020 Master Policy, in part, to provide terms of coverage that conform to the requirements of the GSEs' 2018 revised Amended and Restated Rescission Relief Principles (RRPs). The 2020 Master Policy governs the terms of coverage for NIW associated with applications received on or after March 1, 2020. NIW associated with applications received before March 1, 2020 continues to be covered under the 2014 Master Policy. The 2014 Master Policy and 2020 Master Policy (taken together, the Master Policies) are publicly available on our website.

Upon receipt of an insurable loan, we issue a certificate of insurance that extends coverage for such loan under the applicable Master Policy. See "Business - Underwriting," below for a description of our underwriting processes. Our MI coverage attaches at a loan level and remains in effect whether a mortgage is retained by the originating lender or sold, assigned or otherwise transferred in the secondary market. We generally consider the original lender or any subsequent servicer of an insured loan to be our insured or, with respect to subsequent owners and the GSEs, third-party beneficiaries under our Master Policies.

Premium payments for primary MI are the contractual responsibility of our insureds; however, depending on how the loan is structured, the premium payments may be paid by either the lender or the borrower, notwithstanding that the borrower is not a beneficiary under the terms of the policy. Policies with premium payments made by the borrower are referred to as borrower paid mortgage insurance (BPMI) and those with premium payments made by the lender are referred to as lender paid mortgage insurance (LPMI). Lenders may structure loans to recover LPMI premiums from borrowers, including through increases in mortgage note rates or higher origination fees.

7

Our premiums are based on statutory rating rules and rates that we file with various state insurance departments. We establish our premium rates based on models that assess risk across a spectrum of variables, including coverage percentages, LTV ratios, loan and property attributes, borrower debt-to-income (DTI) and credit score profiles, and market and macroeconomic conditions. We have discretion under our rates and rating rules to flex our premium rates to a limited degree, and we may choose to do so for lenders or programs that meet certain criteria. We generally cannot change premium rates on insured loans after coverage is established.

In general, premiums are calculated as a percentage of the original principal balance of an insured loan. We have four premium plans:

•single — entire premium is paid upfront at the time coverage is placed;

•annual — premiums are paid in advance for a subsequent twelve-month period over the life of a policy;

•monthly — premiums are paid in advance on a monthly basis over the life of the policy; and

•Monthly Advantage® — premiums are billed upon our receipt of notice of a mortgage close and then paid in arrears on a monthly basis over the life of the policy.

In general, we may not terminate MI coverage except when an insured fails to pay premium as due or for certain material violations of our Master Policies; although, as discussed below in "Business - Underwriting - Independent Validation and Rescission Relief," the terms of our Master Policies restrict our ability to rescind coverage when certain criteria are met. Insureds may cancel coverage on a loan at any time at their option or upon mortgage repayment, which may be accelerated because a borrower refinances a mortgage or sells the underlying property. GSE guidelines generally provide that a borrower on a GSE-owned or guaranteed loan meeting certain conditions may require their mortgage servicer to cancel BPMI upon the borrower's request when the principal balance of the loan is 80% or less of the property's current assessed value. The federal Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (HOPA) also requires the automatic termination of BPMI on most current loans when the LTV ratio (based on the original value of the underlying property and original amortization schedule of the loan) is first scheduled to reach 78%. The HOPA also provides for cancellation of BPMI upon a borrower's request when the LTV ratio (based on the original value of the underlying property and original amortization schedule of the loan) is first scheduled to reach or, based on actual payments, reaches 80%, upon satisfaction of the conditions set forth in the HOPA, including that the loan be current at the time. In addition, some states impose their own MI notice and cancellation requirements on mortgage loan servicers.

Pool Insurance

Pool insurance is generally used to provide additional "credit enhancement" for certain secondary market mortgage transactions. Pool insurance generally covers the excess of loss on a defaulted mortgage loan that exceeds the claim payment under the primary MI coverage, if such loan has primary coverage, as well as the total loss on a defaulted mortgage loan that did not have primary coverage. Pool insurance may have a stated aggregate loss limit for a pool of loans and may also have a deductible under which no losses are paid by the mortgage insurer until the aggregate loss on the pool of loans exceeds the deductible.

In 2013, NMIC entered into a pool agreement with Fannie Mae, pursuant to which NMIC initially insured 21,921 loans with IIF of $5.2 billion (as of September 1, 2013). Fannie Mae pays monthly premiums for this transaction, which are recorded as written and earned in the month received. The agreement has a term of 10 years from September 1, 2013, the coverage effective date. The RIF to NMIC is $93.1 million, which represents the difference between a deductible payable by Fannie Mae on initial losses and a stop loss above which losses are borne by Fannie Mae. NMIC provides this same level of risk coverage over the term of the agreement. 100% of this pool risk is reinsured under the Company's September 2016 quota-share reinsurance transaction (2016 QSR Transaction), discussed below at "Business - Reinsurance - Third-Party Reinsurance - Quota Share Reinsurance."

We did not write any pool insurance in 2021 and at present do not expect to write any meaningful amount of pool insurance in the near future.

Loan Review Services

We offer outsourced loan review services to mortgage originators through NMIS.In connection with these services, NMIS reviews loan data and documentation and assesses whether individual loan applications comply with the originator's and/or GSEs' underwriting guidelines. We provide loan review services for mortgages that require MI and those that do not. Under the terms of its loan review agreements, NMIS provides customers with limited indemnification against losses for certain material loan review errors. The indemnification may be in the form of monetary or other remedies, subject to per loan and annual limits. NMIS utilizes third-party service providers to conduct individual loan reviews. NMIS third parties have represented and

8

warranted to NMIS that they comply with the requirements of the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act) in all applicable jurisdictions. See "Business - U.S. Mortgage Insurance Regulation - Other U.S. Regulation - SAFE Act," below.

Customers

Since our inception, we have sought to establish customer relationships with a broad group of mortgage lenders. As of December 31, 2021, we had issued Master Policies with 1,732 customers. We classify our customers into two primary categories, which we refer to as "National Accounts" and "Regional Accounts." We consider National Accounts to be the most significant residential mortgage originators as determined by the combined volume of their own "retail" originations and insured business they acquire from "correspondents," or other smaller mortgage originators. National Account lenders primarily sell their loans to the GSEs or, less frequently, to private label secondary markets. National Account lenders may also retain loans they originate or purchase in their portfolios. Regional Account lenders typically originate loans on a local or regional level. Some Regional Account lenders have origination platforms that span multiple regions; however, their primary lending focus is local. Regional Account lenders sell the majority of their origination volume to National Accounts; however, they may also retain loans in their portfolios or sell portions of their production directly to the GSEs.

We further define customers as "centralized" or "decentralized" based on how they manage their mortgage insurance purchasing decisions across each of their MI providers. Centralized lenders make decisions about the placement and choice of private mortgage insurance at a centralized, corporate level. Decentralized lenders make decisions about the placement and choice of private mortgage insurance at a loan level by loan production personnel, such as loan officers, processors, and underwriters. National Account lenders primarily utilize the centralized decision model and Regional Account lenders primarily utilize the decentralized decision model. There are, however, a number of National Account lenders who opt for a decentralized approach and a number of Regional Account lenders who opt for a centralized approach.

The GSEs, as major purchasers of conventional mortgage loans in the U.S., are the primary beneficiaries of our mortgage insurance coverage. Revenues from our customers have been generated in the U.S. only.

Customers exceeding 10% of consolidated revenues

No individual customer accounted for greater than 10% of our consolidated revenues in 2021.

Sales and Marketing

Our sales and marketing efforts are designed to help us establish and maintain high-quality customer relationships. Our sales force consists of qualified mortgage professionals that generally have well-established relationships with industry leading lenders and significant experience in both MI and mortgage lending. We structure our sales force into National Accounts that focus on relationships with national or large regional lenders, and Regional Accounts that focus on relationships with regional lenders, such as community banks, credit unions and mortgage bankers. We also maintain a dedicated customer service team, which we refer to as the Solution Center, which offers support in loan submission and underwriting services as well as risk management and technology to support our sales efforts.

We also have a product development and marketing department that has primary responsibility for the creation, launch and management of our MI products and technological offerings, and coordination of our marketing strategy. Our marketing efforts seek to raise brand awareness through advertising and marketing campaigns, customer training programs, sponsorship of industry and educational events, and our web-based presence and proprietary mobile technology.

Underwriting

We have established underwriting and risk management guidelines based on what we believe to be the major factors that influence the performance of mortgage credit. Our underwriting guidelines incorporate credit eligibility requirements that, among other things, restrict our coverage to mortgages that meet our thresholds with respect to borrower credit scores (FICO), maximum DTI levels, maximum LTVs and documentation requirements. Our underwriting guidelines also limit the coverage we provide for certain higher-risk mortgages, including those for cash-out refinancings, second homes or investment properties.

We gather extensive data, perform detailed loan-level risk analysis and continuously monitor and assess trends in key macroeconomic factors such as housing prices, interest rates and employment, to refine and adapt our underwriting guidelines and pricing assumptions within the context of the current risk environment.

9

We evaluate loans and issue policies through two underwriting platforms:

•Non-Delegated: Customers submit loan information and documentation to us so that we may individually underwrite each application to reach a decision as to whether we will insure a loan. On receipt of a non-delegated submission, we review the information, documentation and data provided by the lender to underwrite the MI application.

•Delegated: We provide eligible customers who have been vetted and approved, and comply with a defined set of delegated underwriting program requirements with the ability to directly underwrite our policies and bind our coverage based on pre-established eligibility rules, approved underwriting guidelines and according to the terms of our Master Policies. We offer delegated underwriting to lenders that have a track record of originating quality mortgage loans and meet our delegated authority approval requirements. To complete the underwriting process and bind coverage, delegated lenders are required to provide us with certain loan characteristics to demonstrate such loans meet our threshold eligibility rules. Our delegated eligibility rules are programmed into our insurance management system, which provides us the ability to automatically reject policies that fail to meet threshold requirements.

Lenders elect whether to be non-delegated or delegated customers at the time they apply to become Master Policy holders. Non-delegated lenders deliver all MI applications to us on a non-delegated basis. Certain delegated lenders may choose to deliver some or all of their MI applications to us on a non-delegated basis, but retain their authority to underwrite our MI on a delegated basis.

We employ a team of experienced underwriters who review and evaluate our non-delegated loan submissions. Our underwriters are located remotely, facilitating our ability to service our customers nationwide across the different time zones. We also engage third-party underwriting service providers (USPs) who provide us with incremental underwriting capacity. We train and require our USPs to follow the same processes and underwriting guidelines that our own employees follow when rendering insurance decisions.

We have processes in place to manage the risk associated with outsourcing a component of our underwriting function. In collaboration with our USPs' management teams, we monitor our USPs' day-to-day underwriting performance and MI decisioning. We also review the qualifications of each individual underwriter assigned by our USPs to service our account and provide them with NMI specific systems and guideline training to ensure they have the necessary training to render underwriting decisions consistent with our underwriting guidelines and credit policies. Our outsourcing agreements require our USPs to perform and provide us with the results of internal quality control reviews on a periodic basis. Individual underwriters with unacceptable performance records are monitored and generally subject to replacement with 30 days' notice. We also perform quarterly quality control reviews of a statistically relevant sample of our non-delegated underwriting decisions, including those made by our USPs.

Our business has been subject to modest seasonality in NIW production. Consistent with the seasonality of home sales, purchase origination volumes typically increase in late spring and peak during the summer months, leading to a rise in NIW volume during the second and third quarters of a given year. Refinancing volume, however, does not follow a set seasonal trend and instead is primarily influenced by mortgage rates. An increase in refinancing volume may limit the seasonal effect of home purchase patterns on mortgage insurance NIW.

Independent Validation and Rescission Relief

We offer post-closing underwriting reviews, which we refer to as "independent validations," for both non-delegated and delegated loans, as described below. Upon satisfactory completion of an independent validation, which involves reviewing certain post-close documentation to confirm our original assessment of non-delegated loans and performing a comprehensive full-file review for delegated loans, we agree – on an accelerated basis – that we will not rescind coverage under most circumstances. We refer to such accelerated agreement as "early rescission relief."

Our Master Policies generally provide us with the ability to rescind coverage of a loan if there are material misrepresentations, significant underwriting defects and/or fraud later identified in the origination process of such loan. When we rescind coverage of a loan, we cancel the certificate as of the original certificate effective date and return all premiums received related to the impacted loan. Rescission relief generally limits our ability to pursue rescission rights, except under certain life-of-coverage exclusions, such as fraud and pattern activity. Rescission relief also limits our ability to initiate certain investigations or to request information from our insureds.

10

In September 2018, the GSEs issued revised RRPs that outline the rescission relief provisions that are generally required to be included in the master policies of GSE-approved mortgage insurers. Under our 2014 Master Policy, a loan may be eligible for early rescission relief if the borrower has made the first 12 mortgage payments on time and we have satisfactorily completed our independent validation. Under the 2020 Master Policy, which incorporates the RRPs, a loan may be eligible for early rescission relief following our satisfactory completion of an independent validation, with no set requirement for a minimum number of timely mortgage payments by the borrower.

Insured loans that do not qualify for early rescission relief may still achieve rescission relief based on a borrower's payment history at the 36th or 60th month, provided the conditions in the applicable Master Policy are satisfied. Under the Master Policies, if a lender has elected not to pursue independent validation and early rescission relief, a loan is still eligible for rescission relief if it is current after 36 months and the borrower has had no more than two 30-day delinquencies and no 60-day or greater delinquencies during such 36-month period. The 2020 Master Policy further provides for a sunset of our rescission rights at the 60-month anniversary of the inception of coverage of an insured loan, provided such loan is then current or subsequently cures and all payments due on the loan have been made with a borrower's own funds.

Lenders have the ability to select whether or not to pursue early rescission relief and subject their insured loans to our post-close independent validation processes. Non-delegated lenders who pursue independent validation are required to submit additional loan documentation post-closing that allows us to independently validate such loans, including a loan's closing disclosures, note, executed mortgage and title insurance commitment. Our 2020 Master Policy provides for a "closing document exception," which permits eligible non-delegated lenders to obtain early rescission relief without post-close independent validations of qualifying loans, if the borrower timely makes the first 12 mortgage payments from their own funds. Loans from non-delegated lenders who do not pursue or submit the documentation necessary for us to complete our independent validation, and are not eligible for a closing document exception remain eligible for 36 or 60-month rescission relief in accordance with the terms of the applicable Master Policy.

Delegated lenders who pursue early rescission relief and subject their insured loans to our post-close independent validation process are required to submit a full file (which contains all the underwriting information and documentation otherwise required by us for a non-delegated underwrite and the above-referenced post-closing documentation) after a loan's coverage effective date. We refer to our independent validation of delegated loans as our "Delegated Assurance Review" or "DAR" process. Through DAR, we assess and validate the MI underwriting process and decisions made by our delegated customers on an individual loan level basis. Loans from delegated lenders who do not pursue or submit the documentation necessary for us to complete our DAR process remain eligible for 36 or 60-month rescission relief in accordance with the terms of the applicable Master Policy.

All loans, whether included in our post-close validation processes or not, are eligible for review under our quality control (QC) process, and such QC reviews qualify as independent validations for such loans, making them eligible for early rescission relief.

We engage USPs to perform the majority of our delegated and non-delegated independent validation work. As with our non-delegated USPs, we review the qualifications of each individual underwriter engaged by our USPs to service our account and provide them with NMI specific systems and guideline training to ensure they have the necessary training to render independent validation decisions consistent with our underwriting guidelines and credit policies.

Policy Pricing

We utilize a proprietary risk-based pricing platform, which we refer to as Rate GPS, to establish individualized premium rates for most new loans that we insure based on our modeled view of the relative risk and anticipated performance of each loan. Rate GPS considers a broad range of variables, including property type, type of loan product, borrower credit characteristics, and lender and market factors, and provides us with the ability to set and charge premium rates commensurate with the underlying risk of each loan that we insure.

We introduced Rate GPS in June 2018 to replace our previous rate card pricing system. While most of our new business is priced through Rate GPS, we continue to offer a rate card pricing option to a limited number of lender customers who require a rate card for business process reasons.

Our pricing approach targets through-the-cycle returns that exceed our cost of capital. We believe that Rate GPS provides us with a more granular and analytical approach to evaluating and pricing risk, and that it enhances our ability to continue building a high-quality mortgage insurance portfolio and delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns.

11

Policy Servicing

Our Policy Servicing Department is responsible for various servicing activities related to our Master Policies and certificate administration, premium billing and payment processing. Our Policy Servicing Department primarily interfaces with our insureds' mortgage loan servicers. Some insureds retain the servicing rights and responsibilities for their own loan originations, while others transfer such rights and responsibilities to third-party servicers. A residential mortgage loan servicer handles the day-to-day tasks of managing a lender's loan portfolio, including processing borrowers' loan payments, paying MI premiums to the mortgage insurer, responding to borrower inquiries, keeping track of principal and interest payments, managing escrow accounts and initiating loss mitigation and foreclosure activities. We assign servicing specialists to our servicers to assist with day-to-day transactions and monitoring of insured loans.

Over time, a servicer may change on an insured loan if the related servicing rights are transferred to a different servicer during the life of such loan. Servicing rights and responsibilities related to an insured loan may be sold, assigned or transferred, subject to all of the terms and conditions of the applicable Master Policy. Under the Master Policies, if the servicing rights for an insured loan are sold, assigned or transferred to a servicer we approve, coverage of the loan will continue. We have the right under our Master Policies to revoke approval of a servicer; if the impacted insureds wish to maintain coverage of insured loans serviced by the disapproved provider, such insureds must find another servicer that we approve.

Our policies and procedures accommodate various methods for servicers to communicate loan and certificate information to us. Our Master Policies require our insureds, typically through their servicers, to regularly provide us with reports regarding the statuses of their insured loans, including information on both current and delinquent loans. Generally, servicers submit reports to us on a monthly basis. We are currently integrated with the two largest third-party mortgage servicing systems, Black Knight Financial Services and FiServ. We are also integrated directly with certain lender customers who manage their own servicing systems. These parties' servicing platforms are used by the majority of our larger servicing accounts to exchange billing, payment and certificate level information on a daily or monthly basis. Servicers may also use our own external facing servicing website to process their servicing transactions.

Defaults and Claims; Loss Mitigation

Defaults and Claims

The MI claim cycle begins with the receipt of a Notice of Default (NOD) for an insured loan from a loan servicer. Generally, our Master Policies require our insureds to notify us after a loan is two payments in arrears. We include a loan in our default population and establish claim reserves on such loan when we have received notice from the servicer that as of a particular payment date, the borrower has missed the preceding two or more consecutive monthly payments. The incidence of default is affected by a variety of factors, many of which are unforeseen, including a borrowers' loss of income, unemployment, divorce, illness or death. Defaults that are not cured result in a claim to us. A default may be cured by a borrower remitting all delinquent loan payments, achieving a modification of loan terms, or refinancing the loan or selling the property and satisfying all amounts due under the loan.

Claims result from foreclosures following uncured defaults, losses on approved pre-foreclosure short sales (short sales) or borrowers surrendering their property deeds to their lenders in lieu of foreclosure (deeds-in-lieu). A range of factors impact the frequency and severity of claims, including the macroeconomic environment, local housing prices, loan and borrower level risk profiles, and the size and coverage level of a loan. If a default is not cured and we receive a claim, we refund any unearned premium collected between the date of default and the date of the claim payment.

Our claim exposure includes, subject to certain limitations, the covered portion of unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest (subject to a three-year limit) and certain expenses incurred in connection with the default and subsequent foreclosure or sale of the property securing the insured loan.

Under the terms of our Master Policies, our insureds are generally required to file claims within 60 days of acquiring title to a property securing an insured loan (typically through foreclosure) or when there has been an approved short sale. In the years following the 2008 financial crisis, foreclosure timelines and the average time from initial default by a borrower to MI claim submission extended due to legislation and GSE programs requiring mortgage servicers to mitigate losses by offering forbearance and loan modifications prior to pursuing foreclosure on delinquent loans.

Such timelines have been further extended in connection with legislation and GSE action following the onset of the COVID pandemic to aid distressed borrowers. On March 27, 2020, the U.S. Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Among many other things, the CARES Act suspended foreclosures and evictions for at least 60 days from March 18, 2020 on mortgages purchased or securitized by the GSEs, with the moratorium later extended by the

12

GSEs through September 30, 2021. In addition, the CARES Act provides for payment forbearance to borrowers facing hardship caused by COVID-19 for up to 360 days. Consistent with the CARES Act, the GSEs permit payment forbearance for borrowers facing financial hardship from COVID-19 for a cumulative twelve-month term, and for certain borrowers, if their hardships have not been resolved at the end of the twelve-month term, they may extend their forbearance terms for up to six additional months.

We have rights under our Master Policies to deny a claim under certain conditions, such as when a loan servicer does not produce documents necessary to perfect a claim or when the reason for the underlying loss associated with a claim is not covered by our Master Policies.

When we approve a claim, our Master Policies give us the option to pay (i) the coverage percentage specified for a loan, with the insured retaining title to the underlying property and receiving all proceeds from an eventual sale of the property (the percentage option), (ii) the actual loss incurred by the insured upon sale of the property to a third party, if less than the percentage option, or (iii) the insured's claim amount (as calculated in the applicable Master Policy) in exchange for the insured's conveyance of good and marketable title to the property to us. If we elect to receive title to a property, we will market and sell the acquired property and retain all proceeds.

Loss Mitigation

Before paying a claim, we review loan and servicing files to determine the appropriateness of the claim submission and claim amount, and to ensure we only pay for expenses covered under the applicable Master Policy. We periodically receive claims submissions that include costs and expenses not covered by our Master Policies, such as mortgage insurance premiums, hazard insurance premiums for periods after the claim date and losses resulting from property damage that has not been repaired, and deny coverage for such items. Our Master Policies also provide us with the ability to reduce or deny a claim if the servicer did not comply with its obligations, including a requirement to pursue reasonable loss mitigation efforts. Such efforts may include pursuing foreclosure or bankruptcy relief in a timely and diligent manner. We deem a reduction in the claim amount to be a "curtailment."

Under our Master Policies, insureds, typically through their servicers, must obtain prior approval from us before executing a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, short sale or loan modification. Our right to pre-approve these transactions provides us the ability to mitigate actual or potential loss on an insured loan by ensuring that properties are being marketed and sold at reasonable values and that, in appropriate cases, borrowers are offered modified loan terms that are structured to help them sustain their mortgage payments. Proceeds from approved third-party sales occurring before we settle a claim are factored into the claim settlement and can often mitigate the size of the insurance benefit we are responsible to pay. In connection with our approval rights for short sales or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions, our Master Policies also provide us the right to obtain a contribution from borrowers with appropriate financial capacity, either in the form of cash or promissory notes, to cover a portion of our claim payments. We have entered into delegation agreements with the GSEs that provide them and their designated servicers the right to approve certain transactions on our behalf including pre-foreclosure sales, deeds-in-lieu and loan modifications for most GSE-owned loans that we insure.

Reinsurance

Internal Reinsurance

Prior to January 10, 2019, Ohio regulation limited the amount of risk a mortgage insurer was permitted to retain on a single loan to 25% of the borrower's indebtedness (after giving effect to third-party reinsurance) and, as a result, the portion of such insurance in excess of 25% was required to be reinsured. Ohio has repealed this requirement for future periods beginning January 10, 2019. Several other states previously imposed the same or similar coverage restrictions and repealed these measures prior to 2018. NMIC and Re One had a reinsurance agreement in place under which Re One provides reinsurance to NMIC on certain insured loans with coverage levels in excess of 25%, after giving effect to third-party reinsurance. As these state coverage limits have been repealed, the reinsurance coverage provided by Re One to NMIC has been commuted. Re One does not currently have active insurance exposures.

Third-Party Reinsurance

We utilize third-party reinsurance to actively manage our risk, ensure compliance with PMIERs, state regulatory and other applicable capital requirements and support the growth of our business. We currently have both excess of loss and quota share reinsurance agreements in place.

13

Excess-of-loss reinsurance

NMIC is a party to reinsurance agreements with Oaktown Re Ltd., Oaktown Re II Ltd., Oaktown Re III Ltd., Oaktown Re IV Ltd., Oaktown Re V Ltd., Oaktown Re VI Ltd., and Oaktown Re VII Ltd. (special purpose reinsurance entities collectively referred to as the Oaktown Re Vehicles) effective May 2, 2017, July 25, 2018, July 30, 2019, July 30, 2020, October 29, 2020, April 27, 2021, and October 26, 2021, respectively. Each agreement provides it with aggregate excess-of-loss reinsurance coverage on defined portfolios of mortgage insurance policies. Under each agreement, NMIC retains a first layer of aggregate loss exposure on covered policies and the respective Oaktown Re Vehicle then provides second layer loss protection up to a defined reinsurance coverage amount. NMIC then retains losses in excess of the respective reinsurance coverage amounts.

Under the terms of each excess-of-loss reinsurance agreement, the Oaktown Re Vehicles are required to fully collateralize their outstanding reinsurance coverage amount to NMIC with funds deposited into segregated reinsurance trusts. Such trust funds are required to be invested in short-term U.S. Treasury money market funds at all times. Each Oaktown Re Vehicle financed its respective collateral requirement through the issuance of mortgage insurance-linked notes to unaffiliated investors. Such insurance-linked notes mature ten years from the inception date of each reinsurance agreement (except the notes issued by Oaktown Re VI Ltd. and Oaktown Re VII Ltd., which have a 12.5 year maturity). We refer to NMIC's reinsurance agreements with and the insurance-linked note issuances by Oaktown Re Vehicles individually as the 2017 ILN Transaction, 2018 ILN Transaction, 2019 ILN Transaction, 2020-1 ILN Transaction, 2020-2 ILN Transaction, 2021-1 ILN Transaction, and 2021-2 ILN Transaction, and collectively as the ILN Transactions.

The respective reinsurance coverage amounts provided by the Oaktown Re Vehicles decrease over a ten-year period or 12.5 year, as applicable, as the underlying insured mortgages are amortized or repaid, and/or the mortgage insurance coverage is canceled. As the reinsurance coverage decreases, a prescribed amount of collateral held in trust by the Oaktown Re Vehicles is distributed to ILN Transaction noteholders as amortization of the outstanding insurance-linked note principal balances. The outstanding reinsurance coverage amounts stop amortizing, and the collateral distribution to ILN Transaction noteholders and amortization of insurance-linked note principal is suspended if certain credit enhancement or delinquency thresholds, as defined in each agreement, are triggered (each, a Lock-Out Event). A Lock-Out Event was deemed to have occurred, effective June 25, 2020 for each of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 ILN Transactions (related to the default experience of the underlying reference pools for each respective transaction) and at inception of the 2021-1 and 2021-2 ILN Transaction (related to the initial build of its target credit enhancement), and the amortization of reinsurance coverage, and distribution of collateral assets and amortization of insurance-linked notes was suspended for each such ILN Transaction. The amortization of reinsurance coverage, distribution of collateral assets and amortization of insurance-linked notes will remain suspended for the duration of the Lock-Out Event for each such ILN Transaction, and during such period assets will be preserved in the applicable reinsurance trust account to collateralize the excess-of-loss reinsurance coverage provided to NMIC. Effective November 30, 2021, the Lock-Out Event for the 2017 ILN Transaction was deemed to have cleared and amortization of the associated reinsurance coverage, and distribution of collateral assets and amortization of the associated insurance-linked notes resumed.

The following table presents the inception date, covered production period, initial reinsurance coverage amount and initial and first layer retained aggregate loss under each of the ILN Transactions.

(1) NMIC applies claims paid on covered policies against its first layer aggregate retained loss exposure and cedes reserves for incurred claims and claims expenses to each applicable ILN Transaction and recognizes a reinsurance recoverable if such incurred claims and claims expenses exceed its current first layer retained loss.

(2) Approximately 1% of the production covered by the 2020-2 ILN Transaction has coverage reporting dates between July 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020.

(3) Approximately 1% of the production covered by the 2021-1 ILN Transaction has coverage reporting dates between July 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020.

(4) Approximately 2% of the production covered by the 2021-2 ILN Transaction has coverage reporting dates between July 1, 2019 and March 31, 2021.

14

(5) As of December 31, 2021, the current reinsurance coverage amount on the 2021-1 ILN and 2021-2 ILN Transactions is equal to the initial reinsurance coverage amount, as the reinsurance coverage provided by the associated Oaktown Re vehicles will not decrease until a target credit enhancement level is met.

NMIC holds optional termination rights under each ILN Transaction, including, among others, an optional call feature which provides NMIC the discretion to terminate the transaction on or after a prescribed date, and a clean-up call if the outstanding reinsurance coverage amount amortizes to 10% or less of the reinsurance coverage amount at inception or if NMIC reasonably determines that changes to GSE or rating agency asset requirements would cause a material and adverse effect on the capital treatment afforded to NMIC under a given agreement. In addition, there are certain events that trigger mandatory termination of an agreement, including NMIC's failure to pay premiums or consent to reductions in a trust account to make principal payments to noteholders, among others.

Quota share reinsurance

Under a quota share reinsurance agreement, the ceding insurer pays a premium in exchange for coverage on an agreed-upon portion of incurred losses. Quota share arrangements reduce net premiums written and earned and also reduce net RIF, providing capital relief to the ceding insurer and reducing incurred claims in accordance with the terms of the reinsurance agreement. In addition, reinsurers typically pay ceding commissions as part of quota share transactions, which offset the ceding company's acquisition and underwriting expenses. Certain quota share agreements include profit commissions that are earned based on loss performance and serve to reduce ceded premiums. NMIC is a party to five active quota share reinsurance treaties – the 2016 QSR Transaction, effective September 1, 2016, the 2018 QSR Transaction, effective January 1, 2018 and the 2020 QSR Transaction, effective April 1, 2020, the 2021 QSR Transaction, effective January 1, 2021 and the 2022 QSR Transaction, effective October 1, 2021 – which we refer to collectively as the QSR Transactions.

Under the terms of the 2016 QSR Transaction, NMIC cedes premiums written related to 25% of the risk on eligible primary policies written for all periods through December 31, 2017 and 100% of the risk under our pool agreement with Fannie Mae, in exchange for reimbursement of ceded claims and claim expenses on covered policies, a 20% ceding commission, and a profit commission of up to 60% that varies directly and inversely with ceded claims.

Under the terms of the 2018 QSR Transaction, NMIC cedes premiums earned related to 25% of the risk on eligible policies written in 2018 and 20% of the risk on eligible policies written in 2019, in exchange for reimbursement of ceded claims and claim expenses on covered policies, a 20% ceding commission, and a profit commission of up to 61% that varies directly and inversely with ceded claims.

Under the terms of the 2020 QSR Transaction, NMIC cedes premiums earned related to 21% of the risk on eligible policies written from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, in exchange for reimbursement of ceded claims and claim expenses on covered policies, a 20% ceding commission, and a profit commission of up to 50% that varies directly and inversely with ceded claims.

Under the terms of the 2021 QSR Transaction, NMIC cedes premiums earned related to 22.5% of the risk on eligible policies written in 2021 (subject to an aggregate risk written limit which was exhausted on October 31, 2021), in exchange for reimbursement of ceded claims and claim expenses on covered policies, a 20% ceding commission, and a profit commission of up to 57.5% that varies directly and inversely with ceded claims.

Under the terms of the 2022 QSR Transaction, NMIC cedes premiums earned related to 20% of the risk on eligible policies written primarily between November 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022, in exchange for reimbursement of ceded claims and claims expenses on covered policies, a 20% ceding commission, and a profit commission of up to 62% that varies directly and inversely with ceded claims.

In connection with the 2022 QSR Transaction, NMIC entered into an additional back-to-back quota share agreement that is scheduled to incept on January 1, 2023 (the 2023 QSR Transaction). Under the terms of the 2023 QSR Transactions, NMIC will cede premiums earned related to 20% of the risk on eligible policies written between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023, in exchange for reimbursement of ceded claims and claims expenses on covered policies, a 20% ceding commission, and a profit commission of up to 62% that varies directly and inversely with ceded claims.

NMIC may elect to terminate its engagement with individual reinsurers on a run-off basis (i.e., reinsurers continue providing coverage on all risk ceded prior to the termination date, with no new cessions going forward) or cut-off basis (i.e., the reinsurance arrangement is completely terminated with NMIC recapturing all previously ceded risk) under certain circumstances. Such selective termination rights arise when, among other reasons, a reinsurer experiences a deterioration in its

15

capital position below a prescribed threshold and/or a reinsurer breaches (and fails to cure) its collateral posting obligations under the relevant agreement.

Effective April 1, 2019, NMIC elected to terminate its engagement with one reinsurer under the 2016 QSR Transaction on a cut-off basis. In connection with the termination, ceded premiums written under the 2016 QSR Transaction decreased from 25% to 20.5% on eligible policies. The termination had no effect on the cession of pool risk under the 2016 QSR Transaction.

For further discussion of the effect of reinsurance on our business, see Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Conditions and Trends Impacting our Business - Net Premiums Written and Net Premiums Earned - Effect of reinsurance on our results."

Enterprise Risk Management

We have established enterprise wide policies, procedures and processes to allow us to identify, assess, monitor and manage credit market and operational risks in our business, as well as other risks discussed below in Item 1A, "Risk Factors." Management of these risks is an interdepartmental endeavor including specific operational responsibilities and ongoing senior management and compliance personnel oversight. The Risk Committee of our Board of Directors (Board) has responsibility for oversight and review of our enterprise risk management approach and is supported by a management enterprise risk committee comprised of senior members of our management team and led by our Head of Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk. Our internal audit function, which reports to the Audit Committee of our Board, provides independent ongoing assessments of our management of certain enterprise risks and reports its findings to our Board's Risk Committee. Our internal audit function also engages external resources to assist in the assessment of enterprise risks and our related control and monitoring processes.

Credit Market Risk

We have implemented a complementary range of strategies to actively monitor and manage the credit performance of our insured portfolio, including:

•establishing prudential underwriting standards and loan-level eligibility matrices which describe the maximum LTV, minimum FICO, maximum borrower DTI ratio, maximum loan size, property type and occupancy status of loans that we will insure, and memorializing these standards and eligibility matrices in our underwriting guidelines;

•conducting diligence of our lender customers before and after we formally engage with them to ensure they have appropriate financial resources, operational capabilities, management experience and a track record of strong origination quality, and subjecting them to well-defined parameters regarding underwriting delegation status, credit guideline requirements and, on a more limited basis, variances;

•implementing a quality control process to ensure ongoing adherence with our underwriting guidelines and eligibility criteria, under which our quality control group performs audits of insured loans identified on a random, high risk and targeted basis to measure the quality of the underwriting decision and loan closing process, and specifically assess the accuracy and adequacy of the information and documentation used to underwrite our MI;

•setting concentration limits to regulate the aggregation of loan-level risks in our overall portfolio and manage our overall portfolio exposure to certain risk classes that typically experience greater volatility and loss during periods of economic and housing market downturns, such as higher LTV loans, loans with higher borrower DTIs, investor loans, cash-out refinances, certain state concentration levels and several other borrower or loan attributes;

•individually underwriting the significant majority of the loans we insure through our non-delegated platform and DAR validation process, in order to evaluate borrower and loan-level risk characteristics on an individual policy level, and monitor and assess the manufacturing capabilities of our lender customers in order to provide them feedback to help enhance their own production and control processes;

•deploying Rate GPS, our proprietary risk-based pricing platform, to dynamically consider a granular set of risk attributes in our policy pricing process and assign individualized premium rates based on the relative risk and anticipated performance of each loan we insure;

•further utilizing Rate GPS to actively manage the flow of business into our portfolio and target loans with higher quality risk characteristics that typically experience lower volatility and loss across market cycles; and

•securing reinsurance coverage under quota share and excess-of-loss transactions that are structured to absorb losses in periods of economic and/or housing market stress and, in doing so, mitigate the impact of credit volatility on our financial results.

16

We view our comprehensive approach to credit risk management as a core competency and believe that it provides us with the ability to actively manage the aggregation of borrower default risk in our insured loan portfolio and mitigate the impact of such exposure under a range of macroeconomic scenarios.

Operational Risk

Operational risks are inherent in our daily business activities, and include, among others, the risk of damage to physical assets, reliance on outside vendors, continued access to qualified underwriting resources, cyber security threats, including breaches of our system or other compromises resulting in unauthorized access to confidential, private and proprietary information, reliance on a complex IT system and employee fraud or negligence. We seek to manage our operational exposures through a variety of standard risk management practices and procedures, such as purchasing hazard and cyber insurance coverage, maintaining oversight of third-party vendors, establishing IT system redundancy and security and disaster recovery practices, maintaining internal controls and ensuring appropriate segregation of duties.

Information Technology Systems and Intellectual Property

We rely on information technology to directly engage with our lender customers, receive MI applications and supporting documentation, streamline our underwriting and validation processes, deliver binding policy certificates, and facilitate post-close MI policy servicing. Our customers and regulators require us to provide and service our products in a secure manner, either electronically via our internet website or through direct electronic data transmissions.

We have invested in our infrastructure and technology through the design, development, integration and implementation of what we believe is an efficient, secure, scalable platform that supports our current business activities and provides capacity for significant future growth. We underwrite and service our MI portfolio within this proprietary insurance management platform, which we refer to as AXIS.

Since the initial development of AXIS, we have continued to upgrade and enhance our systems and technical capabilities, including:

•deploying technology that enables our customers to transact business faster and easier, whether via a secure internet connection or through a secure system-to-system interface;

•integrating our platform with third-party technology providers used by our customers in their loan origination process to price and order our MI and in their servicing processes for servicing and maintaining their MI policies;

•implementing advanced document and business process management software that focuses on improving our underwriting productivity and that may also be used to improve our quality assurance and loss management functions;

•launching our award-winning mobile applications, which enable customers to view and access information through mobile devices, including our premium rate calculators, guideline updates and other resources and information notices; and

•designing, developing and deploying Rate GPS, our risk-based pricing platform, which allows us to dynamically consider a granular set of risk attributes in our policy pricing process and assign individualized rates based on the relative risk and anticipated performance of each loan we insure.

We utilize and develop technology that enhances our current operating capabilities and supports future growth, while allowing us to realize current efficiencies. Effective March 31, 2020, we entered into an agreement with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), under which TCS provides IT services over a seven year period across such functions as application development and support, infrastructure support and information security. Our engagement with TCS has enhanced our ability to provide innovative IT solutions for our internal and external constituents, while allowing us to realize cost efficiencies by leveraging TCS's global platform. In connection with the agreement, a majority of our IT employees at that time transitioned to TCS.

Investment Portfolio

Our primary objectives with respect to our investment portfolio are to preserve capital and generate investment income, while maintaining sufficient liquidity to cover our operating needs. We aim to achieve diversification as to type, quality, maturity, industry and issuer. At December 31, 2021, our investment portfolio was comprised entirely of investment grade fixed maturity securities, including U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of U.S. government agencies, municipal debt securities, corporate debt securities, and asset-backed securities. We also held short-term investments, such as commercial paper.

17

We have adopted an investment policy that defines, among other things, eligible and ineligible investments, concentration limits for asset types, industry sectors, single issuers, and certain credit ratings, and includes benchmarks for asset duration. Our investments are rated by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. Our investment policies and strategies are subject to change depending upon regulatory, economic and market conditions, and our existing or anticipated financial condition and operating requirements.

We engage a third-party investment manager Allspring Global Investments, formerly Wells Capital Management, Inc., to assist with day-to-day management of our portfolio and implementation of our investment policy.

Human Capital Management

As of December 31, 2021, we had 247 full-time and part-time employees, including 83 who typically work at our corporate headquarters in Emeryville, CA and 164 who typically work from home in locations across the country. We also engage third-party vendors to provide IT, underwriting and other support services.

Our ability to operate efficiently and profitably, to offer products and services that meet the expectations of our customers, and to maintain an effective risk management framework is highly dependent on the competence and integrity of our employees, as well as the employees of the third-party service providers, vendors and others whom we engage.

We prioritize human capital management with the goal of attracting, retaining and developing a high-quality, diverse employee base and aim to foster an employee-driven, collaborative and productive work environment that emphasizes balance between organizational, community and personal goals. We offer competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package that includes annual cash bonuses and equity grants, life, health and supplemental (dental and vision) insurance, paid time off, paid parental leave, emergency backup child and elder care, a 401(k) plan with employer matching contributions, and programs to support employee mental, physical and financial well-being. We grant equity to every one of our employees annually and offer mortgage assistance to support our employees who are first-time homebuyers. We also encourage and support our employees to continue their educational and professional development with tuition reimbursement and student loan payback programs, and provide paid time off for volunteer activities to allow employees to give back to their communities.

We value diversity as a company and believe that diverse perspectives promote innovation and are crucial to the long-term success of our business. We are committed to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplace, and have aimed to create an environment that welcomes and supports differences and encourages input and ideas from all. We have and will continue to take action to (i) enhance cultural awareness throughout the organization by creating substantive learning opportunities for all employees; (ii) broaden our leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership development; (iii) seek and support diverse backgrounds on our Board of Directors and amongst our management team; (iv) address potential bias during our hiring, promotion, and evaluation processes; (v) support an inclusive corporate culture; and (vi) engage in initiatives that foster economic mobility, community development and financial education. We require our third-party recruiting firms to seek and source diverse candidates and have established an employee inclusion committee to further diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across our company. Inclusion committee members reflect a cross-functional and diverse employee mix by gender, ethnicity, race, age and tenure, and work to address diversity topics in areas such as employee and leadership composition, vendor diversity and cultural community outreach.

In 2021, we were recognized as a Great Place to Work® for the sixth consecutive year. Great Place to Work is a global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and leadership, and partners with FORTUNE magazine to produce the annual FORTUNE "100 Best Companies to Work For” list.

Available Information

Our principal office is located at 2100 Powell Street, 12th floor, Emeryville, CA 94608. Our main telephone number is (855) 530 - NMIC (6642), and our website address is www.nationalmi.com. Copies of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In addition, a written copy of the Company's Business Conduct Policy, containing our code of ethics that is applicable to all of our directors, officers and employees, is available on our website. Information contained or referenced on our website is not incorporated by reference into, and does not form a part of, this report.

18

U.S. MORTGAGE INSURANCE REGULATION

As discussed below, private mortgage insurers operating in the U.S. are subject to comprehensive state and federal regulation and to significant oversight by the GSEs, the primary beneficiaries of our insurance coverage. NMIC and Re One are principally regulated by our domiciliary and primary regulator, the Wisconsin OCI and by state insurance departments in each state in which these companies are licensed. We are also significantly impacted and, in some cases, directly regulated by federal laws and regulations affecting the housing finance system.

We believe that a strong, viable private MI market is a critical component of the U.S. housing finance system. We routinely meet with regulatory agencies, including our state insurance regulators and the FHFA, the GSEs, our customers and other industry participants to promote the role and value of private mortgage insurance and exchange views on the U.S. housing finance system. We believe we have an open dialogue with the Wisconsin OCI and often share our views on current matters regarding the MI industry. We actively participate in industry discussions regarding potential changes to the laws impacting private mortgage insurers and the regulatory environment. We intend to continue to promote legislative and regulatory policies that support a viable and competitive private MI industry and a well-functioning U.S. housing finance system. We are a member of U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI®), an organization formed to promote the use of private MI as a credit risk mitigant in the U.S. residential mortgage market.

GSE Oversight

The GSEs are the principal purchasers of mortgages insured by private mortgage insurers. As a result, the nature of the private MI industry in the U.S. is driven in large part by the requirements and practices of the GSEs, which include:

•the PMIERs, including operational, business and remedial requirements and minimum capital levels applicable to GSE-qualified MI providers;

•the terms that the GSEs require to be included in MI policies for loans that they purchase, including terms governing rescission relief;

•the underwriting standards and loan amount limits that determine what loans are eligible for purchase by the GSEs, which affects the quality of the risk insured by the mortgage insurer and the availability of mortgage loans;

•the level of MI coverage, subject to the requirements of the GSEs' charters, when MI is used as the required credit enhancement on high-LTV mortgages;

•the circumstances in which MI coverage can be canceled before reaching the cancellation thresholds established by law, including under the HOPA;

•the amount of loan level delivery fees (which result in higher costs to borrowers) that the GSEs assess on loans that require private MI, which impacts private MI providers' ability to compete with government MIs and other forms of credit enhancement used by the GSEs in lieu of private MI;

•the terms on which the GSEs offer lenders relief on their representations and warranties made to a GSE at the time of sale of a loan to a GSE, which creates pressure on private mortgage insurers to alter their rescission rights to conform to the GSE relief;

•loss mitigation programs established by the GSEs that impact insured mortgages and the circumstances under which servicers must implement such programs; and

•the availability and scope of different loan purchase programs, including first time home buyer and affordable lending initiatives, from the GSEs that allow different levels of MI coverage.

In January 2013, the GSEs approved NMIC as a qualified mortgage insurer (as defined in the PMIERs, an approved insurer). (Italicized terms have the same meaning that such terms have in the PMIERs.) As an approved insurer, NMIC is subject to ongoing compliance with the PMIERs.The PMIERs establish operational, business, remedial and financial requirements applicable to approved insurers. The GSEs have significant discretion under the PMIERs as well as a broad range of consent rights and notice requirements with respect to various actions of an approved insurer. The PMIERs financial requirements prescribe a risk-based methodology whereby the amount of assets required to be held against each insured loan is determined based on certain risk characteristics, such as FICO, vintage (year of origination), performing vs. non-performing (i.e., current vs. delinquent), LTV and other risk features. An asset charge is calculated for each insured loan based on its risk profile. In general, higher quality loans carry lower charges.

Under the PMIERs, approved insurers must maintain available assets that equal or exceed minimum required assets,

19

which is an amount equal to the greater of (i) $400 million or (ii) a total risk-based required asset amount. The risk-based required asset amount is a function of the risk profile of an approved insurer's RIF, assessed on a loan-by-loan basis and considered against certain risk-based factors derived from tables set out in the PMIERs to gross RIF, which is then adjusted on an aggregate basis for reinsurance transactions approved by the GSEs, such as with respect to our ILN Transactions and QSR Transactions. The risk-based required asset amount for performing, primary insurance is subject to a floor of 5.6% of performing primary adjusted RIF, and the risk-based required asset amount for pool insurance considers both factors in the PMIERs tables and the net remaining stop loss for each pool insurance policy. The PMIERs include a comprehensive reinsurance counter-party grading framework, which includes a modest haircut (based on the credit rating of the reinsurer) to the capital credit available to an approved insurer for any un-collateralized reinsurance coverage.

On June 30, 2021, the GSEs issued PMIERs Guidance 2021-01 (2021 PMIERs Guidance), which supersedes and replaces the PMIERs Guidance 2020-01 - Amended and Restated that was issued on December 4, 2020. Among other things, the 2021 PMIERs Guidance: (i) temporarily amended PMIERs, effective as of June 30, 2021, to recognize the COVID-19 pandemic as a nationwide major disaster and to reduce the risk-based required asset amount factor under PMIERS for certain COVID-19 defaulted loans (the COVID Guidance) and (ii) permanently amended PMIERs, effective December 31, 2020, to clarify delinquency reporting requirements for non-performing loans under PMIERs. In the COVID Guidance, the GSEs clarified that for each non-performing loan that: (i) has an initial missed payment (as defined in the COVID Guidance) occurring on or after March 1, 2020 and prior to April 1, 2021 (COVID-19 Crisis Period); or (ii) is subject to a forbearance plan granted in response to a financial hardship related to COVID-19 (which shall be assumed to be the case for any loan that has an initial missed payment (as defined in the COVID Guidance) occurring during the COVID-19 Crisis Period and is subject to a forbearance plan), the PMIERs charge on such non-performing loans is adjusted by a 30% multiplier (inversely, a 70% haircut). As such, the PMIERs risk-based required asset amount for all newly delinquent loans nationwide (including those that go delinquent under a forbearance program) are reduced by 70%. Under the COVID Guidance, non-performing loans that are subject to a forbearance program granted in response to a financial hardship related to COVID-19 will benefit from the risk-based required asset haircut for the duration of the forbearance period and subsequent repayment plan or trial modification period. In addition, as set forth in the COVID Guidance, during the COVID-19 Crisis Period, if one or more servicers are unable to continue to remit premiums on loans in default, we, and other approved insurers, have agreed to notify the relevant GSE and give such GSE the opportunity to pay the premium to keep the coverage in force.

By April 15th of each year, NMIC must certify it met all PMIERs requirements as of December 31st of the prior year. We certified to the GSEs by April 15, 2021 that NMIC was in full compliance with the PMIERs as of December 31, 2020. NMIC also has an ongoing obligation to immediately notify the GSEs in writing upon discovery of a failure to meet one or more of the PMIERs requirements. We continuously monitor NMIC's compliance with the PMIERs.

State Mortgage Insurance Regulation

Certificates of Authority

NMIC holds a certificate of authority, or insurance license, in all 50 states and D.C. As a licensed insurer in these jurisdictions, NMIC is subject to ongoing financial reporting, examination and disclosure requirements relating to its business, operations, management or affiliate arrangements.

State Insurance Laws

Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to comprehensive regulation by state insurance departments. As mandated by certain state insurance laws, private MI companies are restricted to writing only MI business. We understand that the primary purpose underlying this restriction, which is referred to in the industry as a "monoline" requirement, is to make it easier for regulators to assess the overall risk in a mortgage insurer's insurance portfolio, to determine its capital adequacy under varying economic scenarios and to prevent the depletion of capital due to the diversion of financial resources in support of non-MI lines of business. State insurance laws and regulations are principally designed for the protection of insured policyholders rather than for the benefit of investors. Although their scope varies, state insurance laws generally grant broad supervisory powers to insurance regulatory officials to examine insurance companies and interpret and/or enforce rules or exercise discretion affecting almost every significant aspect of the insurance business.

In general, state insurance regulation of our business relates to:

•licenses to transact business;

•producer licensing

•policy forms;

20

•premium rates;

•insurable loans;

•annual and quarterly financial reports prepared in accordance with statutory accounting principles;

•determination of loss, unearned premium and contingency reserves;

•minimum capital levels and adequacy ratios;

•affiliate transactions;

•reinsurance requirements;

•limitations on the types of investment instruments which may be held in an investment portfolio;

•the size of risks and limits on coverage of individual risks which may be insured;

•special deposits of securities;

•stockholder dividends;

•insurance policy sales practices;

•privacy and cybersecurity;

•enterprise risk management;

•advertising compliance;

•restrictions on transactions that have the effect of inducing lenders to place business with NMIC; and

•claims handling.

As the ultimate controlling parent of an insurance holding company system, NMIH is registered with the Wisconsin OCI, which is NMIC and Re One's primary regulator, and must provide insurance holding company annual audited consolidated financial statements and other information to the Wisconsin OCI on an ongoing basis. We, as an insurance holding company, and each of our affiliates, are prohibited from engaging in certain transactions with our insurance subsidiaries without disclosure to, and in some instances, prior approval by, the Wisconsin OCI. Like all other states, Wisconsin regulates transactions between domestic insurance companies and their controlling stockholders or affiliates. Under Wisconsin law, all transactions involving us, or an affiliate, and an insurance subsidiary, must conform to certain standards including that the transaction be "reasonable and fair" to the insurance subsidiary. Wisconsin law also provides that disclosure of certain transactions must be filed with the Wisconsin OCI at least 30 days before the transaction is entered into and that these transactions may be disapproved by the Wisconsin OCI within that period.

Under Wisconsin law, domestic insurers, such as NMIC, are required to submit and obtain prior Wisconsin OCI approval on all reinsurance agreements with non-affiliate reinsurers. In addition, the Wisconsin OCI requires that reinsurance agreements with non-authorized and non-accredited reinsurers be collateralized through letters of credit and/or trust accounts in order for a domestic insurer to take credit for reinsurance on its statutory balance sheet.

Wisconsin's insurance regulations generally provide that no person may merge with or acquire control (which is defined as possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, by common management or otherwise) of us or our insurance subsidiaries unless the merger or transaction in which control is acquired has been approved by the Wisconsin OCI. Wisconsin law provides for a rebuttable presumption of control when a person owns or has the right to vote, directly or indirectly, more than 10% of the voting securities of a company. Pursuant to applicable Wisconsin regulations, voting securities include securities convertible into or evidencing the right to acquire securities with the right to vote. For purposes of determining whether control exists, the Wisconsin OCI may aggregate the direct or indirect ownership of us by entities under common control with one another. Notwithstanding the presumption of control, any person or persons acting in concert or whose shares may be aggregated for purposes of determining control, may file a disclaimer of affiliation with the Wisconsin OCI if they do not intend to control or direct or influence the management of a domestic insurer. Such disclaimer will become effective unless it is expressly "disapproved" by the Wisconsin OCI within 30 days of the date filed. In addition, the insurance regulations of certain states require prior notification to the state's insurance department before a person acquires control of an insurance company licensed in such state. An insurance company's licenses to conduct business in those states could be affected by any such change in control. As of the date of this report, we are aware of one NMIH stockholder that owns more than 10% of our shares of common stock.

21

We understand that this stockholder has filed a disclaimer of control with the Wisconsin OCI in connection therewith, which has not been disapproved.

Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to Wisconsin statutory requirements as to maintenance of minimum policyholders' surplus and payment of dividends or distributions to stockholders. Under Wisconsin law, our insurance subsidiaries may pay "ordinary" stockholder dividends with 30 days' prior notice to the Wisconsin OCI. Ordinary dividends are defined as payments or distributions to stockholders in any twelve-month period that do not exceed the lesser of (i) 10% of statutory policyholders' surplus as of the preceding calendar year end or (ii) adjusted statutory net income. Adjusted statutory net income is defined for this purpose to be the greater of the following:

a.The net income of the insurer for the calendar year preceding the date of the dividend or distribution, minus realized capital gains for that calendar year; or

b.The aggregate of the net income of the insurer for the 3 calendar years preceding the date of the dividend or distribution, minus realized capital gains for those calendar years and minus dividends paid or credited and distributions made within the first 2 of the preceding 3 calendar years.

The Wisconsin OCI may prohibit the payment of ordinary dividends or other payments by our insurance subsidiaries to us if they determine that such payments could be adverse to policyholders. In addition, our insurance subsidiaries may make or pay "extraordinary" stockholder dividends (i.e., amounts in excess of ordinary dividends) only with the prior approval of the Wisconsin OCI.

In addition to Wisconsin, other states may limit or restrict our insurance subsidiaries' ability to pay stockholder dividends. For example, California and New York prohibit mortgage insurers licensed in such states from declaring dividends except from undivided profits remaining above the aggregate of their paid-in capital, paid-in surplus and contingency reserves. In addition, Florida requires mortgage insurers to hold capital and surplus not less than the lesser of (i) 10% of its total liabilities, or (ii) $100 million. It is possible that Wisconsin, or other states, will adopt revised statutory provisions or interpretations of existing statutory provisions that will be more or less restrictive than those described above or will otherwise take actions that may further restrict the ability of our insurance subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions or returns of capital.

Wisconsin has adopted the Risk Management and Own Risk and Solvency Assessment Act, which requires, among other things, that we conduct an Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) at least annually to assess the material risks associated with our business and our current and estimated projected future solvency position, and maintain a risk management framework to assess, monitor, manage, and report on material risks. Additionally, Wisconsin has also adopted the annual enterprise risk reporting and “Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure” requirements of the Model Act.

Mortgage insurers licensed in Wisconsin are required to establish a contingency loss reserve for purposes of statutory accounting, with annual contributions equal to the greater of (i) 50% of net earned premiums for such year or (ii) the minimum policyholders' position (as described below) relating to NIW in the period, divided by 7. These additions to contingency reserves cannot be withdrawn for a period of 10 years, except as permitted by insurance regulations. With prior approval from the Wisconsin OCI, an MI company may make early withdrawals from the contingency reserve when incurred losses for a calendar quarter exceed the greater of either (i) 35% of net premiums earned in a calendar year or (ii) 70% of the annual amount contributed to the contingency loss reserve.

Under applicable Wisconsin law and the laws of 15 other states, a mortgage insurer must maintain a minimum amount of statutory capital relative to its RIF in order for the mortgage insurer to continue to write new business. These are typically referred to as "risk-to-capital (RTC) requirements." While formulations of minimum capital may vary in certain jurisdictions, the most common measure applied allows for a maximum permitted RTC ratio of 25:1. Wisconsin has formula-based limits that generally result in RTC limits slightly higher than the 25:1 ratio.

We compute RTC ratios for each of our insurance subsidiaries, as well as for our combined insurance operations. The RTC ratio is our net RIF divided by our statutory capital. Our net RIF includes both direct and assumed primary and pool RIF, less risk ceded and excluding risk on policies that are currently in default and for which loss reserves have been established. Wisconsin requires a mortgage insurer to maintain a "minimum policyholders' position" as calculated in accordance with the applicable regulations. Policyholders' position, which is also known as statutory capital, is generally the sum of statutory policyholders' surplus (which increases as a result of statutory net income and capital contributions, and decreases as a result of statutory net loss and capital distributions), plus the statutory contingency reserve. Under statutory accounting rules, the contingency reserve is reported as a liability on the statutory balance sheet; however, for purposes of statutory capital and RTC ratio calculations, it is included in capital.

22

State insurance regulators also have the authority to make changes to current regulations governing mortgage insurance, including, among other things, capital requirements, underwriting standards, claims practices and market conduct regulation. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has formed a working group within its Financial Condition (E) Committee, the Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Working Group (the Working Group), to discuss, develop and recommend changes to the solvency and market practices regulation of mortgage insurers, including changes to the Mortgage Guaranty Insurers Model Act (Model Act). Proposed amendments to the Model Act include, among other changes, adoption of a risk-based capital model. We, along with other mortgage insurers, have provided feedback to the Working Group since early 2013, including comments on the risk-based capital approach.

Most states, including Wisconsin, have enacted anti-inducement and anti-rebate laws applicable to mortgage insurers, which prohibit mortgage insurers from inducing lenders to enter into insurance contracts by offering benefits not specified in the policy, including rebates of insurance premiums. For example, Wisconsin prohibits mortgage insurers from allowing any commission, fee, remuneration, or other compensation to be paid to, or received by, any insured lender, including any subsidiary or affiliate, officer, director, or employee of any insured, any member of their immediate family, any corporation, partnership, trust, trade association in which any insured is a member, or other entity in which any insured or any such officer, director, or employee or any member of their immediate family has a material financial interest.

MI premium rates are subject to prior approval in certain states, which requirement is designed to protect policyholders against rates that are excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. In these states, any change in premium rates must be justified, generally on the basis of the insurer's loss experience, expenses and future trend analysis. Trends in mortgage default rates are also considered.

State insurance receivership law, not federal bankruptcy law, would govern any insolvency or financially hazardous condition of our insurance subsidiaries. The Wisconsin OCI has substantial authority to issue orders or seek to control a state insurance receivership proceeding to address the insolvency or financially hazardous condition of an insurance company that it regulates. Under Wisconsin law, the Wisconsin OCI has substantial flexibility to restructure an insurance company in a receivership proceeding. The Wisconsin OCI is obligated to maximize the value of an insolvent insurer's estate for the benefit of its policyholders. In all insurance receiverships under state insurance law, policyholder claims are prioritized relative to the claims of stockholders.

Other U.S. Regulation

Federal laws and regulations applicable to participants in the housing finance industry, including mortgage originators and servicers, purchasers of mortgage loans, such as the GSEs, and the government MIs directly and indirectly impact private mortgage insurers. Changes in federal housing legislation may have significant effects on the demand for private MI and, therefore, may materially affect our business.

We are also impacted by federal regulation of residential mortgage transactions. Mortgage origination and servicing transactions are subject to compliance with various federal and state consumer protection laws, including the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Fair Housing Act, the HOPA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (GLBA) and others. Among other things, these laws and their implementing regulations prohibit payments for referrals of real estate settlement service business, require fairness and non-discrimination in granting or facilitating the granting of credit and insurance, govern the circumstances under which companies may obtain and use consumer credit information, establish standards for cancellation of BPMI, define the manner in which companies may pursue collection activities, require disclosures of the cost of credit and provide for other consumer protections.

Housing Finance Reform

The federal government currently plays a dominant role in the U.S. housing finance system through the GSEs and government MIs (i.e., the FHA, USDA and VA) and Ginnie Mae. There is broad policy consensus toward the need for increasing private capital participation and decreasing government exposure to credit risk in the U.S. housing finance system. However, to date there has been a lack of consensus on the specific changes necessary to return to a larger role for private capital and what size the government's role should be.

23

On September 6, 2008, the FHFA used its authority to place the GSEs into conservatorship. As the GSEs' conservator, the FHFA has the authority to control and direct the GSEs' operations, and the FHFA's policy objectives can result in changes to the GSEs' requirements and practices. While in conservatorship, each GSE has been subject to the terms of Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements with the Treasury Department (PSPAs). Pursuant to the PSPAs, the Treasury Department committed to invest in the GSEs to the extent required for each to maintain a positive net worth. In exchange for its investment, the Treasury Department received shares of the GSEs' senior preferred stock and warrants to purchase 79.9% of the GSEs' common stock. The PSPAs have also historically required the GSEs to, among other things, make quarterly dividend payments to the Treasury Department, and also provide the Treasury Department with a liquidation preference.

At the direction of the FHFA, the GSEs have expanded their credit and mortgage risk transfer programs with no public notice or opportunity to comment. These programs have included the use of structured finance vehicles, obtaining insurance from non-mortgage insurers, including off-shore reinsurance, engaging in credit-linked note transactions in the capital markets, or using other forms of debt issuances or securitizations that transfer credit risk directly to other investors. In particular, in 2018, each GSE began piloting a new credit risk transfer program under which the GSE purchases high-LTV loans (i.e., LTVs above 80%) without MI and subsequently places mortgage insurance with a captive insurer controlled by one of our competitors, which captive in turn cedes 100% of the risk to a panel of offshore reinsurers. In 2018, Freddie Mac launched the IMAGIN program and Fannie Mae launched the Enterprise-Paid Mortgage Insurance or EPMI program, both of which were discontinued in 2021 but could be relaunched in the future. Any success of the relaunched or similar programs in the future or even the perception that some of these risk-sharing structures have beneficial features in comparison to private MI (e.g., lower costs, reduced counter-party risk due to collateral requirements or more diversified insurance exposures) may create increased competition for private MI on loans traditionally sold to the GSEs with private MI.

On October 19, 2020, the FHFA announced that it was seeking comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking that requires the GSEs to provide advance notice to the FHFA of new activities and obtain prior approval before launching new products. Additionally, the proposed rule establishes revised criteria for determining whether new activity requires notice to the FHFA and for determining if that activity is a new product that merits public notice and comment. The proposed rule's requirements would also outline the process for the FHFA's review of any new activity and the timelines for approving a new product, including issuing a public notice and requesting public comment about a new product. Written comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking were due January 8, 2021. Following the removal of previous Director, the current Acting Director initiated a review of recently proposed rules, including the proposed new activities and products rule, and delayed their implementation. We cannot predict whether the new activities and products rule will be implemented or, if implemented, what restrictions any final rule may impose on the GSEs.

With the GSEs in a prolonged conservatorship, there has been ongoing debate over the future role and purpose of the GSEs in the U.S. housing market. Since 2011, there have been numerous legislative proposals intended to incrementally scale back or eliminate the GSEs (such as a statutory mandate for the GSEs to transfer mortgage credit risk to the private sector) or to completely reform the housing finance system. Congress, however, has not enacted any legislation to date.

Under the Trump administration, there was increased focus on the possibility of administrative reform that the White House and Treasury Department, in collaboration with the previous Director of the FHFA, may pursue independent of any legislative action. In September 2019, the Treasury Department released a Housing Reform Plan that included a compilation of legislative and administrative recommendations for reforms to achieve various goals, including the goals of ending the conservatorships of the GSEs and setting regulations for the GSEs that provide for their safety and soundness. Additionally, the previous Director of the FHFA had also publicly stated as his priority to exit the GSEs from conservatorship. In December 2020, the FHFA finalized a rule establishing a new regulatory capital framework for the GSEs, noting that the rule was another step toward ending the conservatorships of the GSEs.

On January 14, 2021, the FHFA announced that it had agreed with the Treasury Department to amend the PSPAs. Among other things, these amendments increased the GSEs' permissible capital retention to approximately $283 billion, continued the suspension of quarterly dividend payments in favor of dollar-for-dollar increases in the Treasury Department's liquidation preference, and allowed each GSE to issue up to $70 billion in new stock. The amendments also imposed specific conditions required for the GSEs to exit conservatorship, including the resolution or settlement of all material litigation relating to the conservatorship, and each GSE achieving common equity tier 1 capital of at least 3% of its total assets. These amendments provide the most direct path for the GSEs to exit conservatorship established to date.

24

On June 23, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the President could remove the FHFA Director other than for cause. Subsequently, President Biden removed the previous FHFA Director and appointed a new Acting Director to lead the FHFA. The FHFA leadership change has added uncertainty to what role the GSEs, FHA and private capital, including private mortgage insurance, will play in the residential housing finance system in the future. On September 14, 2021, the FHFA together with the Treasury Department announced the suspension of certain portions of the 2021 PSPA amendments, specifically those limiting certain GSE lending activities and proposed amendments to the regulatory capital framework that would, among other things, reduce the amount of capital the GSEs are required to hold compared to the final December 2020 rule, including by increasing the capital credit the GSEs receive for the credit risk that they distribute. It is uncertain if and when these proposed amendments may be adopted into the regulatory capital framework and what form that they may take. The passage and timing of comprehensive GSE reform or incremental change (whether legislative or administrative in nature) is uncertain, making the actual impact on us and our industry difficult to predict. Any such changes that come to pass could have a significant impact on our business. In addition, while the GSEs remain in conservatorship, the current leadership of the FHFA may exercise their oversight authority over the GSEs differently than previous Directors and/or have different objectives with regard to the GSEs' operations. Any such changes in how the FHFA engages with and influences the GSEs could have a significant impact on our business.

FHA Reform

We compete with the single-family MI programs of the FHA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). During the financial crisis, the FHA captured an increasing share of the high-LTV MI market as incumbent private MIs came under significant financial stress. Previous FHA rate actions and product introductions continue to impact its market share, and by extension, the private MI market. In recent years, the FHA has not reduced its mortgage insurance rates; however, we believe the current Presidential administration is more likely to support an FHA rate reduction than the prior administration.

The FHA's role in the mortgage insurance industry is significantly dependent upon regulatory developments. Since 2012, there have been several legislative proposals intended to reform the FHA; however, no legislation has been enacted to date. The prospect for future unilateral FHA action on premium rates, which may be more likely under the current administration, or the passage of FHA reform legislation in either the House or Senate, and how differences in proposed reforms between the House and Senate might be resolved in any final legislation, remain uncertain.

The Dodd-Frank Act

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) amended certain provisions of TILA, RESPA and other statutes that have had a significant impact on our business and the residential mortgage market. The Dodd-Frank Act created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal agency with responsibility for regulating and enforcing the offering and provision of consumer financial products and services under the federal consumer financial laws. Actions taken or rules implemented by the CFPB have the potential to impact the overall housing finance market, and by extension the private MI industry and our business. Leadership at the CFPB changes from time-to-time. Given that the Director of the CFPB is removable by the President at will, the agency's agenda, policies and actions likely will be significantly influenced by the then current administration. Accordingly, it is difficult to predict whether or how the CFPB might seek to implement these laws beyond the current administration's term.

Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Rules

In January 2014, the CFPB implemented the Dodd-Frank Act Ability to Repay mortgage provisions (ATR), which govern the obligation of lenders to determine a borrower's ability to pay when originating a mortgage loan covered by ATR. A subset of mortgages falling under the ATR that has certain low-risk characteristics are known as "qualified mortgages" (QMs). QMs that are deemed to have the lowest risk profiles are entitled to a safe-harbor presumption of compliance with the ability-to-pay requirements. The original ATR/QM rule (Original QM Definition) established two different categories of QMs, one referred to as the "General QM" category and a second temporary QM category, typically referred to as the "QM Patch". General QMs are generally defined as loans without certain risky features, including borrowers with DTI ratios in excess of 43% and terms exceeding 30 years. Loans may qualify as QMs under the QM Patch so long as they (i) satisfy the general product feature requirements of QMs (other than borrower DTI) and (ii) meet the underwriting requirements of the GSEs. The QM Patch was scheduled to phase out upon the earlier to occur of the end of conservatorship or receivership of the GSEs or January 10, 2021. QMs under the rule benefit from a statutory presumption of compliance with the ATR rule, thus potentially mitigating the risk of the liability of the creditor and assignees of the loan under TILA.

On October 20, 2020, the CFPB released a final rule that replaced the January 10, 2021 sunset date for the QM Patch with a provision stating that the GSE Patch will be available only for covered transactions for which the creditor receives the

25

consumer's application before July 1, 2021, the mandatory compliance date of the CFPB's final General QM and new "Seasoned QM" rules. Following its October rulemaking, on December 10, 2020, the CFPB released two additional final rules amending the definition of a General QM (New QM Definition) by replacing the current 43% DTI ratio limit with price-based thresholds, among other changes, and defining and providing for a Seasoned QM category of mortgage.

The New QM Definition and its safe-harbor statutory compliance protection will apply, under the final rule, to a covered transaction with the following characteristics:

•The loan has an annual percentage rate (APR) that does not exceed the average prime offer rate (APOR) for comparable transactions by 2.25 or more percentage points;

•The loan meets the existing QM product feature and underwriting requirements and limits on points and fees; and

•The creditor has considered and verified the prospective borrower's current or reasonably expected income or assets, debt obligations, alimony, child support, and DTI ratio or residual income.

The General QM final rule does not prescribe particular underwriting standards for meeting the rule's "consider and verify" requirements, other than to require that such standards be reasonable. The General QM final rule clarifies that to meet the "consider" requirement and thus preserve General QM status, a creditor must maintain written policies and procedures governing the creditor's treatment of income, assets and debt obligations, among others, and retain documentation showing its application of such policies and procedures at the individual loan level. In addition, to satisfy the General QM final rule's "verify" requirement, the rule provides for a safe harbor if the creditor follows specific verification standards, including the single-family underwriting manuals of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The General QM final rule is effective on March 1, 2021 and originally had a mandatory compliance date of July 1, 2021, after which the Original QM Definition and QM Patch would no longer apply. The mandatory compliance date for the New QM Definition (and therefore, the preservation of the Original QM Definition and QM Patch) has since been extended to October 1, 2022. However, the GSEs announced on April 8, 2021 that, for loan applications received on or after July 1, 2021, they will only purchase loans satisfying the New QM Definition. Given the mandatory compliance date and the GSE announcement, we expect creditors may opt to use the new, price-based General QM definition.

Under the Seasoned QM final rule, subject to certain exceptions, first-lien, fixed-rate covered loans with terms of 30 years or less, which (i) satisfy certain timely payment requirements, (ii) are not "high-cost mortgages" and (iii) are held in portfolio by the originating creditor for 36 months, will receive QM safe harbor status as "Seasoned QMs." During the 36-month seasoning period, a loan must have no more than two delinquencies (as defined in the rule) of 30 or more days and no delinquencies of 60 or more days. The rule allows payment deficiencies of $50 or less during the seasoning period, provided there are no more than three such deficiencies. Payment accommodations that meet certain requirements and are extended in connection with a disaster or pandemic-related national emergency do not disqualify the loan from achieving Seasoned QM status; however, time spent in such accommodations also does not count toward the 36-month seasoning period requirement. The Seasoned QM final rule includes the points and fees limit and consider and verify standards set forth in the General QM final rule. The final rule is effective on March 1, 2021, with loans for which creditors receive applications on or after the effective date would be eligible to qualify for Seasoned QM status.

The Dodd-Frank Act also gave statutory authority to HUD, the VA, and the USDA to develop their own definitions of QM. The General QM Final Rule does not affect the QM definitions adopted by these agencies. To the extent lenders find that these agencies' definitions of QM are more favorable to certain segments of their borrowers, they may choose government MI products over private MI products.

We, along with other industry participants, have observed that the significant majority of covered loans made after the effective date of the CFPB's ATR rule have been QMs. We expect that most lenders will continue to be reluctant to make loans that do not qualify as QMs because absent full compliance with the ATR rule, such loans will not be entitled to a "safe-harbor" presumption of compliance with the ability-to-pay requirements.

It is unclear whether the revised General QM rule or the new Seasoned QM category will have a beneficial or negative impact on access to mortgage credit or the size of the mortgage market.

Basel III

The Basel Capital Accord, as updated, sets out international benchmarks for assessing banks' capital adequacy requirements, which, among other factors, governs the capital treatment of MI purchased and held on balance sheet by domestic and international banks in respect of their residential mortgage loan origination and securitization activities. In July 2013, U.S. banking regulators promulgated regulations to implement significant elements of the Basel framework, which we refer to as Basel

26

III. The effective date for the U.S. Basel III regulations was January 1, 2014, although the majority of its provisions are subject to multi-year phase-in periods to achieve full implementation.

Under the "Standardized Approach" in the U.S. Basel III capital rules, loans secured by one-to-four-family residential properties (residential mortgage exposures) receive a 50% or 100% risk weight. Generally, first lien residential mortgage exposures that are prudently underwritten, including with respect to regulatory standards for LTV limits, and that are performing according to their original terms receive a 50% risk weight, while all other residential mortgage exposures are assigned a 100% risk weight. The banking regulators clarified that LTV ratios can account for private MI in determining whether a loan is made in accordance with prudent underwriting standards for purposes of receiving a 50% risk weight; however, mortgage exposure guaranteed by a government MI will have a lower risk weight, putting private MI at a disadvantage relative to government MI.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee) previously proposed rules that would further reduce the benefit of private MI by not taking into consideration any credit enhancement, including private MI; however, those revisions were not implemented, retaining the treatment of mortgage insurance.

We believe the existing U.S. implementation of the Basel III capital framework supports continued use of private MI by portfolio lenders as a risk and capital management tool; however, with the ongoing implementation of Basel III and the continued evolution of the Basel framework, it is difficult to predict the impact, if any, on the MI industry and the ultimate form of any potential future modifications to the regulations by federal banking regulators. If the Basel Committee revises the Basel III framework to reduce or eliminate the capital benefit banks receive from insuring low down payment loans with private MI, our current and future business may be adversely affected.

Mortgage Servicing Rules

Residential mortgage servicing rules under RESPA and TILA, promulgated by the CFPB, went into effect in 2014. These rules included new or enhanced servicer requirements for handling escrow accounts, responding to borrower assertions of error and inquiries from borrowers, special handling of loans that are in default and loss mitigation when borrowers default, along with other provisions. A provision of the required loss mitigation procedures prohibits the servicer from commencing foreclosure until 120 days after a borrower defaults. Additional servicing regulations became effective in October 2017, providing some borrowers with foreclosure protections more than once over the life of the loan, imposing specific timing requirements for loss mitigation activities when servicing rights are transferred, and requiring that loss mitigation applications be properly dispositioned before allowing pursuit of a foreclosure action, among other requirements. Violation of these loss mitigation rules, which mandate special notices, handling and processing procedures (with deadlines) based on borrower submissions, may subject the servicer to private rights of action under consumer protection laws. Such actions or threats of such actions could cause delays in and increase costs and expenses associated with default servicing, including foreclosure. As to servicing of delinquent mortgage loans covered by our insurance policies, these rules could contribute to delays in and increased costs associated with foreclosure proceedings and have a negative impact on the cost and resolution of claims.

Homeowners Protection Act of 1998

HOPA provides for the automatic termination, or cancellation upon a borrower's request, of BPMI, as defined in HOPA, upon satisfaction of certain conditions. HOPA requires that lenders give borrowers certain notices with regard to the automatic termination or cancellation of BPMI. These provisions apply to BPMI for purchase money, refinance and construction loans secured by the borrower's principal dwelling. Loans insured by government MIs are not covered by HOPA. Under HOPA, automatic termination of BPMI would generally occur when the mortgage is first scheduled to reach an LTV of 78% of the home's original value, assuming that the borrower is current on the required mortgage payments. A borrower who has a "good payment history," as defined by HOPA, may generally request cancellation of BPMI when the LTV is first scheduled to reach 80% of the home's original value or when actual payments reduce the loan balance to 80% of the home's original value, whichever occurs earlier. If BPMI coverage is not canceled at the borrower's request or by the automatic termination provision, the mortgage servicer must terminate such BPMI coverage by the first day of the month following the date that is the midpoint of the loan's amortization, assuming the borrower is current on the required mortgage payments.

27

Section 8 of RESPA

Section 8 of RESPA applies to most residential mortgages insured by us. Subject to limited exceptions, Section 8 of RESPA prohibits persons from giving or accepting anything of value pursuant to an agreement or understanding to refer a "settlement service." MI generally may be considered to be a "settlement service" for purposes of Section 8 of RESPA under applicable regulations. Section 8 of RESPA affects how we structure ancillary services that we may provide to our customers, if any, including loan review services, risk-share arrangements and customer training programs. RESPA authorizes the CFPB and other regulators to bring civil enforcement actions and also provides for criminal penalties and private rights of action. The CFPB has brought a number of enforcement actions under Section 8 of RESPA, including settlements with several private mortgage insurers. The CFPB's interpretation and enforcement of Section 8 of RESPA presents regulatory risk for many providers of "settlement services," including private mortgage insurers.

Mortgage Insurance Tax Deduction

In 2006, Congress enacted a private mortgage insurance tax deduction on a temporary basis through the end of 2011. Upon expiration in 2011, Congress temporarily extended the deduction for each tax year from 2012 through 2017. Congress temporarily extended the deduction through December 31, 2021. Elimination of the private mortgage insurance tax deduction could have the effect of reducing demand for private MI products. Congress has periodically considered proposed legislation that would make the private mortgage insurance tax deduction permanent, but to date has not enacted any such legislation. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted in December 2017, Congress increased the standard deduction for individuals and maintained the tax deductibility of second mortgages. The combination of maintaining the deduction for second mortgages and not extending deductibility for private MI could have the effect of reducing demand for private MI products.

SAFE Act

The federal SAFE Act, enacted by Congress in 2008, establishes minimum standards for the licensing and registration of state-licensed "mortgage loan originators," as defined under state law. The SAFE Act also requires the establishment of a nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry for the residential mortgage industry and certain of its employees. As part of this licensing and registration process, loan originators who are employees of certain covered institutions must generally be licensed under the SAFE Act guidelines enacted by each state in which they engage in loan originator activities and registered with the registry. The CFPB administers and enforces the SAFE Act. Employees of NMIC are not required to be licensed and/or registered under the SAFE Act as NMIC does not originate, process or underwrite mortgage loans. NMIS currently offers loan review services that are performed by SAFE Act-licensed third-party service providers, which have represented and warranted to NMIS that they comply with SAFE Act requirements in all applicable jurisdictions.

Privacy and Information Security

We provide mortgage insurance products and services to financial institutions with which we have business relationships. In the normal course of providing our products and services, we may receive non-public personal information regarding such financial institutions' customers. The GLBA and related state and federal regulations implementing its privacy and safeguarding provisions impose privacy and information security requirements on financial institutions, including obligations to protect and safeguard consumers' non-public personal information. GLBA and its implementing regulations are enforced by state insurance regulators and state attorneys general, and by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the CFPB. In addition, many states have enacted privacy and data security laws which impose compliance obligations beyond GLBA, including obligations to protect social security numbers, maintain comprehensive information security programs and provide notification if a security breach results in a reasonable belief that unauthorized persons may have obtained access to consumer non-public personal information. We have adopted certain risk management and security practices designed to facilitate our compliance with these federal and state privacy and information security laws.

Fair Credit Reporting Act

FCRA imposes restrictions on the permissible use of credit report information. The CFPB and FTC each have authority to enforce the FCRA. FCRA has been interpreted by some FTC staff and federal courts to require mortgage insurers to provide "adverse action" notices to consumers if an application for mortgage insurance is declined or offered at higher than the best available rate for the program applied for on the basis of a review of the consumer's credit. We provide such notices when required.

28

Anti-Discrimination Laws

ECOA requires creditors and insurers to handle applications for credit and for insurance in accordance with specified requirements and prohibits discrimination in lending or insurance based on prohibited factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, age and familial status. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender and other prohibited bases in connection with housing-secured credit transactions.

29

Item 1A. Risk Factors

You should carefully consider the following risk factors, as well as all of the other information contained in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, before deciding to invest in our common stock. The occurrence of any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, operating results and cash flow. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose some or all of your investment.

This report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" on page 3 of this report. Our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, including any such statements made in Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

Risk Factors Summary

The following is a summary of the principal risks that could materially adversely affect our business, operations and financial results:

Risk Related to Our Business Operations

•We face intense competition for business in our industry, and if we are unable to compete effectively, we may not be able to achieve our business goals, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

•Our NIW volumes could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private MI.

•If we are unable to continue to attract and retain the most significant mortgage originators as customers, our ability to achieve our business goals could be negatively impacted.

•If the volume of high-LTV loan originations declines, our NIW volume could decline, which would reduce our revenues.

•Our underwriting and credit risk management policies and practices may not anticipate all risks and/or the magnitude of potential for loss as the result of unforeseen risks.

•Unexpected material increases in borrower defaults could cause our actual losses to materially exceed our expected loss rates, including in certain geographic regions in which our business may be concentrated and more susceptible to downturns.

•The premiums we charge may be insufficient to cover claim payments and our operating costs.

•Changes in factors that impact the length of time that our policies remain in force may adversely affect our future revenues and claims experience.

•Increases in inflation may have an impact on our business performance and operations.

•We are outsourcing the underwriting of our mortgage insurance on certain loans to third-party underwriting service providers (USPs). If these USPs fail to adequately perform their underwriting services or place our coverage on loans we would deem ineligible, we could experience increased claims on loans underwritten by them and our customer relationships could be negatively impacted.

•Our Master Policies contain restrictions on our ability to rescind coverage for certain material misrepresentations (including fraud) and underwriting defects, and if we were to fail to timely discover any such misrepresentations or underwriting defects, our rights of rescission would be significantly limited, and we could suffer increased losses as a result of paying claims on loans with unacceptable risk characteristics.

•The mix of business we write affects our revenue stream and the likelihood of losses occurring.

•We expect our claims to increase as our insured loan portfolio grows and matures.

•Our business depends, in part, on effective and reliable loan servicing.

•If the estimates we use in establishing claims reserves are incorrect, the actual claim payments we make may materially exceed the amount of our corresponding claims reserves, resulting in unexpected charges to income, which could be material and adversely affect our results of operations.

•The COVID-19 pandemic may continue to materially adversely impact our financial results and may also materially adversely affect our business, liquidity and financial condition.

•The occurrence of natural or man-made disasters or pandemics other than COVID-19 could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

•We are exposed to certain risks associated with our third-party reinsurance transactions, including the possibility that our reinsurers will fail to perform their obligations or that we will lose the capital credit we expected to receive when we entered

30

into the transactions as a result of future GSE or Wisconsin OCI action or if any of our reinsurers experiences a downgrade or other adverse business event.

•Our operating results depend in large part on our ability to manage the risks related to the growth of our business and on maintaining and enhancing effective operating procedures and internal controls.

•We are exposed to operational risk from fraud, malfeasance or error by employees and third-party service providers, and any such fraud, malfeasance or error could materially and adversely affect us.

•If we do not maintain connectivity with or otherwise meet the technological demands of our customers or are unable to develop, enhance and maintain our proprietary technology platform, our business and financial performance could be adversely affected.

•We may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or misuse of confidential, personal or proprietary information.

•Adverse investment performance may affect our financial results and ability to conduct business.

•We face regulatory and litigation risks associated with offering loan review services.

Risk Related to Regulation of the Mortgage Insurance Industry

•There can be no assurance that the GSEs will continue to treat us as an approved insurer in the future, and our failure to maintain compliance with the GSEs' PMIERs could adversely impact our business, financial condition and operating results.

•Changes in the business practices of the GSEs, including a decision to decrease or discontinue the use of private MI, federal legislation that changes their charters or a restructuring of the GSEs could reduce our revenues or increase our losses.

•We are subject to comprehensive state insurance regulations and capital adequacy requirements, which we must satisfy to continue to operate our MI business.

•The private MI industry is, and as a participant we are, subject to litigation and regulatory enforcement risk generally.

•Our business prospects and operating results could be adversely impacted if, and to the extent that, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ATR Rules defining a QM negatively impact the size of the origination market.

•The Company may be adversely impacted by the phasing out of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).

Risks Related to Our Holding Company and Capital Structure

•Our holding company structure and certain regulatory and other constraints could affect our ability to satisfy our obligations and potentially require us to raise more capital.

•Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition.

•Our existing, and any future, variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our annual debt service obligations to increase significantly.

•Despite our substantial level of debt, we may incur more debt, which could exacerbate any or all of the risks described above.

•Our current credit ratings may adversely affect our ability to access capital and the cost of such capital, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

General Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

•We do not currently pay any dividends on our common stock and may not do so in the future, and payment of any declared dividends may be delayed.

•The market price of our common stock may be volatile, which could cause the value of an investment in our common stock to decline.

•The market price of our common stock could decline due to the large number of outstanding shares of our common stock eligible for future sale, and future issuances of our common stock may depress our share price and dilute the book value of our common stock.

•Future issuance of debt or preferred stock, which would rank senior to our Class A common stock upon our liquidation, may adversely affect the market value of our common stock.

•Provisions contained in our organizational documents, as well as provisions of Delaware law and Wisconsin insurance law, could delay or prevent a change of control of us, which could adversely affect the price of shares of our common stock.

For a more complete discussion of the material risks facing our business, see below.

31

Risks Related to Our Business Operations

We face intense competition for business in our industry, and if we are unable to compete effectively, we may not be able to achieve our business goals, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

The MI industry is highly competitive. With six private MI companies actively competing for business from the same residential mortgage originators, it is important that we continue to differentiate ourselves from the other mortgage insurers, each of which sells substantially similar products to ours. One or more of our competitors may seek to capture increased market share from the government MIs or from other private mortgage insurers by reducing prices, offering alternative coverage and product options, including offerings for loans not intended to be sold to the GSEs, loosening their underwriting guidelines or relaxing risk management policies, which could, in turn, improve their competitive positions in the industry and negatively impact our ability to achieve our business goals. Competition within the private mortgage insurance industry could result in our loss of customers, lower premiums, riskier credit guidelines and other changes that could lower our revenues or increase our expenses. If our IT systems are inferior to our competitors', existing and potential customers may choose our competitors' products over ours. If we are unable to compete effectively against our competitors and attract and retain our target customers, our revenue may be adversely impacted, which could adversely impact our growth and profitability.

In addition, we and most of our competitors, either directly or indirectly, offer certain ancillary services to mortgage lenders with which we also conduct MI business, including loan review, training and other services. For various reasons, including those related to resources or compliance, we may choose not to offer some or all of these services or not to offer them in a form or to the extent that is similar to the prevailing offerings of our competitors. If we choose not to offer these services, or if we were to offer ancillary services that are not well-received by the market and fail to perform as anticipated, we could be at a competitive disadvantage which could adversely impact our profitability.

Certain of our competitors are subsidiaries of larger and more diversified corporations that may have access to greater amounts of capital and financial resources than we do, or a lower cost of capital, and some have better financial strength ratings than we have. As a result, they may be better positioned to compete in and outside of the traditional MI market, including when the GSEs pursue alternative forms of credit enhancement or credit risk transfer other than private MI, such as their IMAGIN and EPMI programs that were discontinued in 2021, but could be relaunched in the same or alternative form in the future.

Our financial strength ratings are important for our customers to maintain confidence in our products and our competitive position. PMIERs require all approved insurers, except newly-approved insurers, to maintain at least one rating with a rating agency acceptable to the GSEs. A downgrade in NMIC's ratings or ratings outlook, or our failure to maintain a rating acceptable to one or both of the GSEs, could have an adverse effect on our business, including (i) potentially impacting our eligibility as an approved insurer, (ii)increased scrutiny of our financial condition by our customers, resulting in potential reduction in our NIW or (iii) negative impacts to our ability to conduct business in the non-GSE mortgage market, where financial strength ratings may be a more important counter-party consideration for lenders.

Our NIW volumes could be adversely affected if lenders and investors select alternatives to private MI.

If lenders and investors select alternatives to private MI on high-LTV loans, our business could be adversely affected. These alternatives to private MI include, but are not limited to:

•lenders using government mortgage insurance programs, including those of the FHA, USDA and VA, and state-supported mortgage insurance funds in several states, including Massachusetts and California;

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

•GSEs and other investors using credit enhancements other than MI (including alternative forms of credit risk transfer such as the now discontinued IMAGIN and EPMI programs that could be relaunched in the future), using other credit enhancements in conjunction with reduced levels of MI coverage, or accepting credit risk without credit enhancement;

•lenders originating mortgages using "piggy-back" or other structures to avoid MI, such as a first mortgage with an 80% LTV and a second mortgage with a 10%, 15% or 20% LTV (referred to as 80-10-10, 80-15-5 or 80-20 loans, respectively) rather than a first mortgage with an LTV above 80% that has MI; and

•borrowers paying cash or making large down payments versus securing mortgage financing.

Any of these alternatives to private MI could reduce or eliminate the need for our products, could cause us to lose business and/or could limit our ability to attract the business that we would prefer to insure.

32

Further, at the direction of the FHFA, the GSEs have expanded their credit and mortgage risk transfer programs. These programs have included the use of structured finance vehicles, obtaining insurance from non-mortgage insurers (e.g., IMAGIN and EPMI), including off-shore reinsurance, engaging in credit-linked note transactions in the capital markets, or using other forms of debt issuances or securitizations that transfer credit risk directly to other investors. The growing success of these programs and the perception that some of these risk-sharing structures have beneficial features in comparison to private MI (e.g., lower costs, reduced counter-party risk due to collateral requirements or more diversified insurance exposures) may create increased competition for private MI on loans traditionally sold to the GSEs with private MI.