Missouri Mortgage Insurers Suffer Large Losses

Companies that sell private mortgage insurance in Missouri suffered their largest losses last year in three decades of record-keeping.

The state insurance department says mortgage guaranty insurers had net losses in 2008 of $173 million — an amount equal to 150 percent of the premiums earned for the year. Those were the largest losses in department records dating back 30 years.

Last year also marked the first time since 1983 that overall levels of contingency reserves for the mortgage guaranty industry were drawn down to cover losses.