About MGIC

Corporate profile

We are the principal subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corporation. We founded modern private mortgage insurance in 1957, and we remain the industry's premier provider today.

We serve lenders in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam and help families achieve homeownership sooner by making affordable low-down-payment mortgages a reality. Over the years, we've proven that private capital plays a vital role in the housing industry. Our products, services and experience help make homeownership attainable for the public, and originating high-LTV loans safer for the financial institutions we serve.

We provide a critical component of our country’s residential mortgage finance system by protecting mortgage investors from credit losses. The mortgage insurance we provide also benefits consumers by helping them achieve homeownership sooner with low-down-payment loans.

Our strength comes from our history, leadership and co-worker commitment to providing quality products and customer service.

History

Our founder, Max Karl, invented modern private mortgage insurance. We don't just carry our history as a company with us — we carry the history of an entire industry.

In the late 1950s, the national population was growing with the Baby Boom, and everyone expected to have a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. But before the garage and the car came a home. The average cost of a home at that time was $20,000 and average yearly income was $4,545. Putting the required 20% down payment on a home was difficult.

Mr. Karl was a real estate attorney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He observed the struggles that people had with saving for a down payment on a home. He also understood the risks that mortgage originators faced in lending money to potential homebuyers. He was frustrated with the process of closing loans with 100% government guarantees, which he believed was rife with red tape and bureaucracy. Why not create a private company that insured only the top portion of a mortgage, rather than 100% of the mortgage? This could be a less costly and easier way to provide low-down-payment financing to borrowers with less than a 20% down payment.

Mr. Karl took his idea to a group of investors, many of whom were Savings & Loan executives. This group, along with his family and friends (even his barber!) contributed $250,000 in capital, and he founded Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, or MGIC, in 1957.

Today, saving for a down payment is still difficult. And we're still here, working with mortgage lenders and helping people afford homes with low-down-payment loans.