Essent Guaranty Announces Clarity of Coverage(SM)

RADNOR, Pa., March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Essent Guaranty, Inc., a mortgage insurer founded to provide private capital to America's housing finance system, announced that their MI coverage will be enhanced by Clarity of Coverage(SM).  Clarity of Coverage is an endorsement to the company's new master policy that gives insured lenders and policy beneficiaries unprecedented confidence that mortgage insurance claims will be processed in a transparent manner and evaluated fairly.

Clarity of Coverage reduces lenders' exposure to mortgage insurance claims being unfairly denied for immaterial misrepresentations, underwriting errors, and missing documents.  Essent's Clarity of Coverage is applicable to every loan the company insures for the life of the coverage. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have approved the Essent Master Policy with Clarity of Coverage endorsements for use in connection with loans sold to them.

"We've listened to lenders' concerns that they want to be confident that their mortgage insurance claims will be handled fairly and paid timely by Essent. Our fresh approach to doing business includes early identification of risk issues, an exceptionally strong capital base to stand behind our policies, and now Clarity of Coverage," said Mark Casale, President and CEO of Essent Guaranty, Inc. "By offering Clarity of Coverage as an endorsement to our master policy, we have made a binding commitment to fair practices in mortgage insurance. With Clarity of Coverage, lenders can be confident that the benefits of Essent insurance will be there when needed."

"Essent's Clarity of Coverage commitments are tailored to how lenders do business. We address underwriting errors, appraisal variances, investigative practices, missing documents, and other areas in need of clarity and consistency," said Essent's Chief Business Officer Jeff Cashmer.   "We encourage lenders to go to our new website at www.essent.us for details of these valuable commitments and how Clarity of Coverage can benefit them," added Cashmer. "This is a unique offering in our industry. We are working with our partners, moving forward together to change the way business is done."  

About Essent

Essent Guaranty, Inc. entered the market in 2010 as the first new mortgage insurance company in over a decade. Essent's mission is to serve the housing finance industry by providing private capital to bear mortgage credit risk for lenders and investors, enabling them to make safe and affordable mortgage financing available for homeowners.  

The company's capital strength comes from $600 million in invested and committed equity funding from a group of premier investors, including Pine Brook Road Partners, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, PartnerRe, and RenaissanceRe Ventures Ltd.  By guarding lenders and investors against the risk of credit losses, Essent demonstrates a commitment to -- and confidence in -- U.S. homebuyers and the evolving housing finance system. And with Clarity of Coverage, the company is leading the way to a more sustainable future for the housing industry.

Essent Guaranty, Inc. is a member of the Essent Group Ltd. family of companies, which offers private mortgage insurance and reinsurance coverage for single-family mortgage loans in the United States. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, with operations centered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Essent is licensed to write insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and is approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Additional information may be found at www.essent.us.

SOURCE Essent Guaranty, Inc.