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MGIC history
MGIC company history timeline
Karl's idea caught on, and beginning in 1958, the company's profits increased every year.
MGIC, which went public in 1961, provided speedy service using the information collected by the lending institution and approved insurance applications within a day or two of filing.
Baldwin-United had been in the business of manufacturing pianos until 1968, when a series of acquisitions built it into a financial services conglomerate specializing in insurance with 250 subsidiaries.
In 1971 regulatory authorities expanded lending limits, to permit savings and loan associations to make mortgages up to 95 percent of appraised value (compared to 90 percent before) as long as loans were insured.
In a more radical move in 1971, the company introduced American Municipal Bond Insurance Corp. (AMBAC) to insure the principal and interest of municipal bonds against default.
MGIC formed another unit in 1972 to provide the first nonfederal secondary market for buying and selling conventional mortgages, allowing lenders to free funds tied up in mortgages for further lending.
Of approximately $11 billion in private residential mortgage insurance written in 1972, MGIC wrote $7.5 billion, and the number of claims it had to pay annually--foreclosure on losses--remained a negligible $2 million or less annually.
With growth came competition, and there were ten rivals by 1973.
Then suddenly in 1974, problems began to surface.
1974: Karl becomes chairman and Gerald Friedman assumes charge of operations.
In 1981, Baldwin-United Corp., a multibillion-dollar asset holding company with subsidiaries in life, property, and casualty insurance, and savings and loans, bought MGIC for $1.2 billion.
1985: Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company makes a $250 million investment in MGIC and founds the "new" MGIC.
In 1987, Bill Lacy was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of the company.
Then, in 1989, the year Karl retired, the company began to show signs of rebounding.
In 1995, the founder of the company, Max H. Karl, died.
By 1996, MGIC had grown 25 percent since going public.
In 2000, MGIC formed eMagic.com, a subsidiary to incorporate the company's web site.
During 2001, MGIC enjoyed a record volume of new insurance which resulted in high earnings of $639 million.
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MGIC may also be known as or be related to MGIC, MGIC Investment, MGIC Investment Corp, MGIC Investment Corp. and MGIC Investment Corporation.