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ESSENT GROUP Essent Group Ltd. Clarendon House 2 Church Street Hamilton HM 11 , Bermuda PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact : 610-230-0556 media@essentgroup.com Investor Relations Contact : Christopher G. Curran 855-809 - ESNT ir@essentgroup.com Essent Group Ltd. Announces First Quarter 2021 Results , Increase of Quarterly Dividend , and Board Authorization of $ 250 Million Share Repurchase Plan HAMILTON , Bermuda , May 7 , 2021 - Essent Group Ltd. ( NYSE : ESNT ) today reported net income for the quarter ended March 31 , 2021 of $ 135.6 million or $ 1.21 per diluted share , compared to $ 149.5 million or $ 1.52 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31 , 2020 . Essent also announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized a $ 250 million share repurchase plan to be executed by the end of 2022 and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $ 0.17 per common share . The dividend is payable on June 10 , 2021 , to shareholders of record on June 1 , 2021 . " We are pleased with our financial results for the first quarter which we believe demonstrate a return to pre COVID - 19 profitability , as the U.S. economy gains momentum coming out of the pandemic and our defaults continue to normalize , " said Mark A. Casale , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer . " At quarter end , our capital position remains strong as our buy , manage and distribute operating model has our franchise well positioned . As a reflection of this , we are pleased to announce our $ 250 million share repurchase program and $ 0.01 per share increase in our quarterly dividend . " First Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights : Insurance in force as of March 31 , 2021 was $ 197.1 billion , compared to $ 198.9 billion as of December 31 , 2020 and $ 165.6 billion as of March 31 , 2020 . New insurance written for the first quarter was $ 19.3 billion , compared to $ 29.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 and $ 13.5 billion in the first quarter of 2020 . Net premiums earned for the first quarter were $ 219.1 million , compared to $ 222.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 and $ 206.5 million in the first quarter of 2020 . The expense ratio for the first quarter was 19.3 % , compared to 16.6 % in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 20.3 % in the first quarter of 2020 . The provision for losses and LAE for the first quarter was $ 32.3 million , compared to a provision of $ 62.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 and a provision of $ 8.1 million in the first quarter of 2020 . The percentage of loans in default as of March 31 , 2021 was 3.70 % , compared to 3.93 % as of December 31 , 2020 and 0.83 % as of March 31 , 2020 . ➤ ➤ The combined ratio for the first quarter was 34.0 % , compared to 44.5 % in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 24.2 % in the first quarter of 2020 . The consolidated balance of cash and investments at March 31 , 2021 was $ 4.9 billion , including cash and investment balances at Essent Group Ltd. of $ 540.3 million . The combined risk - to - capital ratio of the U.S. mortgage insurance business , which includes statutory capital for both Essent Guaranty , Inc. and Essent Guaranty of PA , Inc. , was 10.6 : 1 as of March 31 , 2021 . Income taxes for the quarter ended March 31 , 2021 include $ 5.7 million of discrete tax expense associated with an increase in our state deferred income tax liability .