Essent Group makes sure mortgage lenders don’t get left holding their hat when homeowners can’t pay off their mortgage. The company, through subsidiary Essent Guaranty, is one of seven private mortgage insurers licensed to operate in the US. (Many others went out of business following the financial crisis of 2008.) Essent Guaranty counts about 800 mortgage lenders as customers and is licensed to write mortgage insurance policies in all 50 states and Washington DC. The group also has a reinsurance subsidiary that is not yet operational. Headquartered in Bermuda for tax purposes, in 2013 Essent Group went public in the US. It raised $335 million and plans to use it for general corporate purposes.