Bermuda-based mortgage insurer Essent Group Ltd recorded a profit of $65 million last year, bouncing back from a loss in the previous year.

Chairman and CEO Mark Casale described 2013 as “a landmark year” for the company, which offers private mortgage insurance for single-family mortgage loans in the United States through its Pennsylvania-headquartered subsidiary Essent Guaranty.

Essent posted net income for the fourth quarter of 2013 of $19 million. The full-year net income of $65.4 million, which Essent said included a tax benefit of $7.4 million.

Primary insurance in force at the end of last year was $32 billion, representing an increase of 135 percent compared to $13.6 billion of insurance in force at the end of 2012.

As of December 31, 2013, consolidated stockholders’ equity was $722.1 million and combined statutory capital in insurance subsidiaries was $469.4 million.

Reflecting on the year, Mr Casale said: “We achieved investment grade ratings from both S&P and Moody’s and also successfully completed our initial public offering, giving us greater access to capital to support future growth.

“In addition, our insurance in force growth fuelled a significant increase in our top line revenues, resulting in record earnings for the year.”

New insurance written in 2013 was $21.2 billion, compared to $11.2 billion in 2012.

The combined ratio for the fourth quarter was 57 percent, compared to 103.2 percent for the fourth quarter of 2012. For the full year, the combined ratio was 59.5 percent, compared to 149.8 percent for 2012.