Within 60 days after a claim has been filed and all documents required to be submitted to us have been delivered, we generally have the option to either (1) pay the coverage percentage specified for the insured loan, with the insured retaining title to the underlying property and receiving all proceeds from the eventual sale of the property (we have elected this option for the majority of claim payments in the recent past), (2) pay the loss on the sale of the property if it has already been sold (calculated by subtracting the sale proceeds from the claim amount) or (3) pay 100% of the claim amount in exchange for conveyance to us of good and marketable title to the property. After we receive title to a property, we sell it for our own account. If we fail to pay a claim timely, we are subject to additional interest expense.

Claim activity is not evenly spread throughout the coverage period of a book of primary business. Relatively few claims are typically received during the first two years following issuance of coverage on a loan. The highest level of claim activity has typically occurred in the third and fourth years after the year of loan origination. Thereafter, the number of claims received has typically declined at a gradual rate, although the rate of decline can be affected by conditions in the economy, including slowing home price appreciation or home price depreciation. Moreover, when a loan is refinanced, because the new loan replaces, and is a continuation of, an earlier loan, the pattern of claims frequency for that new loan may be different from the typical pattern for other loans. Persistency, the condition of the economy, including unemployment, and other factors can affect the pattern of claim activity. For example, a weak economy can lead to claims from older books of business increasing, continuing at stable levels or experiencing a lower rate of decline. As of December 31, 2022, 80%2023, 67% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2020, 84% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2019, 85%and 89% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2018, and 88% of our primary RIF was written subsequent to December 31, 2017.2018. See “Our Products and Services – Mortgage Insurance – Primary Insurance In Force and Risk In Force by Policy Year” above.

Before paying a claim, generally we review the loan and servicing files to determine the appropriateness of the claim amount. Our insurance policies generally provide that we can reduce or deny a claim if the servicer did not comply with its obligations under our insurance policy, including the requirement to mitigate our loss by performing reasonable loss mitigation efforts or, for example, diligently pursuing a foreclosure or bankruptcy relief in a timely manner. We call such reduction of claims submitted to us “curtailments."curtailments.” In each of 20222023 and 2021,2022, curtailments reduced our average claim paid by approximately 6.3%5.4% and 4.4%6.3%, respectively. The COVID-19-related foreclosure moratoriums and forbearance plans, along with increased home prices, resulted in decreased claims paid activity beginning in the second quarter of 2020. It is difficult to predict the level of curtailments oncethat will occur in the future as loans that were subject to these foreclosure moratoriums and forbearance plans end.work their way through the claim process.

We have in place quota share reinsurance ("QSR") and excess of loss reinsurance ("XOL") transactions providing various amounts of coverage on 85% of our risk in force as of December 31, 2022.2023. These transactions allow us to better manage our risk profile, and because they reduce the amount of capital we are required to hold to comply with insurance regulatory requirements and the requirements of the GSEs' PMIERs. Our reinsurance strategy focuses on reinsuring our most recent or future NIW, while recapturing risk on attractive seasoned vintages.

At December 31, 2023 and 2022, approximately 60.4% and 2021, approximately 68% and 78%67.9%, respectively, of our IIF was subject to quota share reinsurance ("QSR") transactions. In 2023 and 2022, approximately 86.8% and 2021, approximately 87% and 82%87.4%, respectively, of our NIW was subject to QSR transactions.

The structure of the QSR transactions is a quota share of various percentages of the policies covered, with a ceding commission and a profit commission. Generally, under the transactions, we will receive an annualThe profit commission providedunder our QSR Transactions also varies inversely with the annuallevel of ceded losses incurred on a “dollar for dollar” basis and can be eliminated at ceded loss ratiolevels higher than what we have experienced on the loans covered under the transactions remains below various percentages, depending upon the transaction.our QSR Transactions