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Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts - Summary of Gross Premium Receivable Roll-Forward (Direct and Assumed Contracts) (Detail) € in Thousands, £ in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2019 GBP (£)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Insurance [Line Items]
Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts, Accelerated Premium Revenue, Amount	$ 2,019	$ 6,751		$ 8,073			$ 22,246
Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts, Premium Receivable [Roll Forward]
Beginning premium receivable				495,391			586,312
Premium receipts				36,778			42,660
Adjustments for changes in expected and contractual cash flows				(32,593)			(34,088)
Accretion of premium receivable discount				8,775			11,211
Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts, Premium Receivable, Deconsolidation of VIE				3,239
Uncollectable premiums				(6,921)			2,473
Other adjustments (including foreign exchange)				(16,369)			(6,051)
Ending premium receivable	414,744	517,197		414,744			517,197
Premium Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss	13,943			13,943					$ 7,136
United Kingdom, Pounds
Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts, Premium Receivable [Roll Forward]
Ending premium receivable	124,406	136,925		124,406		£ 101,168	136,925	£ 104,988
Euro Member Countries, Euro
Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts, Premium Receivable [Roll Forward]
Ending premium receivable	$ 22,091	$ 32,613	€ 28,085	$ 22,091	€ 20,264		$ 32,613

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- Definition

Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts, Premium Receivable, Deconsolidation of VIE

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Insurance [Line Items]

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- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) in allowance for credit loss on accounts receivable.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 326
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 13
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=119407570&loc=SL82919249-210447

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- Definition

This element represents the amount of premium revenue on financial guarantee insurance contracts recognized during the period that was accelerated for revenue recognition purposes.

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Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 605
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)
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- Definition

Amount of the premium receivable for financial guarantee insurance contracts reported in the statement of financial position. This element primarily would consist of those financial guarantee insurance contracts which premiums are to be collected over the contract period, but may, on occasion, include premiums which are to be collected in full at inception, but which straddle a financial reporting period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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- Definition

Amount of cash inflow from premiums received for premium receivable on financial guarantee insurance contracts.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
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- Definition

A roll forward is a reconciliation of a concept from the beginning of a period to the end of a period.

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Amount of accretion of the discount for premiums receivable on financial guarantee insurance contracts.

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-SubTopic 310
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Amount of increase (decrease) in the premium receivable on financial guarantee insurance contracts from changes in the period of the contract.

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-Publisher FASB
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-SubTopic 310
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Amount of increase (decrease) in the premiums receivable on financial guarantee insurance contracts from adjustments classified as other.

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Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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- Definition

The carrying value as of the balance sheet date of the estimated valuation allowance to reduce gross premiums receivable to net realizable value.

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
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-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
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