UPDATE 2-Radian Group posts narrower-than-expected Q3 loss

* Q3 loss $0.86 vs est loss $1.32 * Total direct claims paid down 51 pct * Expects delinquencies to rise in Q4 * Cuts '09 claims paid view by 15 pct * Shares up as much as 10 pct (Recasts, adds details about results, adds background, updates share movement) Nov 4 (Reuters) - Mortgage insurer Radian group Inc reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss as fewer homeowners claimed mortgage insurance, and cut its 2009 claims-paid forecast, sending its shares up 10 percent. The company reduced its claims-paid forecast for 2009 to $940 million from its prior view of $1.1 billion and said it expects to have sufficient capital to write mortgage insurance business into 2010. Chief Executive S.A. Ibrahim said the company was, "actively working on strategies to continue writing new business well into the future." Total direct claims paid for the the third quarter fell 51 percent to $135.5 million. Provision for losses fell 26 percent to $404.9 million. Radian said mortgage insurance provision for losses of $376.5 million reflects higher delinquencies. The company expects delinquencies to continue to rise during the fourth quarter Radian said it had $380 million in cash available at Sept. 30. Radian has suffered huge losses in the recent past from backing subprime bonds and mortgages that saw a surge in defaults as credit and housing markets in the United States worsened, impacting economies globally. Apart from rising defaults, mortgage insurers like Radian, PMI Group Inc and MGIC Investment Corp have also had their ratings put to risk due to expected losses in mortgage-backed debt. In October, the largest U.S. mortgage insurer MGIC Investment posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as more people failed to repay their home loans. Radian's net loss for the third quarter was $70.5 million, or 86 cents a shares, compared with net income of $36.7 million, or 46 cents a share, in the year ago period. Analysts expected the company to post a loss of $1.32 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Shares of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Radian were trading at $6.41 before the bell. They closed at $5.92 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bangalore; Editing Vikram S Subhedar) Keywords: RADIAN/ ([e-mail]; within U.S. [phone]; outside U.S. [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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