Mortgage insurer MGIC Investment says it swung to a loss during the first quarter as it paid out more in claims related to mortgage defaults.

Milwaukee-based MGIC Investment Corp. lost $34.4 million, or 41 cents per share, during the first quarter, compared with profit of $92.4 million, or $1.12 per share, a year ago.

But the results easily beat the $1.69 per share average loss estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Revenue rose to $423.9 million from $369.6 million, coming in shy of Wall Street’s $434.6 million forecast.

MGIC Investment has been hit hard by the deterioration in the mortgage and housing markets. The mortgage insurer incurred $691.6 million in claims during the quarter, compared with just $181.8 million during the year-ago period.