Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	May 05, 2015
Document Documentand Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	MBI
Entity Registrant Name	MBIA INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000814585
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		181,668,923
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes