Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	May 01, 2019
Document Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2019
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
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		90,180,453
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false