The decision was announced after Standard & Poor's earlier on Monday said it would not cut the company's top-tier credit ratings, causing MBIA shares to rally 19.7 percent and prompting a broader stock market rally.
S&P said it had grown more confident that MBIA could raise capital after the insurer sold some $2.6 billion of debt and equity this year.
MBIA on Monday also eliminated its dividend.
In a letter to shareholders, MBIA's new chief executive, Joseph "Jay" Brown, said said that he suspended the writing of new structured finance business for about six months, while the company evaluates its options.
He also said he plans within a five-year period to separate the company's municipal and structured finance businesses.
Eliminating the dividend would save about $174 million a year, he said on Monday.
"Everything we are working toward right now is centered on regaining stability," Brown wrote. "Continuing uncertainty in the mortgage markets tells me that we can expect a bumpy ride over the coming months and possibly longer."