XML 15 R70.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.0.6

Fair Value Disclosures (Details 3) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Funds Withheld At Interest Embedded Derivatives [Member]
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	$ (375,337,000)	$ (173,160,000)	$ (361,456,000)	$ (274,220,000)
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	0	0	0	0
Investment related gains (losses), net	54,836,000	(102,574,000)	40,955,000	(1,514,000)
Claims and other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	0	0	0	0
Purchases	0	0	0	0
Sales	0	0	0	0
Settlements	0	0	0	0
Transfers into Level 3	0	0	0	0
Transfers out of Level 3	0	0	0	0
Balance, End of period	(320,501,000)	(275,734,000)	(320,501,000)	(275,734,000)
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	0	0	0	0
Investment related gains (losses), net	54,836,000	(102,575,000)	40,955,000	(1,514,000)
Claims & other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Nonredeemable Preferred Stock Member
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period				420,000
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses				0
Investment related gains (losses), net				0
Claims and other policy benefits				0
Interest credited				0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses				0
Included in other comprehensive income				0
Purchases				0
Sales				(420,000)
Settlements				0
Transfers into Level 3				0
Transfers out of Level 3				0
Balance, End of period		0		0
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses				0
Investment related gains (losses), net				0
Claims & other policy benefits				0
Interest credited				0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses				0
Equity Securities Other Member
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	3,227,000	11,001,000	11,489,000	16,416,000
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	0	0	0	0
Investment related gains (losses), net	0	0	1,098,000	3,504,000
Claims and other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	0	195,000	843,000	(4,792,000)
Purchases	0	0	108,000	0
Sales	0	(633,000)	(3,788,000)	(4,565,000)
Settlements	0	0	0	0
Transfers into Level 3	0	0	0	0
Transfers out of Level 3	(3,227,000)	0	(9,750,000)	0
Balance, End of period	0	10,563,000	0	10,563,000
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	0	0	0	0
Investment related gains (losses), net	0	0	(183,000)	0
Claims & other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Reinsurance Ceded Receivable Embedded Derivatives [Member]
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	4,416,000	86,029,000	4,945,000	75,431,000
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	0	0	0	0
Investment related gains (losses), net	0	0	0	0
Claims and other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	(124,000)	(3,443,000)	(449,000)	8,869,000
Included in other comprehensive income	0	0	0	0
Purchases	0	2,081,000	0	6,345,000
Sales	0	0	0	0
Settlements	(100,000)	(3,123,000)	(304,000)	(9,101,000)
Transfers into Level 3	0	0	0	0
Transfers out of Level 3	0	0	0	0
Balance, End of period	4,192,000	81,544,000	4,192,000	81,544,000
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	0	0	0	0
Investment related gains (losses), net	0	0	0	0
Claims & other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	13,000	(592,000)	(33,000)	17,892,000
Interest Sensitive Contract Liabilities Embedded Derivatives [Member]
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	(938,927,000)	(804,171,000)	(1,028,241,000)	(721,485,000)
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	0	0	0	0
Investment related gains (losses), net	2,579,000	(260,239,000)	74,025,000	(253,445,000)
Claims and other policy benefits	213,000	(1,600,000)	770,000	(1,283,000)
Interest credited	(33,980,000)	19,598,000	(27,348,000)	(66,519,000)
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	0	0	0	0
Purchases	(8,502,000)	(16,063,000)	(48,199,000)	(57,283,000)
Sales	0	0	0	0
Settlements	24,813,000	20,862,000	75,189,000	58,402,000
Transfers into Level 3	0	0	0	0
Transfers out of Level 3	0	0	0	0
Balance, End of period	(953,804,000)	(1,041,613,000)	(953,804,000)	(1,041,613,000)
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	0	0	0	0
Investment related gains (losses), net	427,000	(262,552,000)	68,315,000	(255,758,000)
Claims & other policy benefits	(23,000)	(1,135,000)	56,000	(1,151,000)
Interest credited	(58,621,000)	(1,265,000)	(102,017,000)	(124,920,000)
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Short Term Investments Member
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	0		0
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	(7,000)		(7,000)
Investment related gains (losses), net	0		0
Claims and other policy benefits	0		0
Interest credited	0		0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0		0
Included in other comprehensive income	54,000		54,000
Purchases	22,014,000		22,014,000
Sales	0		0
Settlements	0		0
Transfers into Level 3	0		0
Transfers out of Level 3	0		0
Balance, End of period	22,061,000		22,061,000
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	(7,000)		(7,000)
Investment related gains (losses), net	0		0
Claims & other policy benefits	0		0
Interest credited	0		0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0		0
Availableforsale Securities Member | Corporate Debt Securities Member
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	994,014,000	977,560,000	974,169,000	872,179,000
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	(4,846,000)	38,000	(4,738,000)	200,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	(1,059,000)	591,000	(2,339,000)	1,332,000
Claims and other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	22,280,000	7,725,000	31,940,000	17,174,000
Purchases	556,031,000	59,905,000	645,466,000	257,713,000
Sales	(18,548,000)	(14,415,000)	(45,833,000)	(35,487,000)
Settlements	(31,448,000)	(23,677,000)	(84,819,000)	(99,407,000)
Transfers into Level 3	1,293,000	15,947,000	18,738,000	76,627,000
Transfers out of Level 3	(10,444,000)	(65,855,000)	(25,311,000)	(132,512,000)
Balance, End of period	1,507,273,000	957,819,000	1,507,273,000	957,819,000
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	(4,861,000)	32,000	(4,747,000)	162,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	(223,000)	(708,000)	(1,329,000)	(1,223,000)
Claims & other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Availableforsale Securities Member | Residential Mortgage Backed Securities Member
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	49,591,000	103,430,000	81,655,000	183,291,000
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	114,000	181,000	413,000	674,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	(187,000)	(1,059,000)	(223,000)	(1,460,000)
Claims and other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	479,000	44,000	1,886,000	4,528,000
Purchases	31,020,000	454,000	31,602,000	6,236,000
Sales	(24,566,000)	0	(40,790,000)	(20,701,000)
Settlements	(1,437,000)	(1,447,000)	(5,139,000)	(13,812,000)
Transfers into Level 3	1,804,000	2,248,000	8,979,000	7,250,000
Transfers out of Level 3	(7,459,000)	(36,941,000)	(29,024,000)	(99,096,000)
Balance, End of period	49,359,000	66,910,000	49,359,000	66,910,000
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	28,000	181,000	283,000	655,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	0	(131,000)	(269,000)	(175,000)
Claims & other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Availableforsale Securities Member | Asset Backed Securities Member
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	128,358,000	188,773,000	193,492,000	228,558,000
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	54,000	271,000	497,000	1,175,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	(3,000)	(6,760,000)	(510,000)	(9,588,000)
Claims and other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	7,658,000	(1,827,000)	16,135,000	5,586,000
Purchases	62,109,000	7,449,000	64,121,000	37,328,000
Sales	(3,725,000)	(5,547,000)	(11,627,000)	(27,844,000)
Settlements	(4,407,000)	(3,172,000)	(11,510,000)	(20,013,000)
Transfers into Level 3	5,006,000	10,773,000	6,086,000	32,274,000
Transfers out of Level 3	(5,460,000)	(27,417,000)	(67,094,000)	(84,933,000)
Balance, End of period	189,590,000	162,543,000	189,590,000	162,543,000
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	40,000	246,000	440,000	1,084,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	(242,000)	(1,052,000)	(849,000)	(4,603,000)
Claims & other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Availableforsale Securities Member | Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities Member
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	115,733,000	150,765,000	115,976,000	147,556,000
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	446,000	505,000	1,579,000	1,673,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	(2,088,000)	(6,548,000)	(13,771,000)	(9,280,000)
Claims and other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	6,188,000	(14,717,000)	17,436,000	12,599,000
Purchases	21,092,000	0	21,092,000	7,684,000
Sales	0	0	(1,552,000)	0
Settlements	(511,000)	0	(568,000)	(3,410,000)
Transfers into Level 3	26,208,000	0	37,054,000	66,854,000
Transfers out of Level 3	0	(17,026,000)	(10,178,000)	(110,697,000)
Balance, End of period	167,068,000	112,979,000	167,068,000	112,979,000
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	446,000	504,000	1,579,000	1,660,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	(2,088,000)	(6,548,000)	(14,163,000)	(9,292,000)
Claims & other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Availableforsale Securities Member | US Treasury And Government Member
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	0		0
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	(59,000)		(59,000)
Investment related gains (losses), net	0		0
Claims and other policy benefits	0		0
Interest credited	0		0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0		0
Included in other comprehensive income	(15,000)		(15,000)
Purchases	4,640,000		4,640,000
Sales	0		0
Settlements	0		0
Transfers into Level 3	0		0
Transfers out of Level 3	0		0
Balance, End of period	4,566,000		4,566,000
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	(59,000)		(59,000)
Investment related gains (losses), net	0		0
Claims & other policy benefits	0		0
Interest credited	0		0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0		0
Availableforsale Securities Member | US States And Political Subdivisions Member
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period	14,486,000	22,932,000	10,373,000	6,983,000
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses	1,000	(5,000)	5,000	365,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	(4,000)	(4,000)	(12,000)	(11,000)
Claims and other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	3,433,000	225,000	4,666,000	3,839,000
Purchases	0	0	0	871,000
Sales	0	0	0	0
Settlements	(116,000)	(22,000)	(162,000)	(65,000)
Transfers into Level 3	29,150,000	0	37,588,000	48,469,000
Transfers out of Level 3	0	(13,736,000)	(5,508,000)	(51,061,000)
Balance, End of period	46,950,000	9,390,000	46,950,000	9,390,000
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses	1,000	(5,000)	5,000	365,000
Investment related gains (losses), net	0	0	0	0
Claims & other policy benefits	0	0	0	0
Interest credited	0	0	0	0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses	0	0	0	0
Availableforsale Securities Member | Other Foreign Government, Supranational And Foreign Government-Sponsored Enterprises
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring Basis Unobservable Input Reconciliation Calculation [Roll Forward]
Balance, Beginning of period		4,074,000		6,736,000
Total gains or (losses) (realized/unrealized)
Investment income, net of related expenses		0		1,000
Investment related gains (losses), net		0		0
Claims and other policy benefits		0		0
Interest credited		0		0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses		0		0
Included in other comprehensive income		0		8,000
Purchases		0		0
Sales		0		(161,000)
Settlements		0		0
Transfers into Level 3		0		21,000
Transfers out of Level 3		(4,074,000)		(6,605,000)
Balance, End of period		0		0
Unrealized Gains And Losses Recorded In Earnings For The Period Relating To Those Level 3 Assets And Liabilities That Were Still Held At The End Of The Period
Investment income, net of related expenses		0		(36,000)
Investment related gains (losses), net		0		0
Claims & other policy benefits		0		0
Interest credited		0		0
Policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses		$ 0		$ 0

X

- Details

Name:	rga_FairValueAssetsAndLiabilitiesMeasuredOnRecurringBasisUnobservableInputReconciliationCalculationRollForward
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Fair Value, Measurement with Unobservable Inputs Reconciliation, Recurring Basis, Assets and Liabilities.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairvaluemeasurementwithunobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilities
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (realized and unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3), which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line claims and other policy benefits

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesGainLossIncludedInEarningsInClaimsAndOtherPolicyBenefits
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (realized and unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3), which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line called interest creditedt.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesGainLossIncludedInEarningsInInterestCredited
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (realized and unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3), which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line called investment income, net of related expenses.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesGainLossIncludedInEarningsInNetInvestmentIncome
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (realized and unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3), which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line called policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesGainLossIncludedInEarningsInPolicyAcquisitionCostsAndOtherInsuranceExpenses
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (realized and unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3), which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line called investment related gains (losses), net.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesGainLossIncludedInEarningsInRealizedInvestmentGainLoss
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (realized and unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3), which are included in other comprehensive income.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesGainsLossesIncludedInOtherComprehensiveIncome
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Fair Value, Measurement with Unobservable Inputs Reconciliation, Recurring Basis, Asset and Liabilities, Level 3 Transfers, Into.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesLevel3TransfersInto
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Fair Value, Measurement with Unobservable Inputs Reconciliation, Recurring Basis, Asset and Liabilities, Level 3 Transfers, Out of.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValuemeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesLevel3TransfersOutOf
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Fair Value Measurement With Unobservable Inputs Reconciliation Recurring Basis Asset And Liabilities Purchases.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesPurchases
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Fair Value Measurement With Unobservable Inputs Reconciliation Recurring Basis Asset And Liabilities Sales.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesSales
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Fair Value Measurement With Unobservable Inputs Reconciliation Recurring Basis Asset And Liabilities Settlements Maturities Paydowns Net.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetAndLiabilitiesSettlementsMaturitiesPaydownsNet
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetLiabilitiesGainLossIncludedInEarningsAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3) and still held at the end of the period, which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line claims and other policy benefits

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetsAndLiabilitiesUnrealizedGainLossStillHeldIncludedInEarningsInClaimsAndOtherPolicyBenefits
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3) and still held at the end of the period, which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line called interest creditedt.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetsAndLiabilitiesUnrealizedGainLossStillHeldIncludedInEarningsInInterestCredited
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3) and still held at the end of the period, which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line called policy acquisition costs and other insurance expenses.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetsAndLiabilitiesUnrealizedGainLossStillHeldIncludedInEarningsInPolicyAcquisitionCostsAndOtherInsuranceExpenses
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3) and still held at the end of the period, which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line called investment related gains (losses), net.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetsAndLiabilitiesUnrealizedGainLossStillHeldIncludedInEarningsInRealizedInvestmentGainLoss
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Gains-losses for the period (unrealized) arising from assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (level 3) and still held at the end of the period, which are included in earnings and reported on the income statement line called investment income, net of related expenses.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetsAndLiabilitiesUnrealizedGainLossStillHeldIncludedInEarningsNetInvestmentIncome
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	rga_UnrealizedGainsLossesRecordedInEarningsRelatingToLevelThreeAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration