XML 66 R128.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v2.4.0.6

Debt and Trust Preferred Securities (Narrative Details) (USD $) |  |  | 12 Months Ended
--- | --- | --- | ---
Dec. 31, 2012 | Dec. 31, 2011 | Dec. 31, 2011 Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member] | Dec. 31, 2012 Subordinated Debentures Due 2042 [Member] | Dec. 31, 2011 Remarketed on March 4 2011 [Member]
Debt And Trust Preferred Securities [Abstract] |  |  |  |  |
Number Of Trust Preferred Securites |  |  |  |  | 4,500,000
Aggregate Value Of Trust Preferred Securites |  |  |  |  | $ 158,200,000
Trust Preferred Security Value |  |  |  |  | $ 35.44
Warrants Excercised |  | 4,402,078 |  |  | 4,400,000
Price Per Warrant |  | $ 35.44 |  |  | $ 35.44
Number Of Common Shares Issued |  |  |  |  | 5,500,000
Trust Preferred Securities Fixed Annual Distribution Rate |  |  |  |  | 2.375%
Warrant Conversion Value In Common Shares |  |  |  |  | 1.2508
Loss On Unamortized Issuance Costs |  |  |  |  | 4,400,000
Unexercised Warrant Cash Redemption Value |  |  |  |  | $ 14.56
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage |  |  | 5.00% | 6.20% |
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date |  |  | Jun. 01, 2021 | Sep. 15, 2042 |
Debt Instrument, Face Amount |  |  | 400,000,000 | 400,000,000 |
Proceeds from Issuance of Senior Long-term Debt |  |  | 394,400,000 |  |
Debt Issuance Costs Incurred And Capitalized |  |  | 3,400,000 | 6,300,000 |
ProceedsFromIssuanceOfSubordinatedLongTermDebt |  |  |  | 393,700,000 |
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Syndicated Revolving Credit Facility Capacity | 850,000,000 |  |  |  |
Syndicated Revolving Credit Facility Capacity Undrawn Outstanding | $ 402,900,000 | $ 183,500,000 |  |  |
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate | 5.99% | 5.94% |  |  |

X
- Definition Aggregate accreted value of remarketed trust preferred securities. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_AggregateValueOfTrustPreferredSecurites
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Details
Name: | rga_DebtAndTrustPreferredSecuritiesAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The amount of issuance costs that were incurred and capitalized for a debt transaction. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_DebtIssuanceCostsIncurredAndCapitalized
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Represents unamortized debt issue costs related to the original issuance of Trust Preferred Income Equity Redeemable Preferred Securities which were expensed due to the remarketing of the securites. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_LossOnUnamortizedIssuanceCosts
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Number of common shares issued upon exercise of warrants. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_NumberOfCommonSharesIssued
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Number of trust preferred securities units with detachable warrant. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_NumberOfTrustPreferredSecurites
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:decimalItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount paid to the company for each warrant excercised. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_PricePerWarrant
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | num:perShareItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Overall capacity of the Company's syndicated revolving credit facility. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_SyndicatedRevolvingCreditFacilityCapacity
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount of undrawn outstanding letters of credit against the Company's syndicated revolving credit facility. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_SyndicatedRevolvingCreditFacilityCapacityUndrawnOutstanding
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Annual distribution rate on trust preferred securities. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_TrustPreferredSecuritiesFixedAnnualDistributionRate
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Value of each remarketed trust preferred security. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_TrustPreferredSecurityValue
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | num:perShareItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount paid by the company for each unexercised warrant. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_UnexercisedWarrantCashRedemptionValue
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | num:perShareItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Number of common shares to be issued upon conversion of original Trust Preferred Income Equity Redeemable Preferred Securities. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_WarrantConversionValueInCommonShares
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Represents the number of warrants exercised. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | rga_WarrantsExcercised
Namespace Prefix: | rga_
Data Type: | xbrli:decimalItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition The stated principal amount of the debt instrument at time of issuance, which may vary from the carrying amount because of unamortized premium or discount. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher AICPA -Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB) -Number 21 -Paragraph 16, 20 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 835 -SubTopic 30 -Section 45 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6451184&loc=d3e28551-108399 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 835 -SubTopic 30 -Section 55 -Paragraph 8 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6584090&loc=d3e28878-108400 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Interest rate stated in the contractual debt agreement. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02 -Paragraph 22 -Article 5 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22(a)(1)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DebtInstrumentInterestRateStatedPercentage
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Date when the debt instrument is scheduled to be fully repaid, which may be presented in a variety of ways (year, month and year, day, month and year, quarter, etc.). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 129 -Paragraph 2, 4 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02 -Paragraph 22 -Article 5 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22(a)(2)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DebtInstrumentMaturityDate
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Reflects the calculation as of the balance sheet date of the average interest rate weighted by the amount of debt outstanding by type or by instrument at that time. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DebtWeightedAverageInterestRate
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The cash inflow from a borrowing with the highest claim on the assets of the entity in case of bankruptcy or liquidation (with maturities initially due after one year or beyond the operating cycle, if longer). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 14 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6943989&loc=d3e3255-108585 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 95 -Paragraph 18 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 95 -Paragraph 19 -Subparagraph b -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Glossary Financing Activities -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6513228 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ProceedsFromIssuanceOfSeniorLongTermDebt
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The cash inflow from a borrowing where a lender is placed in a lien position behind debt having a higher priority of repayment (senior) in liquidation of the entity's assets or underlying collateral. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 14 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6943989&loc=d3e3255-108585 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 95 -Paragraph 18 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 95 -Paragraph 19 -Subparagraph b -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Glossary Financing Activities -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6513228 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ProceedsFromIssuanceOfSubordinatedLongTermDebt
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration