XML 43 R43.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.1.9

Investments (Investment Income Net of Related Expenses) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Major Categories Of Investment Income Net of Expenses [Line Items]
Investment revenue	$ 443,562rga_InvestmentRevenue	$ 418,697rga_InvestmentRevenue
Investment expense	(16,671)us-gaap_InvestmentIncomeInvestmentExpense	(14,322)us-gaap_InvestmentIncomeInvestmentExpense
Investment income, net of related expenses	426,891us-gaap_NetInvestmentIncome	404,375us-gaap_NetInvestmentIncome
Available-for-sale Securities [Member]
Major Categories Of Investment Income Net of Expenses [Line Items]
Investment revenue	269,768rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_AvailableforsaleSecuritiesMember	243,962rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_AvailableforsaleSecuritiesMember
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Member]
Major Categories Of Investment Income Net of Expenses [Line Items]
Investment revenue	34,772rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateMember	33,092rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateMember
Policy loans
Major Categories Of Investment Income Net of Expenses [Line Items]
Investment revenue	14,040rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_PolicyLoansMember	13,438rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_PolicyLoansMember
Funds withheld at interest
Major Categories Of Investment Income Net of Expenses [Line Items]
Investment revenue	112,260rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = rga_FundsWithheldAtInterestMember	112,739rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = rga_FundsWithheldAtInterestMember
Short-term Investments [Member]
Major Categories Of Investment Income Net of Expenses [Line Items]
Investment revenue	695rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_ShortTermInvestmentsMember	965rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_ShortTermInvestmentsMember
Other invested assets
Major Categories Of Investment Income Net of Expenses [Line Items]
Investment revenue	$ 12,027rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_OtherAggregatedInvestmentsMember	$ 14,501rga_InvestmentRevenue / rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis = us-gaap_OtherAggregatedInvestmentsMember

X

- Definition

This item represents investment income derived from investments in debt and equity securities consisting of interest income earned from investments in debt securities and on cash and cash equivalents, dividend income from investments in equity securities, and income or expense derived from the amortization of investment related discounts or premiums, respectively. This item does not include realized or unrealized gains or losses on the sale or holding of investments in debt and equity securities required to be included in earnings for the period or for other than temporary losses related to investments in debt and equity securities which are included in realized losses in the period recognized, and does not include investment income from real or personal property, such as rental income.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

X

- Details

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

X

- Definition

Amount of expenses related to the generation of investment income.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 944

-SubTopic 225

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-04.2)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879464&loc=d3e573970-122913



Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.9)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26872669&loc=d3e20235-122688

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentIncomeInvestmentExpense
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Amount, after investment expense, of income earned from investments in securities and real estate. Includes, but is not limited to, real estate investment, policy loans, dividends, and interest. Excludes realized gain (loss) on investments.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 16

-Article 12



Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 944

-SubTopic 225

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-04.2)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879464&loc=d3e573970-122913



Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 04

-Paragraph 2

-Article 7

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NetInvestmentIncome
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis=rga_FundsWithheldAtInterestMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis=us-gaap_AvailableforsaleSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis=us-gaap_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis=us-gaap_OtherAggregatedInvestmentsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis=us-gaap_PolicyLoansMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	rga_MajorCategoriesOfInvestmentsAxis=us-gaap_ShortTermInvestmentsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: