Discontinued Operations (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
Discontinued Operations (Details) (USD $)	Mar. 04, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011 U.S.-based Insurance Operations, Held-for-sale [Member] Reserve Collar [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 U.S.-based Insurance Operations, Held-for-sale [Member] Reserve Collar [Member] Potential Payables, Adverse Development on Net Claims and Claim Expenses, Prior Accident Years, Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 U.S.-based Insurance Operations, Held-for-sale [Member] Reserve Collar [Member] Potential Receivables, Favorable Development on Net Claims and Claim Expenses, Prior Accident Years, Maximum [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Net consideration	$ 269,500,000	$ 0	$ 269,520,000
Payable or reimbursement to QBE					10,000,000
Receivable or reimbursement from QBE						10,000,000
Expense recognized related to the reserve liability				$ 10,000,000

The cash inflow associated with the amount received from the sale of a business segment or subsidiary or sale of an entity that is related to it but not strictly controlled during the period (for example, an unconsolidated subsidiary, affiliate, joint venture or equity method investment).

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