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Income Taxes - NOL Usage Table (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013
Net Income Loss Reconciliation [Line Items]
NOL allocated, Amount	$ 6,220,353
Tier A [Member]
Net Income Loss Reconciliation [Line Items]
NOL allocated, Amount	479,000,000
NOL, Applicable percentage	15.00%
Tier B [Member]
Net Income Loss Reconciliation [Line Items]
NOL allocated, Amount	1,057,000,000
NOL, Applicable percentage	40.00%
Tier C [Member]
Net Income Loss Reconciliation [Line Items]
NOL allocated, Amount	1,057,000,000
NOL, Applicable percentage	10.00%
Tier D [Member]
Net Income Loss Reconciliation [Line Items]
NOL allocated, Amount	$ 1,057,000,000
NOL, Applicable percentage	15.00%

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- Details

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- Definition

Net Operating Loss Percentage

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	ambc_
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X

- Definition

Amount of operating loss carryforward, before tax effects, available to reduce future taxable income under enacted tax laws.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 740

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (a)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6907707&loc=d3e32559-109319

+ Details

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