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Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies) | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block] | Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") for interim financial reporting and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and disclosures required by GAAP for annual periods. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have not been audited by an independent registered public accounting firm in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (U.S.), but in the opinion of management such financial statements include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair statement of the Company’s consolidated financial position and results of operations. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 may not be indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2015. The December 31, 2014 consolidated balance sheet was derived from audited financial statements. The preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. As additional information becomes available or actual amounts become determinable, the recorded estimates are revised and reflected in operating results.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Goodwill, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Goodwill: At the Fresh Start Reporting Date, we revalued our assets and liabilities to current estimated fair value. The excess reorganization value which could not be attributed to the fair value of specific identified tangible and intangible assets ("fair value of net assets") was recorded as goodwill. Pursuant to the Intangibles - Goodwill and Other Topic of the ASC, goodwill is not amortized but is subject to annual impairment testing. We test goodwill for impairment as of October 1 st of each year. Goodwill is also tested more frequently if indicators of impairment exist for each reporting unit. The Company has an option to first assess qualitative factors, in their totality, to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform a goodwill impairment test. If the Company determines that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the Company is required to perform the goodwill impairment test. Alternatively, we may bypass this qualitative assessment and perform step one of the goodwill impairment test described below. Goodwill impairment is determined using a two-step approach. In step one of the goodwill impairment test, the fair value of a reporting unit is compared with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value is in excess of the carrying amount, including goodwill, the reporting unit’s goodwill is considered not to be impaired. If the carrying amount, including goodwill, of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the goodwill impairment test is performed to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any. In step two of the goodwill impairment test, the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill is compared with the carrying amount of that goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in the same manner as the amount of goodwill recognized in a business combination and is defined as the excess of the fair value of a reporting unit over the fair value of the net assets of a reporting unit. If the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, an impairment loss is recognized for the excess. If the carrying amount of goodwill is less than its implied fair value, no goodwill impairment is recognized. Goodwill impairment testing is performed at the reporting unit level. We have identified two reporting units of Ambac: (1) Financial Guarantee, which provides financial guarantees (including credit derivatives) for public finance, structured finance and other obligations; and (2) Financial Services, which provides investment agreements, funding conduits, and interest rate swaps, principally to clients of the financial guarantee business. These reporting units are also the sole operating segments which make up the Financial Guarantee and Financial Services reportable segments, respectively, as further described in Note 19. Segment Information in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included Part II, Item 8 in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. We have assigned assets and liabilities to each reporting unit based on specific identification. In evaluating which reporting units should be assigned goodwill, we considered the sources of Ambac’s estimated enterprise value at the Fresh Start Reporting Date, as further described in Note 3. Fresh Start Financial Statement Reporting in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included Part II, Item 8 in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. Based on that analysis, we have assigned all goodwill recorded at the Fresh Start Reporting Date to the Financial Guarantee reporting unit. During the September 30, 2015 reporting period, Ambac determined sufficient indicators of potential impairment existed to perform an interim goodwill impairment evaluation for the Financial Guarantee reporting unit. These indicators included the recent trading values of Ambac stock and changes in Ambac credit spreads. In conducting the goodwill impairment analysis as of September 30, 2015, we performed step one of the goodwill impairment test for the Financial Guarantee reporting unit. We estimated the fair value of the Financial Guarantee reporting unit using a market approach, which is derived using: i) Ambac’s common stock and warrant market capitalization, ii) fair value estimates of Ambac Assurance preferred shares (reported as noncontrolling interests on Ambac's balance sheet) and iii) an estimated control premium. Step one of the impairment test indicated the Financial Guarantee reporting unit's carrying value exceeded its fair value. Accordingly, the Company performed step two of the impairment test as of September 30, 2015, which indicated the implied fair value of goodwill was zero. This was the result of substantial decreases in the Financial Guarantee reporting unit's fair value and substantial increases in the fair value of its net assets. The fair value of the Financial Guarantee reporting unit decreased significantly due to a material decrease in Ambac's market capitalization components (described above). The Financial Guarantee reporting unit's fair value of net assets increased significantly primarily as a result of a decrease in the estimated fair value of financial guarantee liabilities and, to a lesser extent, a decrease in the fair value of long-term debt. The fair value decrease in financial guarantee liabilities, which is a Level 3 estimate, was primarily driven by wider Ambac credit spreads and positive loss and loss expense reserves development. Please refer to Note 7. Fair Value Measurements for further discussion on the fair value model for financial guarantee liabilities. The fair value decrease in long-term debt was driven by lower market pricing on surplus notes and junior surplus notes. As a result, the Company recorded a full non-cash, non-tax deductible goodwill impairment charge of $514,511 million at September 30, 2015. The following is a summary of activity in goodwill for the Financial Guarantee reporting unit:
| Nine Months Ended September 30, 2015 |  | Year Ended December 31, 2014
Beginning balance | $ | 514,511 |  |  | $ | 514,511 |
Impairment loss | (514,511 | ) |  | — |
Ending balance | $ | — |  |  | $ | 514,511 |
Reclassifications | Reclassifications Certain reclassifications have been made to prior years' amounts to conform to the current year's presentation.
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Recently Adopted and Recently Issued Accounting Standards Adopted: Effective January 1, 2015, Ambac adopted ASU 2014-08, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360) - Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity. The objective of this ASU is to limit discontinued operations reporting to disposals of components of an entity that represent strategic shifts that have (or will have) a major effect on an entity's operations and financial results. Under previous U.S. GAAP, many disposals, some of which may be routine in nature and not a change in an entity's strategy, were reported in discontinued operations. The ASU also requires certain expanded disclosures for discontinued operations and disclosure of the pre-tax profit or loss of an individually significant component of an entity that does not qualify for discontinued operations reporting. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material effect on Ambac's financial statements. Issued: In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30). This ASU simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs by requiring that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by the amendments in this ASU. The ASU is effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. Early adoption is also permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. Upon adoption, the ASU must be retrospectively applied to all prior periods presented. Ambac has not determined whether it will adopt ASU 2015-03 prior to January 1, 2016. The adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on Ambac's financial statements. In May 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-07, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820) - Disclosures for Investments in Certain Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its Equivalent). Reporting entities are permitted to use net asset value ("NAV") as a practical expedient to measure the fair value of certain investments. Under current U.S. GAAP, investments that use the NAV practical expedient to measure fair value are categorized within the fair value hierarchy as level 2 or level 3 investments depending on their redemption attributes, which has led to diversity in practice. This ASU will remove the requirement to categorize within the fair value hierarchy all investments that use the NAV practical expedient for fair value measurement purposes. Furthermore, the ASU will remove the requirement to make certain disclosures for all investments that are eligible to be measured at fair value using the NAV practical expedient. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods with those fiscal years. The ASU must be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented. Ambac will adopt ASU 2015-07 on January 1, 2016. The adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on Ambac's financial statements. In May 2015, the FASB issued ASC 2015-09, Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944) - Disclosures about Short-Duration Contracts. The primary objective of this ASU is to improve disclosures for insurance entities which issue short-duration contracts. The ASU made significant amendments to the Short-Duration Contract disclosure section and limited amendments affecting the General disclosure section of Topic 944. Ambac, as a provider of financial guarantee contracts, is subject to the General sections but not the Short-Duration Contract sections of Topic 944. The limited amendments made to the General disclosure section are not expected to have a material impact on Ambac's financial statement disclosures. The ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Ambac will adopt ASU 2015-09 on December 31, 2016.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the basis of presentation and significant accounting policies concepts. Basis of presentation describes the underlying basis used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS). Accounting policies describe all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy for goodwill. This accounting policy also may address how an entity assesses and measures impairment of goodwill, how reporting units are determined, how goodwill is allocated to such units, and how the fair values of the reporting units are determined. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51655414&loc=d3e18780-107790 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267 + Details
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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy pertaining to new accounting pronouncements that may impact the entity's financial reporting. Includes, but is not limited to, quantification of the expected or actual impact. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy for reclassifications that affects the comparability of the financial statements. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6359566&loc=d3e326-107755 + Details
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