Notes Payable and Amounts Due Under Repurchase Agreements (Repurchase Agreements Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Notes Payable [Abstract]
Repurchase agreement, maximum amount borrowed	$ 258,600,000	$ 0
Repurchase agreement, average borrowings	$ 38,300,000		$ 12,900,000
Repurchase agreement, weighted average interest rate	0.20%		0.23%

The average rate of interest paid on the amount borrowed on securities repurchase agreements during the period.

No definition available.

Name:	ael_RepurchaseAgreementAverageInterestRate
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration