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Fair Values of Financial Instruments (Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Balances of Level 3 Assets) (Details) (Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member]
Fair Value, Assets Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation, Calculation [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 375us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetValue / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember	$ 1,376us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetValue / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember
Principal returned	(12)us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetSettlements / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember	(78)us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetSettlements / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember
Amortization of premium/accretion of discount	(57)ael_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationAmortizationOrAccretionOfPremiumOrDiscountOnLevel3Assets / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember	(27)ael_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationAmortizationOrAccretionOfPremiumOrDiscountOnLevel3Assets / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember
Total gains (losses) (realized/unrealized): included in other comprehensive income (loss)	36us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetGainLossIncludedInOtherComprehensiveIncomeLoss / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember	(191)us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetGainLossIncludedInOtherComprehensiveIncomeLoss / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember
Total gains (losses) (realized/unrealized): included in operations	0us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetGainLossIncludedInEarnings1 / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember	0us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetGainLossIncludedInEarnings1 / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember
Ending balance	$ 342us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetValue / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember	$ 1,080us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetValue / us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis = us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember

X

- Definition

Represents the (amortization)/accretion of premium/discount that have taken palce during the period in relation to assets measured at fair value and categorized within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Amount of gain (loss) recognized in the income statement for financial instrument classified as an asset measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 820

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (c)(1)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=36462937&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

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

X

- Definition

Amount of gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) for financial instrument classified as an asset measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 820

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (c)(1a)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=36462937&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

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

X

- Definition

Amount of settlement of financial instrument classified as an asset measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 820

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (c)(2)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=36462937&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

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

X

- Definition

Fair value of financial instrument classified as an asset measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 820

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (c)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=36462937&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant