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Subordinated Debentures (Narrative) (Details) - American Equity Capital Trust II [Member] $ in Millions | Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
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Subordinated Borrowing [Line Items] |
Subordinated debentures, principal amount | $ 100.0
Subordinated debentures, fair value at issuance | $ 74.7
Interest rate, effective percentage | 6.80%
Ownership percentage, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation | 50.00%

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- Definition Item represents the percentage ownership of voting capital stock held by Iowa Farm Bureau Federation of FBL Financial Group, Inc. (parent of EquiTrust). The trust preferred securities issued by American Equity Capital Trust II were issued to Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | ael_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

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- Definition Item represents the fair value of subordinated debentures issued by American Equity Capital Trust II at issuance and is based upon the effective yield-to-maturity of 6.8%. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | ael_SubordinatedDebtFairValueAtIssuance
Namespace Prefix: | ael_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

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- Definition The stated principal amount of subordinated debt at time of issuance, which may vary from the carrying amount because of unamortized premium or discount. + References No definition available. + Details
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Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

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- Definition Effective interest rate for the funds borrowed under the debt agreement considering interest compounding and original issue discount or premium. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22(a)(1)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 835 -SubTopic 30 -Section 45 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6451184&loc=d3e28551-108399 + Details
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Balance Type: | na
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- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
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Period Type: | duration

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- Details
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Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |