Notes Payable and Amounts Due Under Repurchase Agreements (Repurchase Agreements Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Notes Payable [Abstract]
Repurchase agreement, maximum amount borrowed	$ 40.6	$ 138.7	$ 258.6
Repurchase agreement, average borrowings	$ 0.5	$ 9.2	$ 68.3
Repurchase agreement, weighted average interest rate	0.39%	0.19%	0.20%

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