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Mortgage Loans on Real Estate (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) portfolio_segment	Dec. 31, 2014 loans	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Abstract]
Number of portfolio segments that make up financing receivables | portfolio_segment	1
Number of loans satisfied by foreclosure | loans		7
Impaired mortgage loans, workout terms, interest only payments, six month terms	6 months
Impaired mortgage loans, workout terms, interest only payments, twelve month terms	12 months
Impaired mortgage loans, workout terms, cash flow sweep, number of months	12 months
Number of days past due, non-accrual status	90 days
Non-accrual loans	$ 0		$ 0
Minimum [Member]
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Number of days past due, delinquent status	60 days
Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Segment [Member]
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Commitments outstanding	$ 75,500

X

- Definition

Number of days past due for loans to be considered delinquent.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

The number of portfolio segments which make up financing receivables.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Circumstances in which borrowers pay a protion of their loan payment into an escrow account that can be used for capital and tenant improvements of a period not more than 12 months.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Loan workout terms in which a borrower makes interest only payments on the commerical mortgage loan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Loan workout terms in which a borrower makes interest only payments on the commerical mortgage loan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Represents the number of loans that were satisfied by taking ownership of the underlying collateral during the reporting period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
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X

- Definition

Number of days past due for loans to be placed on non-accrual status.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Recorded investment in financing receivables that are on nonaccrual status as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Glossary Recorded Investment
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65880944

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 310
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 7
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66008989&loc=d3e5111-111524

+ Details

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

X

- Definition

Amount of undisbursed portion of the loan receivable balance (loans in process). Excludes loans and leases covered under loss sharing agreements.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

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- References

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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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X

- Details

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