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Investments (Non-Income Producing Investments) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands | Dec. 31, 2017 | Dec. 31, 2016
--- | --- | ---
Fixed Maturity Securities [Member] |  |
Investment Holdings [Line Items] |  |
Non-income producing investments | $ 8,680 | $ 1,651

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- Definition Represents the carrying value of investments that were non-income producing as of the reporting date. + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | ael_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

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

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