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Fair Values of Financial Instruments (Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Balances of Level 3 Liabilities) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2017 | Dec. 31, 2016
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items] |  |
Beginning balance | $ 6,563,288 | $ 5,983,622
Premiums less benefits | 2,052,985 | 434,621
Change in fair value, net | 174,154 | 145,045
Ending balance | 8,790,427 | 6,563,288
Coinsurance ceded, fixed index annuities embedded derivatives | 4,858,289 | 4,639,492
Fixed Index Annuities - Embedded Derivatives [Member] |  |
Fair Value, Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items] |  |
Coinsurance ceded, fixed index annuities embedded derivatives | $ 539,700 | $ 398,100

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- Definition Premiums less benefits which have taken place during the period in relation to liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs. + References No definition available. + Details
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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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- Definition Amount of gain (loss) recognized on the income statement for financial instrument classified as a liability 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=66048111&loc=d3e19207-110258 + Details
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- Definition Fair value of financial instrument classified as a liability 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=66048111&loc=d3e19207-110258 + Details
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- Definition Amount, after valuation allowance, recoverable under reinsurance contracts including premium paid under reinsurance contracts. Examples include, but are not limited to, settled and unsettled claims, incurred but not reported losses, loss adjustment expense, premium paid, policy benefits and policy reserves. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 944 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6480758&loc=d3e6824-158387 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 944 -SubTopic 310 -Section 45 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6485522&loc=d3e21409-158489 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 944 -SubTopic 210 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.(a),6) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910 + Details
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