Notes Payable and Amounts Due Under Repurchase Agreements (Repurchase Agreements Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Repurchase agreement, average borrowings	$ 111.4	$ 36.1	$ 59.8	$ 69.1
Repurchase agreement, maximum amount borrowed			$ 544.1	$ 274.5
Repurchase agreement, weighted average interest rate	1.74%	1.02%	1.74%	0.74%

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