Notes Payable and Amounts Due Under Repurchase Agreements (Repurchase Agreements Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Repurchase agreement, average borrowings	$ 5.1	$ 22.4	$ 41.4	$ 53.3
Repurchase agreement, maximum amount borrowed			$ 544.1	$ 274.5
Repurchase agreement, weighted average interest rate	0.00%	1.35%	1.66%	0.83%

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