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Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs, Deferred Sales Inducements and Liability for Lifetime Income Benefit Riders (Deferred Sales Inducements) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Movement in Deferred Sales Inducements [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of year	$ 2,001,892	$ 2,208,218	$ 2,232,148
Costs deferred during the year	179,465	216,172	353,966
Amortization: Amortization	(243,666)	(210,886)	(215,406)
Amortization: Impact of unlocking	21,465	34,274	(35,760)
Effect of net unrealized gains/losses	557,565	(245,886)	(126,730)
Balance at end of year	$ 2,516,721	$ 2,001,892	$ 2,208,218
Assumptions, revision to extend period of time related to investment spread targets			2 years

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- Definition

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs and Deferred Sales Inducements, Assumptions, Revision To Period of Time Related to Investment Spread Targets

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of amortization expense for deferred sales inducement cost from accrued interest on unamortized balance.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of amortization expense (reversal of amortization expense) for deferred sales inducement cost from assumption change.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of unrealized investment gain (loss) which decreases (increases) deferred sales inducement cost.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of addition in deferred sales inducement cost.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6481800&loc=d3e11332-158416

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- Definition

Amount, after accumulated amortization, of deferred sales inducement cost.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6481654&loc=d3e11214-158414

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
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-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6481800&loc=d3e11332-158416

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- Definition

A roll forward is a reconciliation of a concept from the beginning of a period to the end of a period.

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