Reinsurance and Policy Provisions (Athene Coinsurance Agreements) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) coinsurance_agreement	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coinsurance deposits	$ 4,954,068	$ 4,858,289
Athene Coinsurance Agreements, All Periods
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Number of coinsurance agreements \| coinsurance_agreement	3
Coinsurance deposits	$ 4,400,000	4,200,000
Reinsurance payable	$ 16,200	$ 79,900
Fixed Index Annuities \| American Equity Life \| Athene, 1st Coinsurance Agreement, January 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coninsurance percentage on certain annuities	20.00%
Fixed Index Annuities \| American Equity Life \| Athene, 3rd Coinsurance Agreement, August 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coninsurance percentage on certain annuities	80.00%
Fixed Index Annuities \| Eagle Life \| Athene, 3rd Coinsurance Agreement, January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2016
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coninsurance percentage on certain annuities	80.00%
Fixed Index Annuities \| Eagle Life \| Athene, 3rd Coinsurance Agreement, January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coninsurance percentage on certain annuities	50.00%
Fixed Index Annuities \| Eagle Life \| Athene, 3rd Coinsurance Agreement, January 1, 2019 Going Forward
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coninsurance percentage on certain annuities	20.00%
Multi-Year Rate Guaranteed Annuities \| American Equity Life \| Athene, 2nd Coinsurance Agreement, July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2013
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coninsurance percentage on certain annuities	80.00%
Multi-Year Rate Guaranteed Annuities \| American Equity Life \| Athene, 3rd Coinsurance Agreement, January 1, 2014 Going Forward
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coninsurance percentage on certain annuities	80.00%
Multi-Year Rate Guaranteed Annuities \| Eagle Life \| Athene, 2nd Coinsurance Agreement, November 20, 2013 to December 31, 2013
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coninsurance percentage on certain annuities	80.00%
Multi-Year Rate Guaranteed Annuities \| Eagle Life \| Athene, 3rd Coinsurance Agreement, January 1, 2014 Going Forward
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Coninsurance percentage on certain annuities	80.00%

Item represents the percentage of coinsurance provided under the coinsurance agreement.

No definition available.

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- Definition

Number of coinsurance agreements.

+ 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

The carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of the known and estimated amounts owed to insurers under reinsurance treaties or other arrangements.

+ References

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- 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://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-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

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99397103&loc=d3e6824-158387

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 310
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99404803&loc=d3e21409-158489

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