Anniversary of policy issuance.

No definition available.

Name:	ael_AnniversaryofPolicyIssuance
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Item represents the percentage of coverage provided by the reinsurance agreement on certain business of lifetime income benefit rider payments in excess of policy fund values and waived surrender charges related to penalty free withdrawals.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ael_ReinsuranceLifetimeIncomeBenefitRiderPaymentsinExcessofPolicyFundValuesandWaivedSurrenderChargesRelatedtoPenaltyFreeWithdrawalsonCertainBusinessPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

This amount represents a statutory reserve credit taken related to a reinsurance agreement that is accounted for as reinsurance in accordance with statutory accounting principles.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ael_ReinsuranceReserveCredit
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Item represents a risk charge percentage that is applied to the oustanding loss carry forward (LCF) to determine the amount due at the end of each accounting period (quarter).

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ael_ReinsuranceRiskCharge
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Item represents the percentage of coverage provided by the reinsurance agreement on certain business of waived surrender charges related to penalty free withdrawals, deaths and lifetime income benefit rider payments.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ael_ReinsuranceWaivedSurrenderChargesonPenaltyFreeWithdrawalsDeathsandLifetimeIncomeBenefitRiderPaymentsonCertainBusinessPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- 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

Name:	us-gaap_CededCreditRiskLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CededCreditRiskAxis=ael_Reinsurance2019HannoverReinsuranceAgreementMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CededCreditRiskAxis=ael_Reinsurance2013HannoverReinsuranceAgreementMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CededCreditRiskAxis=ael_ReinsuranceHannoverReinsuranceAgreementsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Reinsurance and Policy Provisions (Hannover Financing Arrangements) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
2019 Hannover Reinsurance Agreement
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Lifetime income benefit rider payments in excess of policy fund values and waived surrender charges related to penalty free withdrawals on certain business, percentage	80.00%
Anniversary of policy issuance	12 years
Reserve credit	$ 1,200.0
2013 Hannover Reinsurance Agreement
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Waived surrender charges on penalty free withdrawals, deaths and lifetime income benefit rider payments on certain business, percentage	45.60%
Reserve credit		$ 780.0
Hannover Reinsurance Agreements
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Risk charges	$ 37.8	$ 30.8	$ 28.5