Fair Values of Financial Instruments (Assets and Liabilities Measured on a Recurring Basis by Fair Value Hierarchy) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020
Assets
Derivative instruments	$ 1,277,480	$ 1,310,954
Liabilities
Equity method investments, fair value	520,100	179,700
Short-term loans, fair value	320,000	0
COLI, fair value	384,300	373,600
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring
Assets
Real estate investments	337,939
Derivative instruments	1,277,480	1,310,954
Cash and cash equivalents	4,508,982	9,095,522
Assets	57,442,570	57,945,369
Liabilities
Fixed index annuities - embedded derivatives	7,964,961	7,938,281
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| United States Government Full Faith and Credit
Assets
Investments	37,793	39,771
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| United States Government Sponsored Agencies
Assets
Investments	1,040,953	1,039,551
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| United States Municipalities, States and Territories
Assets
Investments	3,927,201	3,776,131
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Foreign Government Obligations
Assets
Investments	402,545	202,706
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Corporate Securities
Assets
Investments	34,660,234	31,156,827
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Residential Mortgage Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	1,125,049	1,512,831
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	4,840,311	4,261,227
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Other Asset Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	5,271,857	5,549,849
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Equity Securities
Assets
Investments	12,226
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)
Assets
Real estate investments	0
Derivative instruments	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents	4,508,982	9,095,522
Assets	4,574,419	9,129,470
Liabilities
Fixed index annuities - embedded derivatives	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) \| United States Government Full Faith and Credit
Assets
Investments	32,737	33,940
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) \| United States Government Sponsored Agencies
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) \| United States Municipalities, States and Territories
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) \| Foreign Government Obligations
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) \| Corporate Securities
Assets
Investments	32,700	8
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) \| Residential Mortgage Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) \| Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) \| Other Asset Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) \| Equity Securities
Assets
Investments	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)
Assets
Real estate investments	0
Derivative instruments	1,277,480	1,310,954
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Assets	52,523,863	48,815,899
Liabilities
Fixed index annuities - embedded derivatives	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) \| United States Government Full Faith and Credit
Assets
Investments	5,056	5,831
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) \| United States Government Sponsored Agencies
Assets
Investments	1,040,953	1,039,551
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) \| United States Municipalities, States and Territories
Assets
Investments	3,927,201	3,776,131
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) \| Foreign Government Obligations
Assets
Investments	402,545	202,706
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) \| Corporate Securities
Assets
Investments	34,627,534	31,156,819
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) \| Residential Mortgage Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	1,125,049	1,512,831
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) \| Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	4,840,311	4,261,227
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) \| Other Asset Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	5,271,857	5,549,849
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) \| Equity Securities
Assets
Investments	5,877
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Assets
Real estate investments	337,939
Derivative instruments	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Assets	344,288	0
Liabilities
Fixed index annuities - embedded derivatives	7,964,961	7,938,281
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) \| United States Government Full Faith and Credit
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) \| United States Government Sponsored Agencies
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) \| United States Municipalities, States and Territories
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) \| Foreign Government Obligations
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) \| Corporate Securities
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) \| Residential Mortgage Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) \| Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	0	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) \| Other Asset Backed Securities
Assets
Investments	0	$ 0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring \| Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) \| Equity Securities
Assets
Investments	$ 6,349

Other Investments, Short Term Loans, Fair Value Disclosure

No definition available.

Name:	ael_OtherInvestmentsShortTermLoansFairValueDisclosure
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Real Estate Investments, at Fair Value

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ael_RealEstateInvestmentsAtFairValue
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

Fair value portion of probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by an entity as a result of past transactions or events.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123874694&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AssetsFairValueDisclosure
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Fair value portion of currency on hand as well as demand deposits with banks or financial institutions. Includes other kinds of accounts that have the general characteristics of demand deposits. Also includes short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_CashAndCashEquivalentsFairValueDisclosure
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Fair value portion of the amount that could be realized under a life insurance contract or contracts owned by the entity, commonly known as corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) or bank-owned life insurance (BOLI).

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_CashSurrenderValueFairValueDisclosure
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Fair value, after the effects of master netting arrangements, of a financial asset or other contract with one or more underlyings, notional amount or payment provision or both, and the contract can be net settled by means outside the contract or delivery of an asset. Includes assets not subject to a master netting arrangement and not elected to be offset.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 20
-Section 55
-Paragraph 10
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99393222&loc=SL20226008-175313

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 20
-Section 55
-Paragraph 22
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99393222&loc=SL20226052-175313

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 825
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 10
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123594938&loc=d3e13433-108611

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51824906&loc=SL20225862-175312

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeAssets
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Fair value as of the balance sheet date of the embedded derivative or group of embedded derivatives classified as a liability.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4B
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=125515794&loc=SL5624163-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EmbeddedDerivativeFairValueOfEmbeddedDerivativeLiability
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Fair value portion of investments accounted under the equity method.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 323
-SubTopic 10
-Section 25
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=125513658&loc=d3e32014-111567

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentsFairValueDisclosure
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Fair value portion of investment securities, including, but not limited to, marketable securities, derivative financial instruments, and investments accounted for under the equity method.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123874694&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentsFairValueDisclosure
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis=us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_USTreasurySecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_USGovernmentAgenciesDebtSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_USStatesAndPoliticalSubdivisionsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_ForeignGovernmentDebtSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_CorporateDebtSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_ResidentialMortgageBackedSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_CommercialMortgageBackedSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_AssetBackedSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_EquitySecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByFairValueHierarchyLevelAxis=us-gaap_FairValueInputsLevel1Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByFairValueHierarchyLevelAxis=us-gaap_FairValueInputsLevel2Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByFairValueHierarchyLevelAxis=us-gaap_FairValueInputsLevel3Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: