Notes Payable (Repurchase Agreements Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Repurchase agreement, maximum amount borrowed		$ 40.6
Repurchase agreement, average borrowings	$ 0.0	$ 1.9
Repurchase agreement, weighted average interest rate		0.39%

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