Investments - Schedule of sources of net investment income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Net Investment Income [Line Items]
Gross investment income	$ 1,852	$ 1,716	$ 1,651
Investment expenses	(21)	(20)	(18)
Net investment income	1,831	1,696	1,633
Fixed maturities
Net Investment Income [Line Items]
Gross investment income	1,607	1,510	1,461
Equity securities
Net Investment Income [Line Items]
Gross investment income	79	81	76
Equity in earnings of partnerships and similar investments
Net Investment Income [Line Items]
Gross investment income	64	44	27
Other
Net Investment Income [Line Items]
Gross investment income	$ 102	$ 81	$ 87

Amount, before investment expense, of income earned from investments in securities and real estate. Includes, but is not limited to, real estate investment, policy loans, dividends, and interest. Excludes realized gain (loss) on investments.

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Amount of expenses related to the generation of investment income.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 225
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.9)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=63488584&loc=d3e20235-122688

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 225
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-04.2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879464&loc=d3e573970-122913

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Amount, after investment expense, of income earned from investments in securities and real estate. Includes, but is not limited to, real estate investment, policy loans, dividends, and interest. Excludes realized gain (loss) on investments.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 225
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-04(2))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879464&loc=d3e573970-122913

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 235
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.12-16(Column G))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=34713774&loc=d3e574960-122915

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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.

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