Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Oct. 31, 2013 Ordinary Shares A	Oct. 31, 2013 Ordinary Shares B
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	GBLI
Entity Registrant Name	GLOBAL INDEMNITY PLC
Entity Central Index Key	0001494904
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Ordinary Shares, Shares Outstanding		13,132,133	12,061,370