Represents the maturity period of the guaranteed investment contracts and funding agreements written by the entity.

No definition available.

Name:	plico_GuaranteedInvestmentContractsAndFundingAgreementsMaturityPeriod
Namespace Prefix:	plico_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Represents the liability as of the balance sheet date of amounts related to stable value contracts marketed through structured programs.

No definition available.

Name:	plico_StableValueProductAccountBalancesMarketedThroughStructuredPrograms
Namespace Prefix:	plico_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

Represents the amount of stable value products maturing after year five following the date of the latest balance sheet.

No definition available.

Name:	plico_StableValueProductsMaturingAfterYearFive
Namespace Prefix:	plico_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

Represents the amount of stable value products maturing in year one following the date of the latest balance sheet.

No definition available.

Name:	plico_StableValueProductsMaturingInYearOne
Namespace Prefix:	plico_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

Represents the amount of stable value products maturing in years four and five following the date of the latest balance sheet.

No definition available.

Name:	plico_StableValueProductsMaturingInYearsFourAndFive
Namespace Prefix:	plico_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

Represents the amount of stable value products maturing in years two and three following the date of the latest balance sheet.

No definition available.

Name:	plico_StableValueProductsMaturingInYearsTwoAndThree
Namespace Prefix:	plico_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

Name:	plico_StableValueProductsMaturityAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	plico_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

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

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details 3) (USD $)			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum
Summarized financial information for the company's segments
Stable value product account balances marketed through structured programs	$ 300,000,000	$ 800,000,000
Maturities of GICs and funding agreements			1 year	10 years
Future maturities of stable value products
2013	432,600,000
2014-2015	1,231,900,000
2016-2017	785,700,000
Thereafter	$ 60,300,000