COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND GUARANTEES (Details) (USD $)						6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended					6 Months Ended				1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		6 Months Ended						1 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012 Maximum Chartis U.S.	Jun. 30, 2012 Consolidated 2008 Securities Litigation complaint	Mar. 20, 2009 Consolidated 2008 Securities Litigation complaint	Mar. 19, 2009 ERISA Litigation II complaint	Jun. 30, 2012 Canadian Securities Class Action claim	Jun. 30, 2012 Brookfield litigation related to AIGFP	May 31, 2010 Securities lending dispute with Transatlantic Holdings Inc.	Jul. 20, 2012 Securities lending dispute with Transatlantic Holdings Inc.	Jan. 26, 2012 Securities lending dispute with Transatlantic Holdings Inc.	May 24, 2010 Securities lending dispute with Transatlantic Holdings Inc. subsidiary	Jun. 30, 2012 Fitzpatrick matter	Jun. 30, 2012 Behm matter	Oct. 02, 2010 Behm matter action	Jun. 30, 2012 False Claims Act complaint multiple	Feb. 25, 2010 False Claims Act complaint individual	Jun. 30, 2012 2006 Regulatory Settlements	Feb. 28, 2006 2006 Regulatory Settlements	Mar. 31, 2012 2006 Regulatory Settlements	Jun. 30, 2012 2006 Regulatory Settlements individual	Dec. 17, 2010 2006 Regulatory Settlements	Jan. 31, 2012 Consolidated 2004 Securities Litigation	Jul. 31, 2010 Consolidated 2004 Securities Litigation	Jun. 30, 2012 Consolidated 2004 Securities Litigation shareholder Objector	Dec. 31, 2011 Consolidated 2004 Securities Litigation fund	Jun. 30, 2012 Consolidated 2004 Securities Litigation Minimum	Feb. 29, 2012 Workers' compensation Premium Reporting plaintiff	Apr. 30, 2011 Workers' compensation Premium Reporting	May 31, 2007 Workers' compensation Premium Reporting	Jun. 30, 2012 Workers' compensation Premium Reporting	Jun. 30, 2012 The Multi-District Litigation conspiracy complaint state action defendant	Dec. 31, 2011 The Multi-District Litigation class case	May 20, 2011 The Multi-District Litigation	Jun. 30, 2012 The Multi-District Litigation Florida case	Jun. 30, 2012 The Multi-District Litigation New Jersey case	Jun. 30, 2012 The Multi-District Litigation Texas case	Jun. 30, 2012 The Multi-District Litigation Kansas claim case	Jun. 30, 2012 Palm Tree Computer Systems, Inc. v. Ace USA action plaintiff	Jun. 30, 2012 The Heritage Corp. of South Florida v. National Union Fire Ins. Co.	Dec. 31, 2010 NAIC Examination of Workers Compensation Premium Reporting	Dec. 17, 2010 NAIC Examination of Workers Compensation Premium Reporting state	Jun. 30, 2012 Caremark complaint	Dec. 31, 2011 Use of SSDMF	Jun. 30, 2012 Multi-state examination of regulatory issues in insurance products state	Jun. 30, 2012 Starr International Litigation	Jul. 31, 2012 State insurance guaranty funds
LITIGATION, INVESTIGATIONS AND REGULATORY MATTERS
Estimated litigation liability	$ 719,000,000
Increase in the estimated reserves for incurred but not reported death claims																																											202,000,000
Number of states participating in the accident and health products examination																																												39
Number of objectors to class action suit settlement																								2
Number of purported class action complaints consolidated			3	8	8																																					2
Shareholders maximum ownership percentage who have requested to opt out of the class																								1.50%
Number of shareholders who have submitted timely and valid requests to opt out of the class																								25
Number of investment funds controlled by the same investment group who have submitted timely and valid requests to opt out of the class																									7
Shares held by investment group who have submitted timely and valid requests to opt out of the class																										1,000
Civil penalty payable		51,000,000																																										250,000
Number of actions brought against AIG														2
Damages claimed						500,000,000		350,000,000					67,000,000																													3,200,000,000
Punitive damages claimed						50,000,000
Percentage of ownership in AIG received by Department of the Treasury																																													80.00%
Number of objectors appealing the final approval of the settlement																				2
Maximum contractual loss							1,500,000,000
Transatlantic, number of subsidiaries named as Claimants											2
AIG, number of subsidiaries named as Respondents											2
Damages claimed, amount currently due												196,000,000
Damages claimed, potential future amounts												78,000,000
Range of loss, minimum										45,000,000		0	0
Range of loss, maximum										125,000,000		274,000,000	67,000,000
Counterclaim sought by AIG													3,600,000
Accrued loss contingency									75,000,000																								7,000,000
Number of individuals (Relators) seeking to assert claims																2
Damages sought, multiple of damages sustained															3
Payments made or placed in escrow accounts initial amount																		1,640,000,000
Portion of payments which represented fines and penalties																		225,000,000																						100,000,000
Deposits into fund under the supervision of the SEC, subsequently disbursed																		800,000,000
Workers Compensation Fund escrow, included in Other Assets																					338,000,000
Payments made or placed in escrow accounts additional amount																			597,000,000	450,000,000
Payment released workers compensation escrow accounts in satisfaction of fines, penalties and premium tax obligations																	147,000,000
Settlement agreement, payment of state insurance guaranty																																														25,000,000
Settlement amount total																							725,000,000								37,000,000
Amount paid under the terms of the separate settlement agreement with Florida																						4,000,000
Minimum number of conspiracies alleged																															1
Settlement agreement, number of states																																									50
Settlement agreement, payment of outstanding premium taxes																																								46,500,000
Settlement agreement, maximum contingent fines																																								150,000,000
Settlement agreement, amount which can be paid out of the remaining balance in Workers Compensation Fund																														191,000,000										147,000,000
Settlement agreement, escrow																														450,000,000
Number of parallel actions																															2
Number of separate derivative actions filed																															24
Number of defendants who have settled																															3
Number of states asserted antitrust law violations																															48
Employee Benefits Complaint, number of purported classes																																2
Number of consolidated actions																																						1
Number of named plaintiffs																																						2
Number of cases that have proceeded																																4		1	1	1	1
Number of claims																																					3
Damages sought, maximum																																				125,000,000
Damages sought per claim, maximum																																						74,999
Damages sought, in excess																												3,000,000,000	1,000,000,000										75,000
Damages sought per claim, in excess																																					$ 75,000
Number of intervening plaintiffs																											7