CONTINGENCIES, COMMITMENTS AND GUARANTEES (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended					1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Nov. 29, 2012 Chartis U.S. item	Sep. 30, 2012 Consolidated 2008 Securities Litigation complaint	Mar. 20, 2009 Consolidated 2008 Securities Litigation complaint	Mar. 19, 2009 ERISA Litigation II complaint	Dec. 31, 2012 Canadian Securities Class Action claim	Dec. 31, 2012 Starr International Litigation	Dec. 31, 2012 Brookfield litigation related to AIGFP	Dec. 31, 2012 Fitzpatrick matter	Dec. 15, 2012 Behm matter	Dec. 31, 2012 Behm matter	Oct. 02, 2010 Behm matter action	Dec. 31, 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	Dec. 31, 2012 2006 Regulatory Settlements	Mar. 31, 2012 2006 Regulatory Settlements	Dec. 17, 2010 2006 Regulatory Settlements	Jan. 31, 2012 Consolidated 2004 Securities Litigation	Jul. 31, 2010 Consolidated 2004 Securities Litigation	Dec. 31, 2012 Consolidated 2004 Securities Litigation individual shareholder Objector	Dec. 31, 2011 Consolidated 2004 Securities Litigation fund	Dec. 31, 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	Dec. 31, 2012 Workers' compensation Premium Reporting	Dec. 31, 2012 Caremark complaint	Dec. 31, 2012 Use of SSDMF	Dec. 31, 2012 The Multi-District Litigation case conspiracy complaint state class action defendant	May 20, 2011 The Multi-District Litigation	Dec. 31, 2012 The Heritage Corp. of South Florida v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. item
LITIGATION, INVESTIGATIONS AND REGULATORY MATTERS
Increase (decrease) in estimated litigation liability	$ 783,000,000
Number of purported class action complaints consolidated			4	8	8																								2
Damages claimed						500,000,000					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%
Maximum contractual loss								1,500,000,000
Damages claimed, amount currently due									196,000,000
Damages claimed, potential future amounts									78,000,000
Range of loss, minimum									0
Range of loss, maximum									274,000,000
Number of actions brought against AIG												2
Counterclaim sought by AIG											3,600,000
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
Deposits into fund under the supervision of the SEC, subsequently disbursed																800,000,000
Workers Compensation Fund escrow, included in Other Assets																	450,000,000	597,000,000	338,000,000
Payment released workers compensation escrow accounts in satisfaction of fines, penalties and premium tax obligations															147,000,000
Settlement amount total										10,500,000											725,000,000										37,000,000
Number of objectors to class action suit settlement																						2
Number of shareholders who have submitted timely and valid requests to opt out of the class																						25
Shareholders maximum ownership percentage who have requested to opt out of the class																						1.50%
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
Amount paid under the terms of the separate settlement agreement with Florida																				4,000,000
Number of objectors appealing the final approval of the settlement																						2
Minimum number of conspiracies alleged																															1
Number of separate derivative actions filed																															24
Number of parallel actions																															2
Number of defendants who have settled																															3
Number of states asserted antitrust law violations																															48
Employee Benefits Complaint, number of purported classes																															2
Accrued loss contingency																																7,000,000
Number of consolidated actions																																	2
Damages sought, in excess																										3,000,000,000	1,000,000,000						75,000
Number of cases that have proceeded																															4
Number of intervening plaintiffs																									7
Settlement agreement, escrow																												450,000,000
Settlement agreement, amount which can be paid out of the remaining balance in Workers Compensation Fund																												191,000,000
Increase in the estimated reserves for incurred but not reported death claims																														55,000,000
Payments for regulatory assessment																														11,000,000
Settlement agreement, number of jurisdictions		50
Civil penalty paid		$ 50,000,000