Shareholders' Equity - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018
Equity [Abstract]
Treasury stock repurchased, shares			9.8	15.6
Purchase of Loews treasury stock	$ 151	$ 291	$ 473	$ 788

Equity impact of the cost of common and preferred stock that were repurchased during the period. Recorded using the cost method.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109259400&loc=d3e21463-112644

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6405813&loc=d3e23239-112655

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.3-04)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187085-122770

Name:	us-gaap_TreasuryStockValueAcquiredCostMethod
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration