Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016 shares
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	BRO
Entity Registrant Name	BROWN & BROWN INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000079282
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	140,209,157