Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017 shares
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
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	140,269,131