Discontinued Operations and Assets and Liabilities Held-for-Sale - Comprehensive Income or Loss (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Net income	$ 2,980	$ (2,722)	$ 9,015	$ (9,567)
Unrealized gain (loss) on securities, net of deferred income tax and reclassification adjustments	(5,309)	489	(5,899)	529
Foreign currency translation	9	18	25	27
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(5,300)	507	(5,874)	556
Comprehensive income (loss)	(2,320)	(2,215)	3,141	(9,011)
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1,405)	(675)	(2,796)	(634)
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to PICO Holdings, Inc.	$ (3,725)	$ (2,890)	$ 345	$ (9,645)
Net income (loss) per common share – basic and diluted:
Income (loss) from continuing operations ($ per share)	$ 0.12	$ (0.19)	$ 0.52	$ (0.40)
Loss from discontinued operations ($ per share)	(0.05)	0.04	(0.25)	(0.04)
Net income (loss) per common share – basic and diluted ($ per share)	$ 0.07	$ (0.15)	$ 0.27	$ (0.44)
Weighted average shares outstanding (number of shares)	23,126	23,040	23,099	23,039
Discontinued Operations, Held-for-sale
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Net income					$ (13,029)	$ (80,879)	$ (59,605)
Unrealized gain (loss) on securities, net of deferred income tax and reclassification adjustments					1,671	292	(2,093)
Foreign currency translation					29	(48)	6,578
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax					1,700	244	4,485
Comprehensive income (loss)					(11,329)	(80,635)	(55,120)
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests					(8,836)	(979)	7,180
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to PICO Holdings, Inc.					$ (20,165)	$ (81,614)	$ (47,940)
Net income (loss) per common share – basic and diluted:
Income (loss) from continuing operations ($ per share)					$ (1.09)	$ (1.76)	$ (1.34)
Loss from discontinued operations ($ per share)					0.14	(1.80)	(0.96)
Net income (loss) per common share – basic and diluted ($ per share)					$ (0.95)	$ (3.56)	$ (2.30)
Weighted average shares outstanding (number of shares)					23,054	23,014	22,802