Fair Value Measurements - Financial instruments not carried at fair value (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Deposit liabilities	$ 1,138,789	$ 1,168,376
Notes payable and debt	2,647,000	2,644,970
Carrying Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Financial Assets	141,995	141,329
Deposit liabilities	1,138,789	1,168,376
Notes payable and debt	2,675,000	2,644,970
Financial Liabilities	3,813,789	3,813,346
Fair Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Financial Assets	153,398	154,065
Deposit liabilities	1,450,164	1,436,210
Notes payable and debt	2,921,113	2,805,152
Financial Liabilities	$ 4,371,277	$ 4,241,362

Carrying amount of liabilities as of the balance sheet date pertaining to amounts received by the insurer or reinsurer from the insured (including a ceding company) under insurance or reinsurance contracts for which insurance risk is not transferred.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 340
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6387650&loc=d3e9420-108338

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DepositContractsLiabilities
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueBalanceSheetGroupingFinancialStatementCaptionsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Carrying amount of long-term debt, net of unamortized discount or premium, including current and noncurrent amounts. Includes, but not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, mortgage loans and commercial paper. Excludes capital lease obligations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.16)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.16)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Section 02
-Paragraph 20, 22
-Article 5

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermDebt
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Aggregate value of financial instrument assets that are not carried at fair value in the financial statements.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	xlgroup_FinancialAssetsNotCarriedAtFairValue
Namespace Prefix:	xlgroup_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Aggregate value of financial instrument liabilities that are not carried at fair value in the financial statements.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	xlgroup_FinancialLiabilitiesNotCarriedAtFairValue
Namespace Prefix:	xlgroup_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementBasisAxis=us-gaap_CarryingReportedAmountFairValueDisclosureMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementBasisAxis=us-gaap_EstimateOfFairValueFairValueDisclosureMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: