Preneed Funeral Activities Preneed Funeral Activities, Textuals (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Insurance Commissions and Fees	$ 94,000,000	$ 86,800,000	$ 68,300,000
Funeral [Member]
Available-for-sale securities, estimated maturity date, minimum	2013
Underlying assets liquidation range, minimum	2
Fair Value, Measurement with unobservable inputs, risk discount, high end of the range	60.00%
Fair Value, Measurement with unobservable inputs, liquidity discount, high end of the range	25.00%
Fair Value, Investments, Entities that Calculate Net Asset Value Per Share, Unfunded Commitments	11,500,000
Investment Earnings, Net	38,700,000	37,700,000	29,500,000
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net	781,000	24,705,000	8,135,000
Underlying assets liquidation range, maximum	$ 10
Available-for-sale securities, estimated maturity date, maximum	2053