Preneed Activities Investment Related Activities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Preneed Activities [Abstract]
Deposits to trust	$ 371,234	$ 321,232	$ 313,244
Withdrawals	415,283	350,379	364,314
Purchases of available-for-sale securities	2,057,348	1,462,900	1,326,398
Sales of available-for-sale securities	1,999,918	1,393,728	1,261,777
Realized gains from sales of available-for-sale securities	256,413	100,284	100,477
Realized losses from sales of available-for-sale securities	$ (76,963)	$ (113,806)	$ (79,203)

Amounts deposited to trust during the period.

No definition available.

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- Definition

Preneed Activities.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amounts withdrawn from trust during the period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This item represents the gross profit realized on the sale of debt or equity securities categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 9
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82897076&loc=d3e27357-111563

+ Details

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- Definition

This item represents the gross loss realized on the sale of debt or equity securities categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities.

+ References

+ Details

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- Definition

The cash outflow to acquire debt and equity securities not classified as either held-to-maturity securities or trading securities which would be classified as available-for-sale securities and reported at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses excluded from earnings and reported in a separate component of shareholders' equity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 13
-Subparagraph (a),(b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=98514028&loc=d3e3213-108585

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 11
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82896770&loc=d3e26853-111562

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
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- Definition

The cash inflow associated with the sale of debt and equity securities classified as available-for-sale securities.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 11
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82896770&loc=d3e26853-111562

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 12
-Subparagraph (a),(b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=98514028&loc=d3e3179-108585

+ Details

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Period Type:	duration