Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Nov. 01, 2014 Class A (voting) [Member]	Nov. 01, 2014 Class B (non-voting) [Member]
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	BALDWIN & LYONS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000009346
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		2,623,109	12,352,080
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2014