Notes Payable and Amounts Due Under Repurchase Agreements (Repurchase Agreements Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Repurchase agreement, average borrowings	$ 0.0	$ 9.7	$ 19.0	$ 39.4
Repurchase agreement, maximum amount borrowed			$ 186.4	$ 243.6
Repurchase agreement, weighted average interest rate		2.25%	1.73%	2.97%

The average rate of interest paid on the amount borrowed on securities repurchase agreements during the period.

No definition available.

Name:	ael_RepurchaseAgreementAverageInterestRate
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration