Reinsurance and Policy Provisions (Hannover Financing Arrangements) (Details) - 2019 Hannover Reinsurance Agreement - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Lifetime income benefit rider payments in excess of policy fund values and waived surrender charges related to penalty free withdrawals on certain business, percentage	80.00%
Risk charges	$ 33.1	$ 44.7

Item represents the percentage of coverage provided by the reinsurance agreement on certain business of lifetime income benefit rider payments in excess of policy fund values and waived surrender charges related to penalty free withdrawals.

No definition available.

Name:	ael_ReinsuranceLifetimeIncomeBenefitRiderPaymentsinExcessofPolicyFundValuesandWaivedSurrenderChargesRelatedtoPenaltyFreeWithdrawalsonCertainBusinessPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	ael_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant