Description of Business, Basis of Presentation and Recent Accounting Pronouncements - Additional Information (Detail)	6 Months Ended						6 Months Ended												0 Months Ended						1 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013 USD ($) Segment	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Feb. 14, 2013 Salus Capital Partners L L C [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 14, 2013 Salus Capital Partners L L C [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] Maximum [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Fidelity And Guaranty Life Holdings [Member] 6.375% Senior Notes, Due April 1, 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Fidelity And Guaranty Life Holdings [Member] 6.375% Senior Notes, Due April 1, 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Spectrum Brands [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Spectrum Brands [Member] 6.375% Senior Notes [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Spectrum Brands [Member] 6.375% Senior Notes [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Spectrum Brands [Member] 6.625% Notes [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Spectrum Brands [Member] 6.625% Notes [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Spectrum Brands [Member] Term Loan, due December 17, 2019 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2012 Spectrum Brands [Member] Term Loan, due December 17, 2019 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2012 Spectrum Brands [Member] Term Loan, due December 17, 2019 [Member] CAD	Mar. 31, 2013 Spectrum Brands [Member] Previous Term Loan Facility [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2012 Spectrum Brands [Member] Previous Term Loan Facility [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Spectrum Brands [Member] Previous Term Loan Facility [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Zap Com Corporation [Member]	Jan. 01, 2013 Fgl Reinsurance Agreement With Fsr [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 05, 2013 EXCO/HGI Partnership [Member] EXCO/HGI Partnership Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 14, 2013 EXCO/HGI Partnership [Member] EXCO/HGI Partnership Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 HGI [Member] 7.875% Senior Secured Notes, due July 15, 2019 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2012 HGI [Member] 7.875% Senior Secured Notes, due July 15, 2019 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 HGI [Member] 7.875% Senior Secured Notes, due July 15, 2019 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2012 HGI [Member] 10.625% Senior Secured Notes, due November 15, 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 HGI [Member] 10.625% Senior Secured Notes, due November 15, 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 HGI [Member] 10.625% Senior Secured Notes, due November 15, 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 14, 2013 EXCO/HGI Partnership [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 14, 2013 EXCO/HGI Partnership [Member] HGI [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 05, 2013 Cotton-Valley Oil and Gas Properties [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 05, 2013 Cotton-Valley Oil and Gas Properties [Member] EXCO/HGI Partnership [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 05, 2013 Cotton-Valley Oil and Gas Properties [Member] HGI [Member] USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Percentage of common stock outstanding collectively held by principal stockholders	74.60%
Voting interest	55.60%
Company' s beneficial ownership of outstanding common stock							57.40%
Business Acquisition Percentage Of Equity Interests Acquired																													74.50%
Secondary offering, shares	23,000,000
Secondary offering, price per share	$ 7.50
Debt, face amount					$ 300,000,000			$ 520,000,000		$ 570,000,000			$ 800,000,000.0	100,000,000.0									$ 700,000,000.0		$ 498,000,000.0
Long-term debt, interest rate					6.375%			6.375%		6.625%		4.60%					5.10%					7.875%	7.875%		10.625%		10.625%
Discharge of remaining outstanding																									2,000,000
Line of credit, maximum borrowing capacity													800,000,000	100,000,000						470,000,000.0	400,000,000.0
Long-term debt	4,605,200,000	2,165,000,000			300,000,000			520,000,000		570,000,000		795,000,000				370,200,000	370,200,000					700,000,000.0					500,000,000
Reinsurance arrangment in percentage																			10.00%
Payments for reinsurance																			1,500,000,000
Asset-backed loans	241,600,000	180,100,000	175,500,000	250,000,000
Business combination, assets acquired																												$ 516,100,000	$ 692,500,000	$ 130,900,000	$ 97,500,000	$ 130,900,000
Percentage of ownership interest acquired																		97.90%
Number of reporting segments	4