Insurance Subsidiary - Financial Information Additonal Information (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014 FGL Insurance	Dec. 31, 2013 FGL Insurance	Nov. 01, 2013 FGL Insurance	Sep. 30, 2014 Raven Re	Dec. 31, 2013 Raven Re	Sep. 30, 2014 MARYLAND FGL Insurance	Dec. 31, 2013 MARYLAND FGL Insurance	Dec. 30, 2012 MARYLAND FGL Insurance	Dec. 31, 2012 MARYLAND FGL Insurance	Sep. 30, 2014 NEW YORK FGL NY Insurance	Dec. 31, 2013 NEW YORK FGL NY Insurance	Dec. 30, 2012 NEW YORK FGL NY Insurance	Dec. 31, 2012 NEW YORK FGL NY Insurance
Statutory Accounting Practices [Line Items]
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2014
Statutory Net Income (Loss)							$ 180.3	$ 118.2	$ 102.2		$ 2.7	$ 1.3	$ 1.0
Statutory Capital and Surplus				(805.8)	108.9		1,134.4	1,108.3		900.5	64.1	61.9		41.1
Payments of dividends	124.4
Dividends declared but not paid	124.4
Statutory Accounting Practices Statutory Capital And Surplus Change		$ (0.8)	$ 11.5		$ 20.5	$ 270.0