Basis of Preparation and Nature of Operations Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended																				3 Months Ended									3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended								3 Months Ended									3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($) Segment	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 6.625% Notes	Sep. 30, 2014 Spectrum Brands 6.375% Senior Notes due 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Spectrum Brands 6.375% Senior Notes due 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Spectrum Brands 6.375% Senior Notes due 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Spectrum Brands 6.625% Notes USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Spectrum Brands 6.625% Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Spectrum Brands 6.625% Notes USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Spectrum Brands Term Loan, due December 17, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Spectrum Brands Term Loan, due December 17, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Spectrum Brands Term Loan, due December 17, 2019 CAD	Dec. 31, 2012 Spectrum Brands Previous Term Loan Facility USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Spectrum Brands Nine Point Five Percent Senior Secured Notes	Sep. 30, 2014 Spectrum Brands Term Loan Due September 4, 2017 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 18, 2013 Spectrum Brands Term Loan Due September 4, 2017 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Spectrum Brands Term Loan Due September 4, 2017 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Salus Capital Partners LLC USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Salus Capital Partners LLC USD ($)	Feb. 14, 2013 Salus Capital Partners LLC USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Salus Capital Partners LLC Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Salus Capital Partners LLC Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary USD ($)	Sep. 23, 2013 Salus Capital Partners LLC Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Salus Capital Partners LLC Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary USD ($)	Sep. 23, 2013 Salus Capital Partners LLC Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary Maximum USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Salus Capital Partners LLC Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary Maximum USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Fidelity And Guaranty Life Holdings 6.375% Senior Notes, Due April 1, 2021 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Fidelity And Guaranty Life Holdings 6.375% Senior Notes, Due April 1, 2021 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Fidelity And Guaranty Life Holdings 6.375% Senior Notes, Due April 1, 2021 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Fgl Reinsurance Agreement With Fsr USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Fgl Reinsurance Agreement With Fsr	Feb. 14, 2013 Compass Compass Credit Agreement USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 HGI USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 HGI USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 HGI 7.875% Senior Secured Notes, due July 15, 2019	Sep. 30, 2013 HGI 7.875% Senior Secured Notes, due July 15, 2019 USD ($)	Jul. 23, 2013 HGI 7.875% Senior Secured Notes, due July 15, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 HGI 7.875% Senior Secured Notes, due July 15, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 HGI 10.625% Senior Secured Notes, due November 15, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 HGI 10.625% Senior Secured Notes, due November 15, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014 HGI Seven Point Seven Five Percent Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 11, 2014 HGI Seven Point Seven Five Percent Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] USD ($)	May 30, 2014 HGI Seven Point Seven Five Percent Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] USD ($)	May 14, 2014 HGI Seven Point Seven Five Percent Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 21, 2014 HGI Seven Point Seven Five Percent Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 HGI Seven Point Seven Five Percent Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 13, 2013 FGL USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Bankers Life Insurance Company [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Bankers Life Insurance Company [Member] USD ($)	May 30, 2014 Zap Com Corporation [Member]	Mar. 05, 2013 Cotton-Valley Oil and Gas Properties Compass USD ($)	Mar. 05, 2013 Cotton-Valley Oil and Gas Properties HGI USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 United States of America, Dollars Spectrum Brands Term Loan Due December 17, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 18, 2013 United States of America, Dollars Spectrum Brands Term Loan Due December 17, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 United States of America, Dollars Spectrum Brands Term Loan Due December 17, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Euro Member Countries, Euro Spectrum Brands Euro Term Loan, Due September 4, 2019 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 18, 2013 Euro Member Countries, Euro Spectrum Brands Euro Term Loan, Due September 4, 2019 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Euro Member Countries, Euro Spectrum Brands Euro Term Loan, Due September 4, 2019 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Exchange of Senior Secured Notes for Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] HGI 7.875% Senior Secured Notes, due July 15, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 Exchange of Senior Secured Notes for Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] HGI Seven Point Seven Five Percent Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] USD ($)	May 30, 2014 Exchange of Senior Secured Notes for Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] HGI Seven Point Seven Five Percent Senior Unsecured Notes [Member] USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Percentage Of Ownership Interest																																																80.40%			97.90%
Document Period End Date		Sep. 30, 2014
Payments for Reinsurance																															$ 1,400,000,000																		$ 153,000,000	$ 153,000,000
Secondary offering, shares	23,000,000
Secondary offering, price per share	$ 7.50
Debt, face amount							520,000,000.0			570,000,000.0	1,150,000,000.00	800,000,000.0	100,000,000.0																	300,000,000.0								225,000,000	700,000,000.0																							1,000
Debt Instrument Issue Price As Percentage Of Principle Amount																																						101.50%	99.36%			100.00%
Long-term debt, interest rate				6.625%	6.375%	6.40%	6.375%	6.625%	6.60%	6.625%					9.50%	3.60%		3.60%										6.375%	0.00%							7.90%	0.00%		7.875%	10.625%		7.75%												0.00%		4.60%	3.80%		0.00%
Common Stock, Par or Stated Value Per Share		$ 0.01
Discharge of remaining outstanding																						25,000,000																		2,000,000
Line of credit, maximum borrowing capacity												800,000,000	100,000,000.0																				400,000,000.0
Long-term debt		5,194,500,000	4,909,700,000		520,000,000	520,000,000		570,000,000	570,000,000					370,200,000		509,900,000	215,000,000	300,000,000										300,000,000	300,000,000					1,354,400,000	924,200,000		925,000,000			498,000,000		750,000,000	200,000,000	550,000,000	0	200,000,000								0	513,300,000	513,300,000	283,300,000	225,000,000	0	320,600,000	350,000,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Five		1,470,900,000																																604,400,000
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred, Including Equity Interest in Acquiree Held Prior to Combination		13,500,000
Reinsurance arrangment in percentage																															10.00%	10.00%
Reinsurance Recoverables, Gross																															1,500,000,000
Asset-based loans		811,600,000	560,400,000																136,500,000	166,900,000	331,100,000		331,100,000	325,000,000	175,500,000	550,000,000	250,000,000
Business combination, assets acquired																																																				97,400,000	130,700,000
Number of reporting segments		4
Shares Offered To Public In Initial Offering																																																9,750,000
Sale of Stock, Price Per Share																																																$ 17
Shares Offered To Underwriters In Initial Offering																																																1,463,000
Investment Owned, Balance, Shares																																																47,000,000
Stock Repurchased and Retired During Period, Shares		5,197,000
Payments for Repurchase of Equity		65,600,000
Stock Repurchase Program, Number of Shares Authorized to be Repurchased		$ 100,000,000