Goodwill (Goodwill By Segment For Impairment Test) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning balance	[1]	$ 833,512	$ 841,239
Acquisitions		20,564	7,885
Dispositions			(2,532)
Foreign currency translation and other		(23,120)	(13,080)
Other movements	[2]	0
Goodwill, ending balance	[1]	830,956	833,512
Accumulated impairment losses		1,260,939	1,260,939	$ 1,260,939
Global Housing
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning balance	[1]	304,419	301,586
Acquisitions		16,511	5,365
Dispositions			(2,532)
Foreign currency translation and other		0	0
Other movements	[2]	0
Goodwill, ending balance	[1]	320,930	304,419
Global Lifestyle
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning balance	[1]	529,093	539,653
Acquisitions		4,053	2,520
Dispositions			0
Foreign currency translation and other		(23,120)	(13,080)
Other movements	[2]	(137,707)
Goodwill, ending balance	[1]	372,319	529,093
Global Preneed
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning balance	[1]	0	0
Acquisitions		0	0
Dispositions			0
Foreign currency translation and other		0	0
Other movements	[2]	137,707
Goodwill, ending balance	[1]	$ 137,707	$ 0

[1] Includes $1,260,939 of accumulated impairment losses.

[2] Effective December 31, 2016, the Company changed its segment reporting structure. See Note 3 for more information. Global Preneed was previously reported together with Global Lifestyle. As a consequence of these segment changes, our reporting units also changed. Goodwill has been reallocated between the Global Lifestyle and Global Preneed reporting units using the relative fair value allocation approach.