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Nature of the business	12 Months Ended
Nature of the business	Dec. 31, 2015
Nature Of Business [Abstract]
Nature of the business	Nature of the business Validus Holdings, Ltd. (together with its wholly and majority owned subsidiaries, the “Company”) was incorporated under the laws of Bermuda on October 19, 2005. The Company provides reinsurance coverage, insurance coverage and insurance linked securities management through four distinct global operating segments, Validus Re, Talbot, Western World, and AlphaCat. Validus Re is a Bermuda-based reinsurance segment focused on treaty reinsurance. Talbot is a specialty insurance segment, primarily operating within the Lloyd's insurance market through Syndicate 1183. Western World is a U.S. based specialty excess and surplus lines insurance segment operating within the U.S. commercial market. AlphaCat is a Bermuda-based investment adviser, managing capital for third parties and the Company in insurance linked securities and other investments in the property catastrophe reinsurance space. On October 9, 2013, the Company completed the sale of its wholly-owned Cyprus-domiciled subsidiary, Flagstone Alliance Insurance and Reinsurance plc for net cash proceeds of $21,400. On October 2, 2014, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of Western World Insurance Group Inc. ("Western World"), a U.S. based specialty excess and surplus lines insurance company. The results of operations for Western World are consolidated from the date of acquisition. Refer to Note 5, "Business combinations," for further information.