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Nature of the business	12 Months Ended
Nature of the business	Dec. 31, 2016
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 (“ILS”) management through four distinct global operating segments, Validus Re, Talbot, Western World, and AlphaCat. Validus Re is a global reinsurance segment focused primarily 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 ILS and other property catastrophe and specialty reinsurance investments.