Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Feb. 16, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	GREENLIGHT CAPITAL RE, LTD.
Entity Central Index Key	0001385613
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 620,785,740
Common Class A
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		31,102,551
Common Class B
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		6,254,715