Net Income Attributable to Shareholders of Crawford & Company per Common Share (Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Class A Non-Voting
Numerator:
Allocation of undistributed (loss) earnings	$ (8,436)	$ 1,604
Dividends paid	2,140	2,131
Net (loss) income attributable to common shareholders, basic	$ (6,296)	$ 3,735
Denominator:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic (shares)	30,562	30,658
Earnings per share - basic (usd per share)	$ (0.21)	$ 0.12
Class B Voting
Numerator:
Allocation of undistributed (loss) earnings	$ (6,232)	$ 1,223
Dividends paid	1,129	1,151
Net (loss) income attributable to common shareholders, basic	$ (5,103)	$ 2,374
Denominator:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic (shares)	22,578	23,367
Earnings per share - basic (usd per share)	$ (0.23)	$ 0.10