Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Revenue:
Total premium	$ 890,973	$ 850,106
Net investment income	226,673	218,084
Realized gains (losses)	1,329	1,951
Other income	241	295
Total revenue	1,119,216	1,070,436
Benefits and expenses:
Life policyholder benefits	409,692	400,581
Health policyholder benefits	170,017	160,619
Other policyholder benefits	8,048	8,689
Total policyholder benefits	587,757	569,889
Amortization of deferred acquisition costs	135,822	129,620
Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs	73,465	69,639
Other operating expense	72,793	66,824
Interest expense	21,278	21,622
Total benefits and expenses	891,115	857,594
Income before income taxes	228,101	212,842
Income tax benefit (expense)	(42,707)	(39,131)
Income from continuing operations	185,394	173,711
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	(49)	(111)
Net income	$ 185,345	$ 173,600
Basic net income (loss) per common share:
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 1.68	$ 1.52
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.00
Basic net income per common share (in dollars per share)	1.68	1.52
Diluted net income (loss) per common share:
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	1.65	1.49
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.00
Diluted net income per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.65	$ 1.49
Life premium [Member]
Revenue:
Total premium	$ 624,289	$ 598,303
Health premium [Member]
Revenue:
Total premium	266,684	251,798
Other premium [Member]
Revenue:
Total premium	$ 0	$ 5