Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Apr. 27, 2016
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000005272
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		1,119,032,377
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1