BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 13, 2012 Department of the Treasury.	Mar. 12, 2012 Department of the Treasury.	Mar. 31, 2012 Common Stock	Mar. 13, 2012 Common Stock	Mar. 31, 2012 Common Stock Department of the Treasury.	Mar. 31, 2012 AIA Group	Mar. 07, 2012 AIA Group	Mar. 06, 2012 AIA Group	Dec. 31, 2011 AIA Group
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 2.50	$ 2.50				$ 2.50
Common stock sold by the Department of the Treasury (in shares)							207,000,000
Proceeds received by the Department of the Treasury from the sale of AIG common stock							$ 6,000,000,000
Total number of shares common stock repurchased	(103,448,276)				103,000,000
Shares repurchased	3,000,000,000				3,000,000,000
Ownership interest held by the Department of the Treasury before stock offering and sale (as a percent)			70.00%	77.00%
Gross proceeds received on sale of AIA								6,000,000,000
Ownership percentage held									19.00%	33.00%
Number of shares of AIA sold								1,720,000,000
Fair value of retained interest								$ 8,200,000,000			$ 12,400,000,000