SEGMENT INFORMATION (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013 segment	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013 Commercial Insurance	Mar. 31, 2012 Commercial Insurance	Mar. 31, 2013 Consumer Insurance	Mar. 31, 2012 Consumer Insurance	Mar. 31, 2013 Other	Mar. 31, 2012 Other	Mar. 31, 2013 Total AIG Property Casualty	Mar. 31, 2012 Total AIG Property Casualty	Mar. 31, 2013 AIG Life and Retirement segment	Dec. 31, 2012 AIG Life and Retirement segment	Mar. 31, 2013 Retail	Mar. 31, 2012 Retail	Mar. 31, 2013 Institutional	Mar. 31, 2012 Institutional	Mar. 31, 2013 Total AIG Life and Retirement	Mar. 31, 2012 Total AIG Life and Retirement	Mar. 31, 2013 Other Operations	Mar. 31, 2012 Other Operations	Mar. 31, 2013 Mortgage Guaranty	Mar. 31, 2012 Mortgage Guaranty	Mar. 31, 2013 Global Capital Markets	Mar. 31, 2012 Global Capital Markets	Mar. 31, 2013 Direct Investment Book	Mar. 31, 2012 Direct Investment Book	Mar. 31, 2012 Retained Interests	Mar. 31, 2013 Corporate and Other	Mar. 31, 2012 Corporate and Other	Mar. 31, 2013 Other Operations, consolidation and eliminations	Mar. 31, 2012 Other Operations, consolidation and eliminations	Mar. 31, 2013 Consolidation and Eliminations	Mar. 31, 2012 Consolidation and Eliminations
Segment results
Number of reportable segments	2
Number of operating segments											2	2
Total revenues	$ 15,888	$ 17,497	$ 5,773	$ 5,893	$ 3,506	$ 3,612	$ 680	$ 293	$ 9,959	$ 9,798			$ 3,003	$ 2,399	$ 1,737	$ 1,503	$ 4,740	$ 3,902	$ 1,308	$ 4,003	$ 231	$ 200	$ 273	$ 160	$ 411	$ 344	$ 3,047	$ 402	$ 262	$ (9)	$ (10)	$ (119)	$ (206)
Pre-tax Income (loss) from continuing operations	$ 2,832	$ 4,466	$ 1,041	$ 645	$ 153	$ 234	$ 410	$ 31	$ 1,604	$ 910			$ 996	$ 484	$ 574	$ 378	$ 1,570	$ 862	$ (414)	$ 2,736	$ 44	$ 8	$ 227	$ 88	$ 312	$ 248	$ 3,047	$ (998)	$ (658)	$ 1	$ 3	$ 72	$ (42)

This element represents the income or loss from continuing operations attributable to the economic entity which may also be defined as revenue less expenses from ongoing operations, after income or loss from equity method investments, but before income taxes, extraordinary items, and noncontrolling interest.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 03

-Paragraph 10

-Article 5

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- Definition

Number of operating segments. An operating segment is a component of an enterprise: (a) that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses (including revenues and expenses relating to transactions with other components of the same enterprise), (b) whose operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise's chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance, and (c) for which discrete financial information is available. An operating segment may engage in business activities for which it has yet to earn revenues, for example, start-up operations may be operating segments before earning revenues.

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Number of segments reported by the entity. A reportable segment is a component of an entity for which there is an accounting requirement to report separate financial information on that component in the entity's financial statements.

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- Definition

Aggregate revenue recognized during the period (derived from goods sold, services rendered, insurance premiums, or other activities that constitute an entity's earning process). For financial services companies, also includes investment and interest income, and sales and trading gains.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.1)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6880815&loc=d3e20235-122688

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 03

-Paragraph 1

-Article 5

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