Document and Entity Information (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	May 03, 2013
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	Independence Holding Company
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000701869
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			17,853,244
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Entity Public Float		$ 77,470