Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) debt_instrument	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Revolving credit facility
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Amount of credit facility under agreement for general corporate purposes	$ 50,000,000
Adjusted net worth required for each quarter	1,100,000,000
Amount outstanding	0	$ 0
Other Letters of Credit
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Amount of credit facility under agreement for general corporate purposes	9,095,000
Other letters of credit outstanding	0	0
GWL&A Financial | First Letter of Credit
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Amount outstanding	0	$ 0
First letter of credit	1,165,030,000
GWL&A Financial | Second Letter of Credit
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Second letter of credit	$ 70,000,000
GWL&A Financial | Letter of Credit
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Number of letters of credit | debt_instrument	2