485BPOS

File No. 811-5017

File No. 33-11466

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

Form N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933	☒
Post-Effective Amendment No. 74	☒

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940	☒
Amendment No. 74	☒

IVY VARIABLE INSURANCE PORTFOLIOS

(a Delaware statutory trust)

(Exact Name as Specified in Charter)

6300 Lamar Avenue, Overland Park, Kansas	66202-4200
(Address of Principal Executive Office)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code (913) 236-2000

Philip A. Shipp

6300 Lamar Avenue

Overland Park, Kansas 66202-4200

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

It is proposed that this filing will become effective

☒ immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

☐ on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)

☐ 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

☐ on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

☐ 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

☐ on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485

☐ this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment

DECLARATION REQUIRED BY RULE 24f-2

The issuer has registered an indefinite amount of its securities under the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to Rule 24f-2. Notice for the Registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 was filed on March 15, 2018.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Post-Effective Amendment pursuant to Rule 485(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of Overland Park, and State of Kansas, on the 5^th day of June, 2018.

IVY VARIABLE INSURANCE PORTFOLIOS

A Delaware Statutory Trust

(Registrant)

By /s/Philip J. Sanders

Philip J. Sanders, President

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940, this Post-Effective Amendment has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated on the 5^th day of June, 2018.

Signatures	Title
/s/Joseph Harroz, Jr.*	Chairman and Trustee
Joseph Harroz, Jr.
/s/Philip J. Sanders	President
Philip J. Sanders
/s/Joseph W. Kauten	Vice President, Treasurer
Joseph W. Kauten	and Principal Financial Officer
/s/Jarold W. Boettcher*	Trustee
Jarold W. Boettcher
/s/James M. Concannon*	Trustee
James M. Concannon
/s/James D. Gressett*	Trustee
James D. Gressett
/s/Henry J. Herrmann*	Trustee
Henry J. Herrmann
/s/Glendon E. Johnson, Jr.*	Trustee
Glendon E. Johnson, Jr.
/s/Frank J. Ross, Jr.*	Trustee
Frank J. Ross, Jr.
/s/Michael G. Smith*	Trustee
Michael G. Smith
/s/Edward M. Tighe*	Trustee
Edward M. Tighe

*By:	/s/Philip A. Shipp
	Philip A. Shipp
	Attorney-in-Fact

ATTEST:	/s/Jennifer K. Dulski
	Jennifer K. Dulski
	Secretary

EXHIBIT INDEX

Index No.	Description of Exhibit
EX-101.INS	XBRL Instance Document
EX-101.SCH	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
EX-101.CAL	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
EX-101.DEF	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
EX-101.LAB	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase
EX-101.PRE	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Document Type	dei_DocumentType	485BPOS
Document Period End Date	dei_DocumentPeriodEndDate	Dec. 31, 2017
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Central Index Key	dei_EntityCentralIndexKey	0000810016
Amendment Flag	dei_AmendmentFlag	false
Document Creation Date	dei_DocumentCreationDate	Apr. 27, 2018
Document Effective Date	dei_DocumentEffectiveDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018

XML

Ivy VIP Core Equity

Ivy VIP Core Equity

Objective

To seek to provide capital growth and appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Core Equity Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Core Equity Class II
Management Fees	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.00%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	0.05%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	0.95%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same, and that expenses were capped for a one-year period, as indicated above. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Core Equity | Class II | USD ($)	97	313	548	1,220

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Core Equity | Class II | USD ($)	97	313	548	1,220

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 78% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Core Equity seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities, primarily in common stocks of large-capitalization companies. The Portfolio seeks to invest in companies that IICO believes have a leading market position or sustainable competitive advantage in their industry. Large-capitalization companies typically are companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition. The Portfolio invests in securities that have the potential for capital appreciation, or that IICO expects to resist market decline. Although the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies, it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. The Portfolio may invest in securities of companies across the valuation spectrum, including securities issued by growth and value companies.

IICO believes that long-term earnings potential relative to market expectations is an important component for stock performance. IICO balances a top-down (assessing the market environment) approach with a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) analysis when selecting securities for the Portfolio, and seeks to exploit what it believes to be catalysts for multi-year earnings growth in companies that it believes have strong or strengthening competitive advantages. Earnings catalysts are diversified across both thematic and company-specific projections.

From a top-down perspective, IICO seeks to identify current trends or themes which indicate specific industries that have the potential to experience multi-year growth. IICO considers various thematic catalysts in its analysis, including major macro-economic and political forces, cyclical inflections, changes in consumer behavior and technology shifts. Once a trend or theme is identified, IICO seeks to invest for the Portfolio in what it believes are dominant companies that will benefit from these trends or themes; including companies that IICO believes have long-term earnings potential that exceeds market expectations.

Through its bottom-up stock selection, IICO searches for companies for which it believes market expectations are too low with regard to the ability of the companies to grow their businesses.

In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO may consider whether a company has new products to introduce, has undergone cost restructuring or a management change, or has improved its execution, among other factors.

The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 50).

Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities. Among other factors, IICO considers whether, in its opinion, the security has fully appreciated according to IICO’s forecast, has ceased to offer the prospect of significant growth potential, has had its competitive barriers diminished, has seen its earnings catalyst lose its impact, or has performed below IICO’s expectations regarding the company’s long-term earnings potential. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security if that issuer’s competitive advantage has diminished or if the Portfolio’s portfolio managers lose conviction in a previously identified trend or theme, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Catalyst Risk. Investing in companies in anticipation of a catalyst carries the risk that certain of such catalysts may not happen or the market may react differently than expected to such catalysts, in which case the Portfolio may experience losses.
• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 50). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.
• Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation.
• Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
• Theme Risk. Because the Portfolio’s investment strategy incorporates the identification of themes, the Portfolio’s performance may suffer if IICO does not correctly identify such themes or if a theme develops in an unanticipated way.
• Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 17.59% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -20.48% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Core Equity	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	20.75%	12.74%	7.95%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	21.83%	15.79%	8.50%
Lipper Variable Annuity Large-Cap Core Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	20.71%	14.55%	7.52%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company, doing business as WI Services Company (WISC), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient management fees, 12b-1 fees and/or shareholder servicing fees to cap the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) for Class II shares at 0.95%. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Core Equity
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Core Equity
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide capital growth and appreciation.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination	April 30, 2019
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 78% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	78.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same, and that expenses were capped for a one-year period, as indicated above. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Core Equity seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities, primarily in common stocks of large-capitalization companies. The Portfolio seeks to invest in companies that IICO believes have a leading market position or sustainable competitive advantage in their industry. Large-capitalization companies typically are companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition. The Portfolio invests in securities that have the potential for capital appreciation, or that IICO expects to resist market decline. Although the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies, it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. The Portfolio may invest in securities of companies across the valuation spectrum, including securities issued by growth and value companies. IICO believes that long-term earnings potential relative to market expectations is an important component for stock performance. IICO balances a top-down (assessing the market environment) approach with a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) analysis when selecting securities for the Portfolio, and seeks to exploit what it believes to be catalysts for multi-year earnings growth in companies that it believes have strong or strengthening competitive advantages. Earnings catalysts are diversified across both thematic and company-specific projections. From a top-down perspective, IICO seeks to identify current trends or themes which indicate specific industries that have the potential to experience multi-year growth. IICO considers various thematic catalysts in its analysis, including major macro-economic and political forces, cyclical inflections, changes in consumer behavior and technology shifts. Once a trend or theme is identified, IICO seeks to invest for the Portfolio in what it believes are dominant companies that will benefit from these trends or themes; including companies that IICO believes have long-term earnings potential that exceeds market expectations. Through its bottom-up stock selection, IICO searches for companies for which it believes market expectations are too low with regard to the ability of the companies to grow their businesses. In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO may consider whether a company has new products to introduce, has undergone cost restructuring or a management change, or has improved its execution, among other factors. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 50). Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities. Among other factors, IICO considers whether, in its opinion, the security has fully appreciated according to IICO’s forecast, has ceased to offer the prospect of significant growth potential, has had its competitive barriers diminished, has seen its earnings catalyst lose its impact, or has performed below IICO’s expectations regarding the company’s long-term earnings potential. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security if that issuer’s competitive advantage has diminished or if the Portfolio’s portfolio managers lose conviction in a previously identified trend or theme, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Catalyst Risk. Investing in companies in anticipation of a catalyst carries the risk that certain of such catalysts may not happen or the market may react differently than expected to such catalysts, in which case the Portfolio may experience losses. Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 50). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities. Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation. Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. Theme Risk. Because the Portfolio’s investment strategy incorporates the identification of themes, the Portfolio’s performance may suffer if IICO does not correctly identify such themes or if a theme develops in an unanticipated way. Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 17.59% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -20.48% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Core Equity | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.00%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	0.05%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	0.95%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 97
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	313
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	548
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,220
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	97
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	313
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	548
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,220
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(34.77%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	24.02%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	20.89%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	1.66%
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	18.60%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	33.51%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	9.68%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(0.69%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	3.74%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	20.75%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	17.59%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(20.48%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	20.75%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	12.74%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.95%
Ivy VIP Core Equity | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	21.83%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	15.79%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.50%
Ivy VIP Core Equity | Lipper Variable Annuity Large-Cap Core Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	20.71%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	14.55%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.52%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company, doing business as WI Services Company (WISC), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient management fees, 12b-1 fees and/or shareholder servicing fees to cap the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) for Class II shares at 0.95%. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

XML

Ivy VIP Growth

Ivy VIP Growth

Objective

To seek to provide growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Growth Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Growth Class II
Management Fees	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.04%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.99%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Growth | Class II | USD ($)	101	315	547	1,213

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Growth | Class II | USD ($)	101	315	547	1,213

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 41% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Growth seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of common stocks issued by large-capitalization, growth-oriented companies with above-average levels of profitability and that Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, believes have the ability to sustain growth over the long term. Large-capitalization companies typically are companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition. Growth-oriented companies are those whose earnings IICO believes are likely to grow faster than the economy.

IICO primarily utilizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) strategy in selecting securities for the Portfolio and seeks to invest for the Portfolio in companies that it believes possess, or have the potential to achieve, dominant market positions and/or structural competitive advantages. IICO believes that these characteristics can help to mitigate competition and lead to more resilient and sustainable revenue and earnings growth.

IICO begins its investment process by screening large-capitalization companies based on profitability, and then attempts to focus on companies operating in large, growing, addressable markets (generally, the total potential markets for their goods and services) whose competitive market position IICO believes will allow them to grow faster than the general economy. The key factors IICO typically analyzes consist of: a company’s brand equity, proprietary technology, economies of scale, barriers to entry, strength of management, and level of competitive intensity; return of capital in the form of higher dividends or share repurchases; strong balance sheets and cash flows; the threat of substitute products; and the interaction and bargaining power between a company, its customers, suppliers and competitors. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60).

Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

In general, IICO may sell a security when, in IICO’s opinion, a company experiences deterioration in its growth and/or profitability characteristics, or a fundamental breakdown of its sustainable competitive advantages. IICO also may sell a security if it believes that the security no longer presents sufficient appreciation potential; this may be caused by, or be an effect of, changes in the industry or sector of the issuer, loss by the company of its competitive position, poor execution by management, the threat of technological disruption and/or poor use of resources. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60), and the Portfolio’s managers also tend to invest a significant portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a limited number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities or if the Portfolio’s managers invested a greater portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a larger number of stocks.
• Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation.
• Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek capital growth, with current income as a secondary objective. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 14.22% (the first quarter of 2012) and the lowest quarterly return was -20.44% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Growth	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	29.34%	16.44%	8.43%
Russell 1000 Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	30.21%	17.33%	10.00%
Lipper Variable Annuity Large-Cap Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	30.86%	16.29%	8.73%

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Growth
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Growth
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide growth of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 41% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	41.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Growth seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of common stocks issued by large-capitalization, growth-oriented companies with above-average levels of profitability and that Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, believes have the ability to sustain growth over the long term. Large-capitalization companies typically are companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition. Growth-oriented companies are those whose earnings IICO believes are likely to grow faster than the economy. IICO primarily utilizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) strategy in selecting securities for the Portfolio and seeks to invest for the Portfolio in companies that it believes possess, or have the potential to achieve, dominant market positions and/or structural competitive advantages. IICO believes that these characteristics can help to mitigate competition and lead to more resilient and sustainable revenue and earnings growth. IICO begins its investment process by screening large-capitalization companies based on profitability, and then attempts to focus on companies operating in large, growing, addressable markets (generally, the total potential markets for their goods and services) whose competitive market position IICO believes will allow them to grow faster than the general economy. The key factors IICO typically analyzes consist of: a company’s brand equity, proprietary technology, economies of scale, barriers to entry, strength of management, and level of competitive intensity; return of capital in the form of higher dividends or share repurchases; strong balance sheets and cash flows; the threat of substitute products; and the interaction and bargaining power between a company, its customers, suppliers and competitors. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60). Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. In general, IICO may sell a security when, in IICO’s opinion, a company experiences deterioration in its growth and/or profitability characteristics, or a fundamental breakdown of its sustainable competitive advantages. IICO also may sell a security if it believes that the security no longer presents sufficient appreciation potential; this may be caused by, or be an effect of, changes in the industry or sector of the issuer, loss by the company of its competitive position, poor execution by management, the threat of technological disruption and/or poor use of resources. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60), and the Portfolio’s managers also tend to invest a significant portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a limited number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities or if the Portfolio’s managers invested a greater portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a larger number of stocks. Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation. Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek capital growth, with current income as a secondary objective. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 14.22% (the first quarter of 2012) and the lowest quarterly return was -20.44% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Growth | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.04%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.99%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 101
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	315
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	547
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,213
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	101
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	315
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	547
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,213
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(36.27%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	27.07%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	12.58%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	2.12%
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	12.75%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	36.46%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	11.81%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	7.17%
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	1.22%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	29.34%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Mar. 31, 2012
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	14.22%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(20.44%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	29.34%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	16.44%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.43%
Ivy VIP Growth | Russell 1000 Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	30.21%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	17.33%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	10.00%
Ivy VIP Growth | Lipper Variable Annuity Large-Cap Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	30.86%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	16.29%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.73%

XML

Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth

Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth

Objective

To seek to provide growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth - USD ($)	Class I	Class II
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses - Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth		Class I	Class II
Management Fees		0.95%	0.95%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		none	0.25%
Other Expenses		0.12%	0.12%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	[1],[2]	1.07%	1.32%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example - Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	109	340	590	1,306
Class II	134	418	723	1,590

Expense Example, No Redemption - Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	109	340	590	1,306
Class II	134	418	723	1,590

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 37% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of micro-capitalization companies. The Portfolio considers a company to be a micro-capitalization company if its market capitalization, at the time of acquisition, is less than the greater of $2 billion or the market capitalization of the largest company in the Russell Microcap Growth Index. As of June 30, 2017 (the quarter-end closest to the index’s rebalance), the largest company in the Russell Microcap Growth Index had a market capitalization of $1.11 billion. The Portfolio primarily invests in common stock, which may include common stocks that are offered in initial public offerings (IPOs).

In selecting equity securities for the Portfolio, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, utilizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection process. IICO seeks to invest for the Portfolio in securities of early stage growth companies operating in industries and/or sectors that are expected to benefit from areas of the economy that demonstrate the ability to grow meaningfully faster than overall gross domestic product for a sustained period of time. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70).

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities. For example, IICO may sell a security if it believes that the issuer’s growth and/or profitability characteristics are deteriorating or the issuer no longer maintains a competitive advantage, when it believes there are more attractive investment opportunities, when there is a lack of management execution, when it believes a company’s valuation has become unattractive relative to industry leaders and industry-specific metrics, or a company’s competitive landscape has changed, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or its exposure to a particular sector, or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Health Care Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in securities in the health care sector, in addition to other risks, include heavy dependence on patent protection, with profitability affected by the expiration of patents; expenses and losses from extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims; competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting; the potentially long and costly process for obtaining new product approval by the Food and Drug Administration; the difficulty health care providers may have obtaining staff to deliver services; susceptibility to product obsolescence; and thin capitalization and limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.
• Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation.
• Initial Public Offering (IPO) Risk. Any positive effect of investments in IPOs may not be sustainable because of a number of factors. Namely, the Portfolio may not be able to buy shares in some IPOs, or may be able to buy only a small number of shares. Also, the performance of IPOs generally is volatile, and is dependent on market psychology and economic conditions. To the extent that IPOs have a significant positive impact on the Portfolio’s performance, this may not be able to be replicated in the future. The relative performance impact of IPOs also is likely to decline as the Portfolio grows.
• Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
• Small Company Risk. Securities of small to micro-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small to micro-capitalization companies at the desired time.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below.

Wall Street Associates, LLC served as the investment subadviser to the Portfolio until July 1, 2015. On July 1, 2015, Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO) assumed direct investment management responsibilities for the Portfolio. On October 1, 2016, IICO, an affiliate of WRIMCO, became the Portfolio’s investment adviser.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term capital appreciation. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 29.37% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -30.17% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	8.83%	11.60%	6.41%
Russell 2000 Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	22.17%	15.21%	9.19%
Russell Microcap Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	16.65%	13.82%	7.23%
Lipper Variable Annuity Small-Cap Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	24.34%	14.40%	8.69%

[1] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

[2] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide growth of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 37% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	37.00%
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text]	rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent	The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio's contractual class waiver.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of micro-capitalization companies. The Portfolio considers a company to be a micro-capitalization company if its market capitalization, at the time of acquisition, is less than the greater of $2 billion or the market capitalization of the largest company in the Russell Microcap Growth Index. As of June 30, 2017 (the quarter-end closest to the index’s rebalance), the largest company in the Russell Microcap Growth Index had a market capitalization of $1.11 billion. The Portfolio primarily invests in common stock, which may include common stocks that are offered in initial public offerings (IPOs). In selecting equity securities for the Portfolio, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, utilizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection process. IICO seeks to invest for the Portfolio in securities of early stage growth companies operating in industries and/or sectors that are expected to benefit from areas of the economy that demonstrate the ability to grow meaningfully faster than overall gross domestic product for a sustained period of time. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70). Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities. For example, IICO may sell a security if it believes that the issuer’s growth and/or profitability characteristics are deteriorating or the issuer no longer maintains a competitive advantage, when it believes there are more attractive investment opportunities, when there is a lack of management execution, when it believes a company’s valuation has become unattractive relative to industry leaders and industry-specific metrics, or a company’s competitive landscape has changed, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or its exposure to a particular sector, or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Health Care Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in securities in the health care sector, in addition to other risks, include heavy dependence on patent protection, with profitability affected by the expiration of patents; expenses and losses from extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims; competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting; the potentially long and costly process for obtaining new product approval by the Food and Drug Administration; the difficulty health care providers may have obtaining staff to deliver services; susceptibility to product obsolescence; and thin capitalization and limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities. Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation. Initial Public Offering (IPO) Risk. Any positive effect of investments in IPOs may not be sustainable because of a number of factors. Namely, the Portfolio may not be able to buy shares in some IPOs, or may be able to buy only a small number of shares. Also, the performance of IPOs generally is volatile, and is dependent on market psychology and economic conditions. To the extent that IPOs have a significant positive impact on the Portfolio’s performance, this may not be able to be replicated in the future. The relative performance impact of IPOs also is likely to decline as the Portfolio grows. Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. Small Company Risk. Securities of small to micro-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small to micro-capitalization companies at the desired time.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below. Wall Street Associates, LLC served as the investment subadviser to the Portfolio until July 1, 2015. On July 1, 2015, Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO) assumed direct investment management responsibilities for the Portfolio. On October 1, 2016, IICO, an affiliate of WRIMCO, became the Portfolio’s investment adviser. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term capital appreciation. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance One Year or Less [Text]	rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess	No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year.
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 29.37% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -30.17% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth | Class I
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.95%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.12%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.07%	[1],[2]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 109
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	340
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	590
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,306
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	109
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	340
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	590
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	1,306
Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.95%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.12%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.32%	[1],[2]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 134
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	418
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	723
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,590
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	134
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	418
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	723
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,590
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(48.04%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	41.29%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	40.85%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(7.01%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	11.84%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	57.28%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	(1.74%)
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(9.16%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	13.29%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	8.83%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	29.37%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(30.17%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	8.83%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	11.60%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	6.41%
Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth | Russell 2000 Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	22.17%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	15.21%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	9.19%
Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth | Russell Microcap Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	16.65%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	13.82%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.23%
Ivy VIP Micro Cap Growth | Lipper Variable Annuity Small-Cap Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	24.34%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	14.40%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.69%

[1] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

[2] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

XML

Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth

Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth

Objective

To seek to provide growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth - USD ($)	Class I	Class II
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses - Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		Class I	Class II
Management Fees		0.85%	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		none	0.25%
Other Expenses		0.04%	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses		0.89%	1.15%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[1]	0.04%	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	0.85%	1.10%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same, and that expenses were capped for a one-year period, as indicated above. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example - Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	87	280	489	1,092
Class II	112	360	628	1,393

Expense Example, No Redemption - Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	87	280	489	1,092
Class II	112	360	628	1,393

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 25% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in common stocks of mid-capitalization companies that IICO believes are high quality and/or offer above-average growth potential. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in the securities of mid-capitalization companies, which, for purposes of this Portfolio, typically are companies with market capitalizations within the range of companies in the Russell Midcap Growth Index at the time of acquisition. As of June 30, 2017 (the quarter-end closest to the index’s rebalance), this range of market capitalizations was between approximately $2.16 billion and $30.62 billion.

In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO primarily emphasizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) approach and focuses on companies it believes have the potential for strong growth, increasing profitability, stable and sustainable revenue and earnings streams, attractive valuations and sound capital structures. IICO may look at a number of factors in its consideration of a company, such as: new or innovative products or services; adaptive or creative management; strong financial and operational capabilities to sustain multi-year growth; stable and consistent revenue, earnings, and cash flow; strong balance sheet; market potential; and profit potential. Part of IICO’s investment process also includes a review of the macroeconomic environment, with a focus on factors such as interest rates, inflation, consumer confidence and corporate spending.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO considers many factors, including what it believes to be excessive valuation given company growth prospects, deterioration of fundamentals, weak cash flow to support shareholder returns, and unexpected and poorly explained management changes. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Mid Size Company Risk. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies due to such companies’ limited product lines, limited markets and financial resources and dependence upon a relatively small management group. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of larger companies, and may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek to provide growth of your investment. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 20.43% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -22.11% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	26.89%	12.20%	9.47%
Russell Midcap Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	25.27%	15.30%	9.10%
Lipper Variable Annuity Mid-Cap Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	25.59%	14.11%	7.86%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company, doing business as WI Services Company (WISC), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient management fees, Rule 12b-1 fees (Class II only) and/or shareholder servicing fees to cap the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) as follows: Class I Shares at 0.85% and Class II Shares at 1.10%. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide growth of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination	April 30, 2019
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 25% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	25.00%
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text]	rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent	The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same, and that expenses were capped for a one-year period, as indicated above. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in common stocks of mid-capitalization companies that IICO believes are high quality and/or offer above-average growth potential. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in the securities of mid-capitalization companies, which, for purposes of this Portfolio, typically are companies with market capitalizations within the range of companies in the Russell Midcap Growth Index at the time of acquisition. As of June 30, 2017 (the quarter-end closest to the index’s rebalance), this range of market capitalizations was between approximately $2.16 billion and $30.62 billion. In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO primarily emphasizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) approach and focuses on companies it believes have the potential for strong growth, increasing profitability, stable and sustainable revenue and earnings streams, attractive valuations and sound capital structures. IICO may look at a number of factors in its consideration of a company, such as: new or innovative products or services; adaptive or creative management; strong financial and operational capabilities to sustain multi-year growth; stable and consistent revenue, earnings, and cash flow; strong balance sheet; market potential; and profit potential. Part of IICO’s investment process also includes a review of the macroeconomic environment, with a focus on factors such as interest rates, inflation, consumer confidence and corporate spending. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO considers many factors, including what it believes to be excessive valuation given company growth prospects, deterioration of fundamentals, weak cash flow to support shareholder returns, and unexpected and poorly explained management changes. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Mid Size Company Risk. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies due to such companies’ limited product lines, limited markets and financial resources and dependence upon a relatively small management group. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of larger companies, and may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek to provide growth of your investment. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance One Year or Less [Text]	rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess	No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year.
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 20.43% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -22.11% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth | Class I
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.04%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.89%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	0.04%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	0.85%	[2]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 87
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	280
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	489
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,092
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	87
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	280
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	489
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	1,092
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.15%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	0.05%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.10%	[2]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 112
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	360
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	628
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,393
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	112
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	360
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	628
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,393
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(36.23%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	46.66%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	31.56%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(0.56%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	13.56%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	29.94%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	7.87%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(5.78%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	6.12%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	26.89%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	20.43%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(22.11%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	26.89%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	12.20%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	9.47%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth | Russell Midcap Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	25.27%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	15.30%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	9.10%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth | Lipper Variable Annuity Mid-Cap Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	25.59%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	14.11%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.86%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company, doing business as WI Services Company (WISC), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient management fees, Rule 12b-1 fees (Class II only) and/or shareholder servicing fees to cap the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) as follows: Class I Shares at 0.85% and Class II Shares at 1.10%. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

XML

Ivy VIP Small Cap Core

Ivy VIP Small Cap Core

Objective

To seek to provide capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Small Cap Core Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Small Cap Core Class II
Management Fees	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.15%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core | Class II | USD ($)	117	365	633	1,398

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core | Class II | USD ($)	117	365	633	1,398

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 112% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Small Cap Core seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various types of equity securities of small-capitalization companies that Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, believes have the greatest potential for capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio’s net assets will be invested, at the time of purchase, in common stocks of small-capitalization companies. For purposes of this Portfolio, small-capitalization companies typically are companies with market capitalizations within the range of companies in the Russell 2000 Index at the time of acquisition. As of June 30, 2017 (the quarter-end closest to the index’s rebalance), this range of market capitalizations was between approximately $90.89 million and $5.86 billion.

The Portfolio seeks to invest in small-capitalization companies that IICO believes are undervalued relative to their potential for capital appreciation. In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO has the flexibility to invest in growth or value companies, or both, and primarily utilizes fundamental, bottom-up (researching individual issuers) research while considering top-down (assessing the market and economic environment) and quantitative analyses. In assessing investment opportunities, IICO seeks stocks that it believes exhibit relative strength and positive identifiable catalysts, while striving to avoid stocks with low liquidity. IICO seeks companies that are showing stable or positively trending fundamentals and that possess one or more of the following attributes: capital discipline (favorable return on invested capital), a sustainable competitive advantage, seasoned management with appropriate incentives and a stable capital structure. In addition, IICO attempts to diversify the Portfolio’s holdings among sectors, as well as among growth and value companies, in an effort to manage risk and to limit excess volatility. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60).

IICO typically will sell a stock when, in IICO’s opinion, it reaches an acceptable price relative to its estimated potential value, its fundamental factors have changed or IICO has changed its estimated value due to business performance that is below IICO’s expectations. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Catalyst Risk. Investing in companies in anticipation of a catalyst carries the risk that certain of such catalysts may not happen or the market may react differently than expected to such catalysts, in which case the Portfolio may experience losses.
• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.
• Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Portfolio Turnover Risk. Frequent buying and selling of investments involve higher costs to the Portfolio and may affect the Portfolio’s performance over time. Factors that can lead to short-term trading include market volatility, a significant positive or negative development concerning a security, an attempt to maintain a Portfolio’s market capitalization target, and the need to sell a security to meet redemption activity.
• Small Company Risk. Securities of small-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small-capitalization companies at the desired time.
• Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

From January 20, 2006 to March 24, 2008, BlackRock Capital Management, Inc., an affiliate of BlackRock Financial Management, Inc., served as the Portfolio’s investment subadviser. On March 24, 2008, Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO) assumed direct investment management responsibilities for the Portfolio. On October 1, 2016, IICO, an affiliate of WRIMCO, became the Portfolio’s investment adviser.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term accumulation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital appreciation. Effective April 28, 2017, the Portfolio changed its name and strategy to reflect a greater emphasis on core style companies. Performance prior to April 28, 2017, reflects the Portfolio’s former strategy and may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy had been in place.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 17.01% (the fourth quarter of 2010) and the lowest quarterly return was -21.81% (the third quarter of 2011).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Small Cap Core	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	13.73%	14.62%	9.45%
Russell 2000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	14.65%	14.12%	8.71%
Lipper Variable Annuity Small-Cap Core Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	13.18%	13.85%	8.60%

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Small Cap Core
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide capital appreciation.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 112% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	112.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Small Cap Core seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various types of equity securities of small-capitalization companies that Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, believes have the greatest potential for capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio’s net assets will be invested, at the time of purchase, in common stocks of small-capitalization companies. For purposes of this Portfolio, small-capitalization companies typically are companies with market capitalizations within the range of companies in the Russell 2000 Index at the time of acquisition. As of June 30, 2017 (the quarter-end closest to the index’s rebalance), this range of market capitalizations was between approximately $90.89 million and $5.86 billion. The Portfolio seeks to invest in small-capitalization companies that IICO believes are undervalued relative to their potential for capital appreciation. In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO has the flexibility to invest in growth or value companies, or both, and primarily utilizes fundamental, bottom-up (researching individual issuers) research while considering top-down (assessing the market and economic environment) and quantitative analyses. In assessing investment opportunities, IICO seeks stocks that it believes exhibit relative strength and positive identifiable catalysts, while striving to avoid stocks with low liquidity. IICO seeks companies that are showing stable or positively trending fundamentals and that possess one or more of the following attributes: capital discipline (favorable return on invested capital), a sustainable competitive advantage, seasoned management with appropriate incentives and a stable capital structure. In addition, IICO attempts to diversify the Portfolio’s holdings among sectors, as well as among growth and value companies, in an effort to manage risk and to limit excess volatility. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60). IICO typically will sell a stock when, in IICO’s opinion, it reaches an acceptable price relative to its estimated potential value, its fundamental factors have changed or IICO has changed its estimated value due to business performance that is below IICO’s expectations. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Catalyst Risk. Investing in companies in anticipation of a catalyst carries the risk that certain of such catalysts may not happen or the market may react differently than expected to such catalysts, in which case the Portfolio may experience losses. Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities. Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Portfolio Turnover Risk. Frequent buying and selling of investments involve higher costs to the Portfolio and may affect the Portfolio’s performance over time. Factors that can lead to short-term trading include market volatility, a significant positive or negative development concerning a security, an attempt to maintain a Portfolio’s market capitalization target, and the need to sell a security to meet redemption activity. Small Company Risk. Securities of small-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small-capitalization companies at the desired time. Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. From January 20, 2006 to March 24, 2008, BlackRock Capital Management, Inc., an affiliate of BlackRock Financial Management, Inc., served as the Portfolio’s investment subadviser. On March 24, 2008, Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO) assumed direct investment management responsibilities for the Portfolio. On October 1, 2016, IICO, an affiliate of WRIMCO, became the Portfolio’s investment adviser. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term accumulation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital appreciation. Effective April 28, 2017, the Portfolio changed its name and strategy to reflect a greater emphasis on core style companies. Performance prior to April 28, 2017, reflects the Portfolio’s former strategy and may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy had been in place. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 17.01% (the fourth quarter of 2010) and the lowest quarterly return was -21.81% (the third quarter of 2011).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.15%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 117
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	365
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	633
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,398
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	117
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	365
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	633
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,398
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(26.13%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	29.15%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	26.41%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(12.79%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	18.63%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	33.53%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	7.05%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(5.58%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	28.88%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	13.73%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2010
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	17.01%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(21.81%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	13.73%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	14.62%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	9.45%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core | Russell 2000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	14.65%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	14.12%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.71%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core | Lipper Variable Annuity Small-Cap Core Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	13.18%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	13.85%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.60%

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide growth of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination	April 30, 2019
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 55% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	55.00%
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text]	rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent	The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same and that expenses were capped for a one-year period, as indicated above. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in common stocks of small-capitalization companies. For purposes of this Portfolio, small-capitalization companies typically are companies with market capitalizations within the range of companies in the Russell 2000 Growth Index at the time of acquisition. As of June 30, 2017 (the quarter-end closest to the index’s rebalance), this range of market capitalizations was between approximately $90.89 million and $5.86 billion. The Portfolio emphasizes smaller companies positioned in new or emerging industries where IICO believes there is opportunity for higher growth than in established companies or industries. The Portfolio’s investments in equity securities may include common stocks that are offered in initial public offerings (IPOs). IICO utilizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock-picking process that considers quality of management and superior financial characteristics (e.g., return on assets, return on equity, operating margin) in its search for companies, thereby focusing on what it believes are higher-quality companies. IICO seeks companies that it believes exhibit successful and scalable business models by having one or more of the following characteristics: a company that is a leader in its industry and that possesses an identifiable competitive advantage; that features the involvement of the founder; that demonstrates a strong commitment to shareholders; that is serving a large and/or fast-growing market opportunity; that is experiencing a growth in earnings, growth in revenue and sales and/or positive cash flows; that is increasing market share and/or creating increasing barriers to entry; or that emphasizes organic growth. IICO believes that such companies generally have a replicable business model that allows for sustained growth. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities. For example, IICO may sell a security if it believes that the stock no longer offers significant growth potential, which may be due to a change in the business or management of the company or a change in the industry or sector of the company. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, if it loses confidence in the management of the company, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation. Initial Public Offering (IPO) Risk. Any positive effect of investments in IPOs may not be sustainable because of a number of factors. Namely, the Portfolio may not be able to buy shares in some IPOs, or may be able to buy only a small number of shares. Also, the performance of IPOs generally is volatile, and is dependent on market psychology and economic conditions. To the extent that IPOs have a significant positive impact on the Portfolio’s performance, this may not be able to be replicated in the future. The relative performance impact of IPOs also is likely to decline as the Portfolio grows. Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. Small Company Risk. Securities of small-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small-capitalization companies at the desired time.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 24.14% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -28.33% (the third quarter of 2011).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.07%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.17%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	0.03%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.14%	[2]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 116
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	369
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	641
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,418
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	116
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	369
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	641
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,418
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(39.18%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	34.72%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	28.85%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(10.60%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	5.17%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	43.36%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	1.59%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	1.88%
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	2.92%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	23.12%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	24.14%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(28.33%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	23.12%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	13.46%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	6.44%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth | Russell 2000 Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	22.17%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	15.21%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	9.19%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth | Lipper Variable Annuity Small-Cap Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	24.34%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	14.40%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.69%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company, doing business as WI Services Company (WISC), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient management fees, 12b-1 fees and/or shareholder servicing fees to cap the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) for Class II shares at 1.14%. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

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Ivy VIP Value

Ivy VIP Value

Objective

To seek to provide capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Value Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Value Class II
Management Fees	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.00%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Value | Class II | USD ($)	102	318	552	1,225

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Value | Class II | USD ($)	102	318	552	1,225

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 67% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Value seeks to achieve its objective by investing in the common stocks of primarily large-capitalization companies that Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, believes are undervalued, trading at a significant discount relative to the intrinsic value of the company as estimated by IICO and/or are out of favor in the financial markets but have a favorable outlook for capital appreciation. Although the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies (typically, companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size.

To identify securities for the Portfolio, IICO primarily utilizes fundamental, bottom-up (researching individual issuers) research while considering top-down (assessing the market environment) and quantitative analyses. IICO primarily determines the estimated intrinsic value of companies based on cash flow generation, but IICO may consider other valuation factors, such as price to earnings and price to book value. IICO also considers other operational factors of a company, including, among others, asset growth, changes in share count, and changes in working capital. The Portfolio emphasizes companies that IICO believes have clearly identifiable catalysts that will help the companies achieve their estimated intrinsic values. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 30 to 45).

Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

IICO typically will sell a stock when, in IICO’s opinion, it reaches an acceptable price, its fundamental characteristics have changed or it has performed below IICO’s expectations. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Catalyst Risk. Investing in companies in anticipation of a catalyst carries the risk that certain of such catalysts may not happen or the market may react differently than expected to such catalysts, in which case the Portfolio may experience losses.
• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Financials Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in securities in the financials sector, in addition to other risks, include extensive governmental regulation and/or nationalization that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain; adverse effects from increases in interest rates; effects on profitability by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns; the severe competition to which banks, insurance, and financial services companies may be subject; and increased interindustry consolidation and competition in the financials sector. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, recent or future regulation on any individual financial company or recent or future regulation on the financials economic sector as a whole cannot be predicted.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 30 to 45), and the Portfolio’s manager also tends to invest a significant portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a limited number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities or if the Portfolio’s manager invested a greater portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a larger number of stocks.
• Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
• Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term capital appreciation. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital appreciation.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 20.05% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -20.08% (the third quarter of 2011).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Value	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	12.49%	12.52%	7.06%
Russell 1000 Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	13.66%	14.04%	7.10%
Lipper Variable Annuity Large-Cap Value Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	15.10%	13.55%	6.95%

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Value
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide capital appreciation.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 67% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	67.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Value seeks to achieve its objective by investing in the common stocks of primarily large-capitalization companies that Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, believes are undervalued, trading at a significant discount relative to the intrinsic value of the company as estimated by IICO and/or are out of favor in the financial markets but have a favorable outlook for capital appreciation. Although the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies (typically, companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. To identify securities for the Portfolio, IICO primarily utilizes fundamental, bottom-up (researching individual issuers) research while considering top-down (assessing the market environment) and quantitative analyses. IICO primarily determines the estimated intrinsic value of companies based on cash flow generation, but IICO may consider other valuation factors, such as price to earnings and price to book value. IICO also considers other operational factors of a company, including, among others, asset growth, changes in share count, and changes in working capital. The Portfolio emphasizes companies that IICO believes have clearly identifiable catalysts that will help the companies achieve their estimated intrinsic values. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 30 to 45). Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. IICO typically will sell a stock when, in IICO’s opinion, it reaches an acceptable price, its fundamental characteristics have changed or it has performed below IICO’s expectations. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Catalyst Risk. Investing in companies in anticipation of a catalyst carries the risk that certain of such catalysts may not happen or the market may react differently than expected to such catalysts, in which case the Portfolio may experience losses. Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Financials Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in securities in the financials sector, in addition to other risks, include extensive governmental regulation and/or nationalization that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain; adverse effects from increases in interest rates; effects on profitability by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns; the severe competition to which banks, insurance, and financial services companies may be subject; and increased interindustry consolidation and competition in the financials sector. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, recent or future regulation on any individual financial company or recent or future regulation on the financials economic sector as a whole cannot be predicted. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 30 to 45), and the Portfolio’s manager also tends to invest a significant portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a limited number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities or if the Portfolio’s manager invested a greater portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a larger number of stocks. Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term capital appreciation. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital appreciation. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 20.05% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -20.08% (the third quarter of 2011).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Value | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.00%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 102
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	318
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	552
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,225
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	102
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	318
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	552
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,225
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(33.81%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	26.64%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	18.71%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(7.32%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	18.88%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	35.34%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	10.94%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(3.91%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	11.14%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	12.49%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	20.05%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(20.08%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	12.49%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	12.52%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.06%
Ivy VIP Value | Russell 1000 Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	13.66%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	14.04%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.10%
Ivy VIP Value | Lipper Variable Annuity Large-Cap Value Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	15.10%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	13.55%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	6.95%

XML

Ivy VIP Corporate Bond

Ivy VIP Corporate Bond

Objective

To seek to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Corporate Bond Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Corporate Bond Class II
Management Fees	0.47%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.06%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.78%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond | Class II | USD ($)	80	249	433	966

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond | Class II | USD ($)	80	249	433	966

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 66% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Corporate Bond seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in corporate bonds (also referred to as corporate “debt securities” or “fixed-income securities”). For this purpose, “corporate bonds” includes any debt security issued by a domestic or foreign company with an initial maturity greater than one year. The Portfolio invests primarily in investment-grade debt securities (including bonds rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, to be of comparable quality). The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its net assets in other types of debt securities, including mortgage-backed securities, debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities (U.S. government securities) and other asset-backed securities. Certain of the mortgage-backed securities in which the Portfolio may invest are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, like other asset-backed securities in which the Portfolio may invest, may be backed only by the pool of assets pledged as security for the transaction. The Portfolio has no limitations regarding the duration or dollar-weighted average of its holdings, may invest in debt securities with varying maturities and can invest in debt securities issued by both domestic and foreign companies, in a variety of sectors and industries. The Portfolio may invest significantly in debt securities payable from the same sector.

In selecting debt securities for the Portfolio’s holdings, IICO initially utilizes a top-down (assessing the market environment) viewpoint by looking at broad economic and financial trends in an effort to anticipate their impact on the fixed-income market and then conducts a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) analysis that considers yield and relative safety of a security. IICO also may look at many other factors, including the issuer’s past, present and estimated future: financial strength; cash flow; management; borrowing requirements; and responsiveness to changes in interest rates and business conditions. Additionally, IICO may consider the maturity of the obligation and the size or nature of the bond issue.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities. For example, IICO may sell a holding if, in IICO’s opinion, the issuer’s financial strength weakens and/or the yield and relative safety of the security decline. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk.
• Extension Risk. A rise in interest rates could cause borrowers to pay back the principal on certain debt securities, such as mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, more slowly than expected, thus lengthening the average life of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or to decline more than other fixed-income securities and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.
• Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less.
• Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk and extension risk. When interest rates decline, unscheduled prepayments can be expected to accelerate, shortening the average lives of such securities, and the Portfolio may be required to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments also would limit the potential for capital appreciation on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, thereby reducing the Portfolio’s income. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the values of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities generally fall. Rising interest rates typically result in decreased prepayments and longer average lives of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities.
  Certain mortgage-backed securities are U.S. government securities. See U.S. Government Securities Risk for the risks of these types of securities. For non-U.S. government securities, there is the risk that payments on a security will not be made when due, or the value of such security will decline, because the security is not issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government or by agencies or authorities controlled or supervised by and acting as instrumentalities of the U.S. government or supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. government.
• Non-Agency Securities Risk. The risk that payments on a security will not be made when due, or the value of such security will decline, because the security is not issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. Government or by agencies or authorities controlled or supervised by and acting as instrumentalities of the U.S. Government. These securities may include, but are not limited to, securities issued by non-government entities, asset-backed securities (which represent interests in auto, consumer and/or credit card loans) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (which represent interests in commercial mortgage loans).
• Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
• U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek a reasonable return with emphasis on preservation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed its name and strategy to reflect a focus on corporate bonds, rather than in bonds generally. Performance prior to April 30, 2018 reflects the Portfolio’s former strategy and may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy had been in place.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 3.58% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -3.05% (the fourth quarter of 2016).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares		4.01%	2.07%	3.66%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	6.18%	3.24%	5.42%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		3.54%	2.10%	4.01%
Lipper Variable Annuity Corporate Debt A Rated Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)		4.13%	2.35%	4.09%

[1] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Credit Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.)

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Corporate Bond
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 66% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	66.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Corporate Bond seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in corporate bonds (also referred to as corporate “debt securities” or “fixed-income securities”). For this purpose, “corporate bonds” includes any debt security issued by a domestic or foreign company with an initial maturity greater than one year. The Portfolio invests primarily in investment-grade debt securities (including bonds rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, to be of comparable quality). The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its net assets in other types of debt securities, including mortgage-backed securities, debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities (U.S. government securities) and other asset-backed securities. Certain of the mortgage-backed securities in which the Portfolio may invest are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, like other asset-backed securities in which the Portfolio may invest, may be backed only by the pool of assets pledged as security for the transaction. The Portfolio has no limitations regarding the duration or dollar-weighted average of its holdings, may invest in debt securities with varying maturities and can invest in debt securities issued by both domestic and foreign companies, in a variety of sectors and industries. The Portfolio may invest significantly in debt securities payable from the same sector. In selecting debt securities for the Portfolio’s holdings, IICO initially utilizes a top-down (assessing the market environment) viewpoint by looking at broad economic and financial trends in an effort to anticipate their impact on the fixed-income market and then conducts a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) analysis that considers yield and relative safety of a security. IICO also may look at many other factors, including the issuer’s past, present and estimated future: financial strength; cash flow; management; borrowing requirements; and responsiveness to changes in interest rates and business conditions. Additionally, IICO may consider the maturity of the obligation and the size or nature of the bond issue. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities. For example, IICO may sell a holding if, in IICO’s opinion, the issuer’s financial strength weakens and/or the yield and relative safety of the security decline. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk. Extension Risk. A rise in interest rates could cause borrowers to pay back the principal on certain debt securities, such as mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, more slowly than expected, thus lengthening the average life of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or to decline more than other fixed-income securities and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less. Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally. Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk and extension risk. When interest rates decline, unscheduled prepayments can be expected to accelerate, shortening the average lives of such securities, and the Portfolio may be required to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments also would limit the potential for capital appreciation on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, thereby reducing the Portfolio’s income. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the values of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities generally fall. Rising interest rates typically result in decreased prepayments and longer average lives of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities. Certain mortgage-backed securities are U.S. government securities. See U.S. Government Securities Risk for the risks of these types of securities. For non-U.S. government securities, there is the risk that payments on a security will not be made when due, or the value of such security will decline, because the security is not issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government or by agencies or authorities controlled or supervised by and acting as instrumentalities of the U.S. government or supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. government. Non-Agency Securities Risk. The risk that payments on a security will not be made when due, or the value of such security will decline, because the security is not issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. Government or by agencies or authorities controlled or supervised by and acting as instrumentalities of the U.S. Government. These securities may include, but are not limited to, securities issued by non-government entities, asset-backed securities (which represent interests in auto, consumer and/or credit card loans) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (which represent interests in commercial mortgage loans). Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek a reasonable return with emphasis on preservation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed its name and strategy to reflect a focus on corporate bonds, rather than in bonds generally. Performance prior to April 30, 2018 reflects the Portfolio’s former strategy and may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy had been in place. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 3.58% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -3.05% (the fourth quarter of 2016).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Performance Table Market Index Changed	rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged	(The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Credit Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.)
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.47%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.06%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.78%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 80
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	249
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	433
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	966
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	80
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	249
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	433
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 966
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	0.31%
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	7.16%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	6.04%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	7.31%
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	5.78%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	(2.09%)
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	4.34%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	0.20%
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	4.03%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	4.01%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	3.58%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2016
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(3.05%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	4.01%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	2.07%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	3.66%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	6.18%	[1]
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	3.24%	[1]
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.42%	[1]
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	3.54%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	2.10%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	4.01%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond | Lipper Variable Annuity Corporate Debt A Rated Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	4.13%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	2.35%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	4.09%

[1] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Credit Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.)

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Ivy VIP Global Bond

Ivy VIP Global Bond

Objectives

To seek to provide a high level of current income.

Capital appreciation is a secondary objective.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Global Bond Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Global Bond Class II
Management Fees	0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.25%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.12%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Global Bond | Class II | USD ($)	114	356	617	1,363

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Global Bond | Class II | USD ($)	114	356	617	1,363

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 49% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Global Bond seeks to achieve its objectives by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of bonds of foreign and U.S. issuers. The Portfolio may invest in debt securities, including secured and unsecured loan assignments, loan participations and other loan instruments (loans), issued by foreign or U.S. companies of any size, including those in emerging markets, as well as in debt securities issued by foreign or U.S. governments. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 40% (or, if Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, deems it warranted by market conditions, at least 30%) of its total assets in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities and in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Portfolio may invest in securities of any maturity.

The Portfolio may invest in both investment and non-investment grade securities. It may invest up to 100% of its total assets in non-investment grade bonds, commonly called “high yield” or “junk” bonds, primarily of foreign issuers, that include bonds rated BB+ or lower by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio will invest in non-investment grade securities only if IICO deems the risks to be consistent with the Portfolio’s objectives. The Portfolio also may invest in equity securities of foreign and U.S. issuers to achieve income and/or its secondary objective of capital appreciation.

Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

IICO may look at a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio’s holdings including: identifying fundamental global themes; country analysis (economic, legislative/judicial and demographic trends); credit analysis of the issuer (financial strength, cash flow, balance sheet, management, strategy and accounting); the maturity, quality, and denomination (U.S. dollar, euro, yen) of the issue; domicile and market share of the issuer; and analysis of the issuer’s profit history through various economic cycles.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO continues to analyze the factors considered for buying the security. IICO also considers its assumptions regarding a company, an industry, the markets, an individual economy and/or the global economy. IICO may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objectives. These include:

• Capital Repatriation Risk. Capital repatriation involves the transfer of corporate money or property from a foreign country back to its home country. The repatriation of capital with regard to investments made in certain securities or countries may be restricted during certain times from the date of such investments or even indefinitely. If IICO is unable to repatriate capital from its investments, in whole or in part, this may have an adverse effect on the cash flows and/or performance of the Portfolio.
• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk.
• Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets.
• Extension Risk. A rise in interest rates could cause borrowers to pay back the principal on certain debt securities, such as mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, more slowly than expected, thus lengthening the average life of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or to decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities.
• Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.
  Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency.
• Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less.
• Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Loan Risk. In addition to the risks typically associated with fixed-income securities, loans carry other risks, including the risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. The risks associated with loans are similar to the risks of low-rated debt securities or “junk” bonds since loans typically are below investment grade. Loans may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale, may be difficult to value, sometimes trade infrequently on the secondary market and generally are subject to extended settlement periods. Any of these factors may impair the Portfolio’s ability to sell or realize promptly the full value of its loans in the event of a need to liquidate such loans. Accordingly, loans that have been sold may not be immediately available to meet redemptions. Extended trade settlement periods may result in cash not being immediately available to the Portfolio. As a result, the Portfolio may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions to raise cash to meet its obligations. Interests in secured loans have the benefit of collateral and, typically, of restrictive covenants limiting the ability of the borrower to further encumber its assets. There is a risk that the value of the collateral securing a loan in which the Portfolio has an interest may decline and that the collateral may not be sufficient to cover the amount owed on the loan. In the event the borrower defaults, the Portfolio’s access to the collateral may be limited or delayed by bankruptcy and other insolvency laws. These risks could cause the Portfolio to lose income or principal on a particular investment, which could affect the Portfolio’s returns. In addition, loans also are subject to the risk that a court could subordinate the loan to presently existing or future indebtedness or take other action detrimental to the holders of the loan. Further, in the event of a default, second or lower lien secured loans will generally be paid only if the value of the collateral exceeds the amount of the borrower’s obligations to the senior secured lenders, and the remaining collateral may not be sufficient to cover the full amount owed on the loan in which the Portfolio has an interest. Loans made to finance highly leveraged companies or to finance corporate acquisitions or other transactions may be especially vulnerable to adverse changes in economic or market conditions.
  With loan assignments, as an assignee, the Portfolio normally will succeed to all rights and obligations of its assignor with respect to the portion of the loan that is being assigned. However, the rights and obligations acquired by the purchaser of a loan assignment may differ from, and be more limited than, those held by the original lenders or the assignor. With loan participations, the Portfolio may not be able to control the exercise of any remedies that the lender would have under the loan and likely would not have any rights against the borrower directly, so that delays and expense may be greater than those that would be involved if the Portfolio could enforce its rights directly against the borrower.
• Low-Rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these securities are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. In addition, these low-rated securities and obligations may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than higher-rated securities and obligations and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Portfolio may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of low-rated securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment-grade debt securities.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income.
• Small Company Risk. Securities of small-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small-capitalization companies at the desired time.
• U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to those of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek, as a primary objective, a high level of current income and, as a secondary objective, capital growth when consistent with its primary objective. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide a high level of current income and capital appreciation is a secondary objective.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 3.51% (the first quarter of 2012) and the lowest quarterly return was -4.16% (the third quarter of 2015).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Global Bond		1 Year	5 Years	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares		4.27%	2.06%	2.25%	Aug. 23, 2010
Bloomberg Barclays Global Credit 1-10 Year Hedged Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 23, 2010)	[1]	4.58%	3.53%	4.33%	Aug. 23, 2010
Bloomberg Barclays Multiverse Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 23, 2010)		7.68%	1.03%	2.35%	Aug. 23, 2010
Lipper Variable Annuity Global Income Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses) (Lipper peer group comparison begins on August 23, 2010)		5.52%	1.00%	2.25%	Aug. 23, 2010

[1] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Bloomberg Barclays Multiverse Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the Bloomberg Barclays Global Credit 1-10 Year Hedged Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Bloomberg Barclays Multiverse Index.)

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Global Bond
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Global Bond
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objectives
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide a high level of current income.
Objective, Secondary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectiveSecondaryTextBlock	Capital appreciation is a secondary objective.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 49% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	49.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Global Bond seeks to achieve its objectives by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of bonds of foreign and U.S. issuers. The Portfolio may invest in debt securities, including secured and unsecured loan assignments, loan participations and other loan instruments (loans), issued by foreign or U.S. companies of any size, including those in emerging markets, as well as in debt securities issued by foreign or U.S. governments. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 40% (or, if Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, deems it warranted by market conditions, at least 30%) of its total assets in securities of non-U.S. issuers. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities and in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Portfolio may invest in securities of any maturity. The Portfolio may invest in both investment and non-investment grade securities. It may invest up to 100% of its total assets in non-investment grade bonds, commonly called “high yield” or “junk” bonds, primarily of foreign issuers, that include bonds rated BB+ or lower by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio will invest in non-investment grade securities only if IICO deems the risks to be consistent with the Portfolio’s objectives. The Portfolio also may invest in equity securities of foreign and U.S. issuers to achieve income and/or its secondary objective of capital appreciation. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. IICO may look at a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio’s holdings including: identifying fundamental global themes; country analysis (economic, legislative/judicial and demographic trends); credit analysis of the issuer (financial strength, cash flow, balance sheet, management, strategy and accounting); the maturity, quality, and denomination (U.S. dollar, euro, yen) of the issue; domicile and market share of the issuer; and analysis of the issuer’s profit history through various economic cycles. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO continues to analyze the factors considered for buying the security. IICO also considers its assumptions regarding a company, an industry, the markets, an individual economy and/or the global economy. IICO may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objectives. These include: Capital Repatriation Risk. Capital repatriation involves the transfer of corporate money or property from a foreign country back to its home country. The repatriation of capital with regard to investments made in certain securities or countries may be restricted during certain times from the date of such investments or even indefinitely. If IICO is unable to repatriate capital from its investments, in whole or in part, this may have an adverse effect on the cash flows and/or performance of the Portfolio. Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk. Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Extension Risk. A rise in interest rates could cause borrowers to pay back the principal on certain debt securities, such as mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, more slowly than expected, thus lengthening the average life of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or to decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities. Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less. Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally. Loan Risk. In addition to the risks typically associated with fixed-income securities, loans carry other risks, including the risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. The risks associated with loans are similar to the risks of low-rated debt securities or “junk” bonds since loans typically are below investment grade. Loans may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale, may be difficult to value, sometimes trade infrequently on the secondary market and generally are subject to extended settlement periods. Any of these factors may impair the Portfolio’s ability to sell or realize promptly the full value of its loans in the event of a need to liquidate such loans. Accordingly, loans that have been sold may not be immediately available to meet redemptions. Extended trade settlement periods may result in cash not being immediately available to the Portfolio. As a result, the Portfolio may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions to raise cash to meet its obligations. Interests in secured loans have the benefit of collateral and, typically, of restrictive covenants limiting the ability of the borrower to further encumber its assets. There is a risk that the value of the collateral securing a loan in which the Portfolio has an interest may decline and that the collateral may not be sufficient to cover the amount owed on the loan. In the event the borrower defaults, the Portfolio’s access to the collateral may be limited or delayed by bankruptcy and other insolvency laws. These risks could cause the Portfolio to lose income or principal on a particular investment, which could affect the Portfolio’s returns. In addition, loans also are subject to the risk that a court could subordinate the loan to presently existing or future indebtedness or take other action detrimental to the holders of the loan. Further, in the event of a default, second or lower lien secured loans will generally be paid only if the value of the collateral exceeds the amount of the borrower’s obligations to the senior secured lenders, and the remaining collateral may not be sufficient to cover the full amount owed on the loan in which the Portfolio has an interest. Loans made to finance highly leveraged companies or to finance corporate acquisitions or other transactions may be especially vulnerable to adverse changes in economic or market conditions. With loan assignments, as an assignee, the Portfolio normally will succeed to all rights and obligations of its assignor with respect to the portion of the loan that is being assigned. However, the rights and obligations acquired by the purchaser of a loan assignment may differ from, and be more limited than, those held by the original lenders or the assignor. With loan participations, the Portfolio may not be able to control the exercise of any remedies that the lender would have under the loan and likely would not have any rights against the borrower directly, so that delays and expense may be greater than those that would be involved if the Portfolio could enforce its rights directly against the borrower. Low-Rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these securities are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. In addition, these low-rated securities and obligations may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than higher-rated securities and obligations and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Portfolio may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of low-rated securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment-grade debt securities. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income. Small Company Risk. Securities of small-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small-capitalization companies at the desired time. U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to those of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek, as a primary objective, a high level of current income and, as a secondary objective, capital growth when consistent with its primary objective. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide a high level of current income and capital appreciation is a secondary objective. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to those of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 3.51% (the first quarter of 2012) and the lowest quarterly return was -4.16% (the third quarter of 2015).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Performance Table Market Index Changed	rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged	(The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Bloomberg Barclays Multiverse Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the Bloomberg Barclays Global Credit 1-10 Year Hedged Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Bloomberg Barclays Multiverse Index.)
Ivy VIP Global Bond | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.25%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.12%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 114
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	356
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	617
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,363
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	114
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	356
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	617
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,363
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	0.08%
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	6.41%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	1.74%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	0.18%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(2.65%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	7.04%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	4.27%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Mar. 31, 2012
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	3.51%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2015
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(4.16%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	4.27%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	2.06%
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	2.25%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 23, 2010
Ivy VIP Global Bond | Bloomberg Barclays Global Credit 1-10 Year Hedged Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 23, 2010)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	4.58%	[1]
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	3.53%	[1]
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	4.33%	[1]
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 23, 2010	[1]
Ivy VIP Global Bond | Bloomberg Barclays Multiverse Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 23, 2010)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	7.68%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	1.03%
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	2.35%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 23, 2010
Ivy VIP Global Bond | Lipper Variable Annuity Global Income Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses) (Lipper peer group comparison begins on August 23, 2010)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	5.52%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	1.00%
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	2.25%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 23, 2010

[1] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Bloomberg Barclays Multiverse Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the Bloomberg Barclays Global Credit 1-10 Year Hedged Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Bloomberg Barclays Multiverse Index.)

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Ivy VIP High Income

Ivy VIP High Income

Objective

To seek to provide total return through a combination of high current income and capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Ivy VIP High Income - USD ($)	Class I	Class II
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses - Ivy VIP High Income		Class I	Class II
Management Fees		0.61%	0.61%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		none	0.25%
Other Expenses		0.05%	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	[1]	0.66%	0.91%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example - Ivy VIP High Income - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	67	211	368	822
Class II	93	290	504	1,120

Expense Example, No Redemption - Ivy VIP High Income - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	67	211	368	822
Class II	93	290	504	1,120

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 52% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP High Income seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of high-yield, high-risk, fixed-income securities, including secured and unsecured loan assignments, loan participations and other loan instruments (loans), of U.S. and foreign issuers, the risks of which are, in the judgment of Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, consistent with the Portfolio’s objective. The Portfolio invests primarily in lower-quality debt securities, which include debt securities rated BBB+ or lower by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in non-investment grade debt securities, commonly called “high yield” or “junk” bonds, which include debt securities rated BB+ or lower by S&P or comparably rated by another NRSRO or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may invest in fixed-income securities of any maturity.

The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities that are denominated in U.S. dollars or foreign currencies. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

The Portfolio may invest in private placements and other restricted securities.

Although IICO considers credit ratings in selecting investments for the Portfolio, IICO bases its investment decisions for a particular instrument primarily on its own credit analysis and not on a NRSRO’s credit rating. IICO may look at a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio, beginning with a primarily bottom-up (researching individual issuers) analysis of a company’s fundamentals, including: financial strength, growth of operating cash flows, strength of management, borrowing requirements, improving credit metrics, potential to improve credit standing, responsiveness to changes in interest rates and business conditions, strength of business model, and capital structure and future capital needs, and progressing to consideration of the current economic environment, the direction and level of interest rates and inflation, and industry fundamentals and trends in the general economy.

IICO attempts to optimize the Portfolio’s risk/reward by investing in the debt portion of the capital structure that IICO believes to be most attractive, which may include secured and/or unsecured loans, floating rate notes and/or secured and/or unsecured high-yield bonds. For example, if IICO believes that market conditions are favorable for a particular type of fixed-income instrument, such as high yield bonds, most or all of the fixed-income instruments in which the Portfolio invests may be high yield bonds. Similarly, if IICO believes that market conditions are favorable for loans, most or all of the fixed-income instruments in which the Portfolio invests may be loans, including second-lien loans which typically are lower in the capital structure and less liquid than first-lien loans.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO considers the dynamics of an industry and/or company change or anticipated change, a change in strategy by a company, a deterioration of the company’s financial model, credit quality or credit standing, and/or a change in management’s consideration of its creditors. IICO also may sell a security if, in IICO’s opinion, the price of the security has risen to fully reflect the company’s improved creditworthiness and other investments with greater potential exist. IICO also may sell a security to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk.
• Extension Risk. A rise in interest rates could cause borrowers to pay back the principal on certain debt securities, such as mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, more slowly than expected, thus lengthening the average life of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or to decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.
• Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less.
• Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly.
• Loan Risk. In addition to the risks typically associated with fixed-income securities, loans carry other risks, including the risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. The risks associated with loans are similar to the risks of low-rated debt securities or “junk” bonds since loans typically are below investment grade. Loans may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale, may be difficult to value, sometimes trade infrequently on the secondary market and generally are subject to extended settlement periods. Any of these factors may impair the Portfolio’s ability to sell or realize promptly the full value of its loans in the event of a need to liquidate such loans. Accordingly, loans that have been sold may not be immediately available to meet redemptions. Extended trade settlement periods may result in cash not being immediately available to the Portfolio. As a result, the Portfolio may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions to raise cash to meet its obligations. Interests in secured loans have the benefit of collateral and, typically, of restrictive covenants limiting the ability of the borrower to further encumber its assets. There is a risk that the value of the collateral securing a loan in which the Portfolio has an interest may decline and that the collateral may not be sufficient to cover the amount owed on the loan. In the event the borrower defaults, the Portfolio’s access to the collateral may be limited or delayed by bankruptcy and other insolvency laws. These risks could cause the Portfolio to lose income or principal on a particular investment, which could affect the Portfolio’s returns. In addition, loans also are subject to the risk that a court could subordinate the loan to presently existing or future indebtedness or take other action detrimental to the holders of the loan. Further, in the event of a default, second or lower lien secured loans will generally be paid only if the value of the collateral exceeds the amount of the borrower’s obligations to the senior secured lenders, and the remaining collateral may not be sufficient to cover the full amount owed on the loan in which the Portfolio has an interest. Loans made to finance highly leveraged companies or to finance corporate acquisitions or other transactions may be especially vulnerable to adverse changes in economic or market conditions.
  With loan assignments, as an assignee, the Portfolio normally will succeed to all rights and obligations of its assignor with respect to the portion of the loan that is being assigned. However, the rights and obligations acquired by the purchaser of a loan assignment may differ from, and be more limited than, those held by the original lenders or the assignor. With loan participations, the Portfolio may not be able to control the exercise of any remedies that the lender would have under the loan and likely would not have any rights against the borrower directly, so that delays and expense may be greater than those that would be involved if the Portfolio could enforce its rights directly against the borrower.
• Low-Rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these securities are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. In addition, these low-rated securities and obligations may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than higher-rated securities and obligations and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Portfolio may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of low-rated securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment-grade debt securities.
  The markets in which low-rated debt securities are traded are more limited and less liquid than the market for higher rated securities. Because the Portfolio may invest a substantial amount of its assets in low-rated debt securities, it may be difficult for the Portfolio to sell such securities in a timely manner and at their stated value, particularly if it experiences large, unforeseen redemptions. The Portfolio could lose money if it is forced to sell securities at inopportune times to fulfill shareholder redemption requests. In addition, selling securities to meet such redemptions could increase the Portfolio’s transaction costs or have tax consequences. The risk of loss may increase depending on the size and frequency of redemption requests and whether the redemption requests occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Private Placements and Other Restricted Securities Risk. Restricted securities, which include private placements, are securities that are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, and there can be no assurance of a ready market for resale. Privately placed securities and other restricted securities will have the effect of increasing the level of Portfolio illiquidity to the extent the Portfolio finds it difficult to sell these securities when IICO believes it is desirable to do so, especially under adverse market or economic conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the issuer, and the prices realized could be less than those originally paid or less than the fair market value. At times, the illiquidity of the market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities also may make it difficult to determine the fair value of such securities for purposes of computing the NAV of the Portfolio.
• Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek, as its primary objective, a high level of current income and, as a secondary objective, to seek capital growth when consistent with its primary objective. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return through a combination of high current income and capital appreciation.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 16.61% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -16.50% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP High Income	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	6.68%	5.47%	7.92%
ICE BofAML US High Yield Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	7.48%	5.80%	7.89%
Lipper Variable Annuity High Yield Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	6.49%	4.74%	6.46%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP High Income
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP High Income
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide total return through a combination of high current income and capital appreciation.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 52% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	52.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP High Income seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of high-yield, high-risk, fixed-income securities, including secured and unsecured loan assignments, loan participations and other loan instruments (loans), of U.S. and foreign issuers, the risks of which are, in the judgment of Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, consistent with the Portfolio’s objective. The Portfolio invests primarily in lower-quality debt securities, which include debt securities rated BBB+ or lower by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in non-investment grade debt securities, commonly called “high yield” or “junk” bonds, which include debt securities rated BB+ or lower by S&P or comparably rated by another NRSRO or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may invest in fixed-income securities of any maturity. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities that are denominated in U.S. dollars or foreign currencies. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. The Portfolio may invest in private placements and other restricted securities. Although IICO considers credit ratings in selecting investments for the Portfolio, IICO bases its investment decisions for a particular instrument primarily on its own credit analysis and not on a NRSRO’s credit rating. IICO may look at a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio, beginning with a primarily bottom-up (researching individual issuers) analysis of a company’s fundamentals, including: financial strength, growth of operating cash flows, strength of management, borrowing requirements, improving credit metrics, potential to improve credit standing, responsiveness to changes in interest rates and business conditions, strength of business model, and capital structure and future capital needs, and progressing to consideration of the current economic environment, the direction and level of interest rates and inflation, and industry fundamentals and trends in the general economy. IICO attempts to optimize the Portfolio’s risk/reward by investing in the debt portion of the capital structure that IICO believes to be most attractive, which may include secured and/or unsecured loans, floating rate notes and/or secured and/or unsecured high-yield bonds. For example, if IICO believes that market conditions are favorable for a particular type of fixed-income instrument, such as high yield bonds, most or all of the fixed-income instruments in which the Portfolio invests may be high yield bonds. Similarly, if IICO believes that market conditions are favorable for loans, most or all of the fixed-income instruments in which the Portfolio invests may be loans, including second-lien loans which typically are lower in the capital structure and less liquid than first-lien loans. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO considers the dynamics of an industry and/or company change or anticipated change, a change in strategy by a company, a deterioration of the company’s financial model, credit quality or credit standing, and/or a change in management’s consideration of its creditors. IICO also may sell a security if, in IICO’s opinion, the price of the security has risen to fully reflect the company’s improved creditworthiness and other investments with greater potential exist. IICO also may sell a security to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk. Extension Risk. A rise in interest rates could cause borrowers to pay back the principal on certain debt securities, such as mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, more slowly than expected, thus lengthening the average life of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or to decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less. Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally. Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly. Loan Risk. In addition to the risks typically associated with fixed-income securities, loans carry other risks, including the risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. The risks associated with loans are similar to the risks of low-rated debt securities or “junk” bonds since loans typically are below investment grade. Loans may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale, may be difficult to value, sometimes trade infrequently on the secondary market and generally are subject to extended settlement periods. Any of these factors may impair the Portfolio’s ability to sell or realize promptly the full value of its loans in the event of a need to liquidate such loans. Accordingly, loans that have been sold may not be immediately available to meet redemptions. Extended trade settlement periods may result in cash not being immediately available to the Portfolio. As a result, the Portfolio may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions to raise cash to meet its obligations. Interests in secured loans have the benefit of collateral and, typically, of restrictive covenants limiting the ability of the borrower to further encumber its assets. There is a risk that the value of the collateral securing a loan in which the Portfolio has an interest may decline and that the collateral may not be sufficient to cover the amount owed on the loan. In the event the borrower defaults, the Portfolio’s access to the collateral may be limited or delayed by bankruptcy and other insolvency laws. These risks could cause the Portfolio to lose income or principal on a particular investment, which could affect the Portfolio’s returns. In addition, loans also are subject to the risk that a court could subordinate the loan to presently existing or future indebtedness or take other action detrimental to the holders of the loan. Further, in the event of a default, second or lower lien secured loans will generally be paid only if the value of the collateral exceeds the amount of the borrower’s obligations to the senior secured lenders, and the remaining collateral may not be sufficient to cover the full amount owed on the loan in which the Portfolio has an interest. Loans made to finance highly leveraged companies or to finance corporate acquisitions or other transactions may be especially vulnerable to adverse changes in economic or market conditions. With loan assignments, as an assignee, the Portfolio normally will succeed to all rights and obligations of its assignor with respect to the portion of the loan that is being assigned. However, the rights and obligations acquired by the purchaser of a loan assignment may differ from, and be more limited than, those held by the original lenders or the assignor. With loan participations, the Portfolio may not be able to control the exercise of any remedies that the lender would have under the loan and likely would not have any rights against the borrower directly, so that delays and expense may be greater than those that would be involved if the Portfolio could enforce its rights directly against the borrower. Low-Rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these securities are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. In addition, these low-rated securities and obligations may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than higher-rated securities and obligations and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Portfolio may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of low-rated securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment-grade debt securities. The markets in which low-rated debt securities are traded are more limited and less liquid than the market for higher rated securities. Because the Portfolio may invest a substantial amount of its assets in low-rated debt securities, it may be difficult for the Portfolio to sell such securities in a timely manner and at their stated value, particularly if it experiences large, unforeseen redemptions. The Portfolio could lose money if it is forced to sell securities at inopportune times to fulfill shareholder redemption requests. In addition, selling securities to meet such redemptions could increase the Portfolio’s transaction costs or have tax consequences. The risk of loss may increase depending on the size and frequency of redemption requests and whether the redemption requests occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Private Placements and Other Restricted Securities Risk. Restricted securities, which include private placements, are securities that are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, and there can be no assurance of a ready market for resale. Privately placed securities and other restricted securities will have the effect of increasing the level of Portfolio illiquidity to the extent the Portfolio finds it difficult to sell these securities when IICO believes it is desirable to do so, especially under adverse market or economic conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the issuer, and the prices realized could be less than those originally paid or less than the fair market value. At times, the illiquidity of the market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities also may make it difficult to determine the fair value of such securities for purposes of computing the NAV of the Portfolio. Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek, as its primary objective, a high level of current income and, as a secondary objective, to seek capital growth when consistent with its primary objective. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return through a combination of high current income and capital appreciation. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance One Year or Less [Text]	rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess	No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year.
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 16.61% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -16.50% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP High Income | Class I
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.61%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.66%	[1]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 67
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	211
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	368
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	822
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	67
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	211
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	368
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	822
Ivy VIP High Income | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.61%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.91%	[1]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 93
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	290
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	504
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,120
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	93
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	290
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	504
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,120
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(21.82%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	46.42%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	14.86%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	5.26%
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	18.64%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	10.50%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	1.90%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(6.50%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	16.19%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	6.68%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	16.61%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(16.50%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	6.68%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	5.47%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.92%
Ivy VIP High Income | ICE BofAML US High Yield Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	7.48%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	5.80%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.89%
Ivy VIP High Income | Lipper Variable Annuity High Yield Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	6.49%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	4.74%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	6.46%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

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Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond

Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond

Objective

To seek to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond Class II
Management Fees	0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.80%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond | Class II | USD ($)	82	255	444	990

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond | Class II | USD ($)	82	255	444	990

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 55% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, debt securities of primarily U.S. issuers. The Portfolio may invest in U.S. government securities, corporate debt securities, mortgage-backed securities including collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and other asset-backed securities. The Portfolio seeks to identify relative value opportunities between these sectors of the fixed-income market. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in bonds with limited-term maturities; therefore, the Portfolio seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of not less than two years and not more than five years.

Investment grade debt securities include bonds rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, to be of comparable quality.

IICO may look at a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio’s holdings, beginning with a top-down (assessing the market environment) review of the broad economic and financial trends in the U.S. and world markets. This process aids in the determination of economic fundamentals, which leads to sector allocation.

Within a sector, IICO typically considers the security’s current coupon, the maturity of the security, the relative value of the security based on historical yield information, the creditworthiness of the particular issuer (if not backed by the full faith and credit of the Treasury), and prepayment risks for mortgage-backed securities and other debt securities with call provisions.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities, including review of the security’s valuation and the issuer’s creditworthiness. IICO also may sell a security to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk.
• Extension Risk. A rise in interest rates could cause borrowers to pay back the principal on certain debt securities, such as mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, more slowly than expected, thus lengthening the average life of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or to decline more than other fixed-income securities and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities.
• Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less.
• Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk and extension risk. When interest rates decline, unscheduled prepayments can be expected to accelerate, shortening the average lives of such securities, and the Portfolio may be required to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments also would limit the potential for capital appreciation on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, thereby reducing the Portfolio’s income. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the values of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities generally fall. Rising interest rates typically result in decreased prepayments and longer average lives of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities.
  Certain mortgage-backed securities are U.S. government securities. See U.S. Government Securities Risk for the risks of these types of securities. For non-U.S. government securities, there is the risk that payments on a security will not be made when due, or the value of such security will decline, because the security is not issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government or by agencies or authorities controlled or supervised by and acting as instrumentalities of the U.S. government or supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. government.
• Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income.
• U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to provide a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 1.57% (the first quarter of 2016) and the lowest quarterly return was -1.67% (the second quarter of 2013).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond	1 Year	5 Years	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares	1.40%	0.93%	1.40%	Aug. 23, 2010
Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 23, 2010)	1.27%	1.10%	1.47%	Aug. 23, 2010
Lipper Variable Annuity Short-Intermediate Investment Grade Debt Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses) (Lipper peer group comparison begins on August 23, 2010)	1.66%	1.04%	1.40%	Aug. 23, 2010

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 55% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	55.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, debt securities of primarily U.S. issuers. The Portfolio may invest in U.S. government securities, corporate debt securities, mortgage-backed securities including collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and other asset-backed securities. The Portfolio seeks to identify relative value opportunities between these sectors of the fixed-income market. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in bonds with limited-term maturities; therefore, the Portfolio seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of not less than two years and not more than five years. Investment grade debt securities include bonds rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, to be of comparable quality. IICO may look at a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio’s holdings, beginning with a top-down (assessing the market environment) review of the broad economic and financial trends in the U.S. and world markets. This process aids in the determination of economic fundamentals, which leads to sector allocation. Within a sector, IICO typically considers the security’s current coupon, the maturity of the security, the relative value of the security based on historical yield information, the creditworthiness of the particular issuer (if not backed by the full faith and credit of the Treasury), and prepayment risks for mortgage-backed securities and other debt securities with call provisions. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities, including review of the security’s valuation and the issuer’s creditworthiness. IICO also may sell a security to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk. Extension Risk. A rise in interest rates could cause borrowers to pay back the principal on certain debt securities, such as mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, more slowly than expected, thus lengthening the average life of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or to decline more than other fixed-income securities and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities. Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less. Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk and extension risk. When interest rates decline, unscheduled prepayments can be expected to accelerate, shortening the average lives of such securities, and the Portfolio may be required to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments also would limit the potential for capital appreciation on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, thereby reducing the Portfolio’s income. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the values of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities generally fall. Rising interest rates typically result in decreased prepayments and longer average lives of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities. Certain mortgage-backed securities are U.S. government securities. See U.S. Government Securities Risk for the risks of these types of securities. For non-U.S. government securities, there is the risk that payments on a security will not be made when due, or the value of such security will decline, because the security is not issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government or by agencies or authorities controlled or supervised by and acting as instrumentalities of the U.S. government or supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. government. Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income. U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to provide a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 1.57% (the first quarter of 2016) and the lowest quarterly return was -1.67% (the second quarter of 2013).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.80%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 82
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	255
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	444
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	990
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	82
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	255
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	444
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 990
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	3.17%
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	3.37%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	(0.54%)
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	0.97%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	0.87%
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	1.94%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	1.40%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Mar. 31, 2016
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	1.57%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2013
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(1.67%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	1.40%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	0.93%
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	1.40%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 23, 2010
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond | Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 23, 2010)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	1.27%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	1.10%
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	1.47%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 23, 2010
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond | Lipper Variable Annuity Short-Intermediate Investment Grade Debt Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses) (Lipper peer group comparison begins on August 23, 2010)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	1.66%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	1.04%
Life of Portfolio	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	1.40%
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Aug. 23, 2010

XML

Ivy VIP Global Equity Income

Ivy VIP Global Equity Income

Objective

To seek to provide total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Global Equity Income Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Global Equity Income Class II
Management Fees	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.00%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income | Class II | USD ($)	102	318	552	1,225

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income | Class II | USD ($)	102	318	552	1,225

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 35% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Global Equity Income seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in equity securities that are issued by companies of any size located largely in developed markets around the world, that Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, believes will be able to generate a reasonable level of current income for investors given current market conditions, and that demonstrate favorable prospects for total return. The Portfolio focuses on companies that IICO believes have the ability to maintain and/or grow their dividends while providing capital appreciation over the long-term. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70).

Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. For this purpose, such equity securities consist primarily of dividend-paying common stocks across the globe. Although the Portfolio invests primarily in large-capitalization companies (typically companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in companies of any size.

Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 40% (or, if IICO deems it warranted by market conditions, at least 30%) of its total assets in securities of non-U.S. issuers.

In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO uses a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection process. IICO seeks to identify higher-quality companies that it believes are reasonably-valued, have a strong likelihood of maintaining and/or growing their dividend, and have a relatively stable to improving fundamental outlook, relative to market expectations. IICO considers an analysis of sectors/industries and geographical areas (when relevant) when determining the attractiveness of names and weightings of sectors, and to a lesser degree countries. IICO also considers several other factors, including a company’s history of fundamentals, ability to sustain its business model, growth potential, management proficiency and competitive environment.

Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various additional foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

In an effort to manage foreign currency exposure, the Portfolio may use forward foreign currency contracts to manage the Fund’s exposure to various foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities of that type. For example, IICO may sell a security if it believes the security no longer offers attractive current income prospects or significant growth potential, if it believes the management of the company has weakened, and/or there exists political or economic instability in the issuer’s country. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Dividend-Paying Stock Risk. Dividend-paying stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform non-dividend paying stocks and the market as a whole over any period of time. In addition, there is no guarantee that the companies in which the Portfolio invests will declare dividends in the future or that dividends, if declared, will remain at current levels or increase over time. The amount of any dividend a company may pay may fluctuate significantly. In addition, the value of dividend-paying common stocks can decline when interest rates rise as other investments become more attractive to investors. This risk may be greater due to the current period of historically low interest rates.
• Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions and Forward Foreign Currency Contracts Risk. The Portfolio may use foreign currency exchange transactions and forward foreign currency contracts to hedge certain market risks (such as interest rates, currency exchange rates and broad or specific market movement). These investment techniques involve a number of risks, including the possibility of default by the counterparty to the transaction and, to the extent IICO’s judgment as to certain market movements is incorrect, the risk of losses that are greater than if the investment technique had not been used.
• Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Investing in foreign currencies for purposes of gaining from projected changes in exchange rates further increases the Portfolio’s exposure to foreign investment losses. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.
• Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Effective July 31, 2008, the Portfolio changed its investment objective from seeking to provide income and long-term capital growth to seeking to provide total return.

Effective April 30, 2018, the name of the Portfolio changed from Ivy VIP Dividend Opportunities to Ivy VIP Global Equity Income, and the Portfolio changed its investment objective from seeking to provide total return to seeking to provide total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. The Portfolio also changed its investment strategy to invest primarily in equity securities that are issued by companies of any size located largely in developed markets around the world. The Portfolio’s performance prior to April 30, 2018 reflects the Portfolio’s former strategy; its performance may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy had been in place.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 14.04% (the fourth quarter of 2011) and the lowest quarterly return was -21.43% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Life of Index	Inception Date
Class II Shares		15.56%	11.50%	5.04%
FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 25, 2008)	[1]	18.94%	8.43%		4.51%	Mar. 25, 2008
Russell 1000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		21.69%	15.71%	8.59%
Lipper Variable Annuity Equity Income Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)		15.23%	12.62%	6.88%

[1] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from the Russell 1000 Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Russell 1000 Index.)

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Global Equity Income
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 35% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	35.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Global Equity Income seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in equity securities that are issued by companies of any size located largely in developed markets around the world, that Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, believes will be able to generate a reasonable level of current income for investors given current market conditions, and that demonstrate favorable prospects for total return. The Portfolio focuses on companies that IICO believes have the ability to maintain and/or grow their dividends while providing capital appreciation over the long-term. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70). Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. For this purpose, such equity securities consist primarily of dividend-paying common stocks across the globe. Although the Portfolio invests primarily in large-capitalization companies (typically companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in companies of any size. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 40% (or, if IICO deems it warranted by market conditions, at least 30%) of its total assets in securities of non-U.S. issuers. In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO uses a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection process. IICO seeks to identify higher-quality companies that it believes are reasonably-valued, have a strong likelihood of maintaining and/or growing their dividend, and have a relatively stable to improving fundamental outlook, relative to market expectations. IICO considers an analysis of sectors/industries and geographical areas (when relevant) when determining the attractiveness of names and weightings of sectors, and to a lesser degree countries. IICO also considers several other factors, including a company’s history of fundamentals, ability to sustain its business model, growth potential, management proficiency and competitive environment. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various additional foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. In an effort to manage foreign currency exposure, the Portfolio may use forward foreign currency contracts to manage the Fund’s exposure to various foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities of that type. For example, IICO may sell a security if it believes the security no longer offers attractive current income prospects or significant growth potential, if it believes the management of the company has weakened, and/or there exists political or economic instability in the issuer’s country. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Dividend-Paying Stock Risk. Dividend-paying stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform non-dividend paying stocks and the market as a whole over any period of time. In addition, there is no guarantee that the companies in which the Portfolio invests will declare dividends in the future or that dividends, if declared, will remain at current levels or increase over time. The amount of any dividend a company may pay may fluctuate significantly. In addition, the value of dividend-paying common stocks can decline when interest rates rise as other investments become more attractive to investors. This risk may be greater due to the current period of historically low interest rates. Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions and Forward Foreign Currency Contracts Risk. The Portfolio may use foreign currency exchange transactions and forward foreign currency contracts to hedge certain market risks (such as interest rates, currency exchange rates and broad or specific market movement). These investment techniques involve a number of risks, including the possibility of default by the counterparty to the transaction and, to the extent IICO’s judgment as to certain market movements is incorrect, the risk of losses that are greater than if the investment technique had not been used. Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Investing in foreign currencies for purposes of gaining from projected changes in exchange rates further increases the Portfolio’s exposure to foreign investment losses. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities. Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Effective July 31, 2008, the Portfolio changed its investment objective from seeking to provide income and long-term capital growth to seeking to provide total return. Effective April 30, 2018, the name of the Portfolio changed from Ivy VIP Dividend Opportunities to Ivy VIP Global Equity Income, and the Portfolio changed its investment objective from seeking to provide total return to seeking to provide total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. The Portfolio also changed its investment strategy to invest primarily in equity securities that are issued by companies of any size located largely in developed markets around the world. The Portfolio’s performance prior to April 30, 2018 reflects the Portfolio’s former strategy; its performance may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy had been in place. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 14.04% (the fourth quarter of 2011) and the lowest quarterly return was -21.43% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Performance Table Market Index Changed	rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged	(The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from the Russell 1000 Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Russell 1000 Index.)
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.00%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 102
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	318
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	552
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,225
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	102
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	318
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	552
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,225
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(35.91%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	17.88%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	16.37%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(4.69%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	13.18%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	29.61%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	9.84%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(2.06%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	6.95%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	15.56%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2011
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	14.04%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(21.43%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	15.56%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	11.50%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.04%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income | FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 25, 2008)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	18.94%	[1]
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	8.43%	[1]
Life of Index	rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception	4.51%	[1]
Inception Date	rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate	Mar. 25, 2008	[1]
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income | Russell 1000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	21.69%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	15.71%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.59%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income | Lipper Variable Annuity Equity Income Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	15.23%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	12.62%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	6.88%

[1] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from the Russell 1000 Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Russell 1000 Index.)

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Ivy VIP Global Growth

Ivy VIP Global Growth

Objective

To seek to provide growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Global Growth Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Global Growth Class II
Management Fees	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.07%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.17%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	0.04%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	1.13%	[2]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same and that expenses were capped for a one-year period, as indicated above. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Global Growth | Class II | USD ($)	115	368	640	1,417

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Global Growth | Class II | USD ($)	115	368	640	1,417

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 54% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Global Growth seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in common stocks of U.S. and foreign companies (including depositary receipts of foreign issuers) that IICO believes are competitively well-positioned, gaining market share, have the potential for long-term growth and/or operate in regions or countries that IICO believes possess attractive growth characteristics. The Portfolio primarily invests in issuers of developed countries, including the U.S., although the Portfolio has the ability to invest in issuers domiciled in or doing business in any country or region around the globe, including emerging markets. While the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies (typically, companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size, in a variety of sectors and industries. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 40% (or, if the portfolio manager deems it warranted by market conditions, at least 30%) of its total assets in foreign securities. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities, including securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 70).

IICO utilizes a research-based investment process that focuses on bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection. IICO seeks strong companies that possess a unique, sustainable competitive advantage that IICO believes will allow them to withstand competitive pressures, sustain margins and cash flow, and grow faster than the general economy. IICO may look at a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio, including: a company’s competitive position and its sustainability; a company’s growth and earnings potential and valuation; a company’s financials, including cash flow and balance sheet; management of the company; strength of the industry; size of the company’s total addressable market; margin trends; switching costs; control of distribution channels; brand equity; scale; patent protection; and applicable economic, market and political conditions of the country in which the company is located and/or in which it is doing business. As an overlay to its bottom-up analysis, IICO considers global economic factors such as the political environment, regulatory policy, geopolitical risk and the currency environment.

Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities. For example, IICO may sell a security issued by a company if it believes the company has experienced a fundamental breakdown of its sustainable competitive advantage or no longer offers significant growth potential, if it believes the management of the company has weakened or its margin and/or its valuation appears unsustainable, if it believes there are macro-economic factors that override a company’s fundamentals, and/or there exists political or economic instability in the issuer’s country. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Depositary Receipts Risk. Investments in depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts, European Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts) generally are subject to the same risks of investing in the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted.
• Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets.
• Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 70). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.
• Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation.
• Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to provide, as its primary objective, long-term appreciation of capital and, as a secondary objective, to seek current income. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital.

In November 2014, the Portfolio increased its emphasis on investments in the stocks of U.S. companies. Effective January 1, 2015, the Portfolio changed its name and investment strategy to reflect a global focus. Performance prior to January 2015 reflects the Portfolio’s former international strategy, which did not include significant investments in U.S. companies, and may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy that includes investing globally, including in stocks of U.S. companies, had been in place.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 19.56% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -21.32% (the third quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Global Growth	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	24.52%	8.48%	3.31%
MSCI World Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	22.40%	11.64%	5.03%
Lipper Variable Annuity Global Large-Cap Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	32.10%	12.35%	7.00%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company, doing business as WI Services Company (WISC), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient management fees, 12b-1 fees and/or shareholder servicing fees to cap the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) for Class II shares at 1.13%. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Global Growth
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Global Growth
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide growth of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination	April 30, 2019
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 54% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	54.00%
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text]	rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent	The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same and that expenses were capped for a one-year period, as indicated above. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Global Growth seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in common stocks of U.S. and foreign companies (including depositary receipts of foreign issuers) that IICO believes are competitively well-positioned, gaining market share, have the potential for long-term growth and/or operate in regions or countries that IICO believes possess attractive growth characteristics. The Portfolio primarily invests in issuers of developed countries, including the U.S., although the Portfolio has the ability to invest in issuers domiciled in or doing business in any country or region around the globe, including emerging markets. While the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies (typically, companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size, in a variety of sectors and industries. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 40% (or, if the portfolio manager deems it warranted by market conditions, at least 30%) of its total assets in foreign securities. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities, including securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 70). IICO utilizes a research-based investment process that focuses on bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection. IICO seeks strong companies that possess a unique, sustainable competitive advantage that IICO believes will allow them to withstand competitive pressures, sustain margins and cash flow, and grow faster than the general economy. IICO may look at a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio, including: a company’s competitive position and its sustainability; a company’s growth and earnings potential and valuation; a company’s financials, including cash flow and balance sheet; management of the company; strength of the industry; size of the company’s total addressable market; margin trends; switching costs; control of distribution channels; brand equity; scale; patent protection; and applicable economic, market and political conditions of the country in which the company is located and/or in which it is doing business. As an overlay to its bottom-up analysis, IICO considers global economic factors such as the political environment, regulatory policy, geopolitical risk and the currency environment. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities. For example, IICO may sell a security issued by a company if it believes the company has experienced a fundamental breakdown of its sustainable competitive advantage or no longer offers significant growth potential, if it believes the management of the company has weakened or its margin and/or its valuation appears unsustainable, if it believes there are macro-economic factors that override a company’s fundamentals, and/or there exists political or economic instability in the issuer’s country. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Depositary Receipts Risk. Investments in depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts, European Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts) generally are subject to the same risks of investing in the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 70). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities. Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation. Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to provide, as its primary objective, long-term appreciation of capital and, as a secondary objective, to seek current income. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital. In November 2014, the Portfolio increased its emphasis on investments in the stocks of U.S. companies. Effective January 1, 2015, the Portfolio changed its name and investment strategy to reflect a global focus. Performance prior to January 2015 reflects the Portfolio’s former international strategy, which did not include significant investments in U.S. companies, and may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy that includes investing globally, including in stocks of U.S. companies, had been in place. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 19.56% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -21.32% (the third quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Global Growth | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.07%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.17%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	0.04%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.13%	[2]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 115
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	368
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	640
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,417
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	115
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	368
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	640
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,417
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(42.15%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	26.89%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	14.79%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(7.32%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	18.05%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	19.23%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	0.96%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	3.39%
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	(3.04%)
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	24.52%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	19.56%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(21.32%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	24.52%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	8.48%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	3.31%
Ivy VIP Global Growth | MSCI World Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	22.40%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	11.64%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.03%
Ivy VIP Global Growth | Lipper Variable Annuity Global Large-Cap Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	32.10%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	12.35%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.00%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company, doing business as WI Services Company (WISC), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient management fees, 12b-1 fees and/or shareholder servicing fees to cap the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) for Class II shares at 1.13%. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

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Ivy VIP International Core Equity

Ivy VIP International Core Equity

Objective

To seek to provide capital growth and appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP International Core Equity Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP International Core Equity Class II
Management Fees	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.06%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.16%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP International Core Equity | Class II | USD ($)	118	368	638	1,409

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP International Core Equity | Class II | USD ($)	118	368	638	1,409

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 59% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP International Core Equity seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. Such companies primarily will be located in, or principally traded in, developed European and Asian/Pacific Basin markets. In seeking to enhance potential return, the Portfolio also may invest in issuers located or doing business in emerging market countries, which generally will include the more developed of the emerging market countries. The Portfolio also may invest in depositary receipts of foreign issuers.

Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, strives to identify dislocations and valuation discrepancies in the international financial markets in an effort to find what it believes are mispriced countries, sectors, currencies and, ultimately, stocks with attractive valuations relative to their potential and to their peer group. IICO uses a disciplined approach while looking for investment opportunities around the world, preferring what it believes are cash-generating and reasonably valued companies that are exposed to global investment themes which IICO believes will yield above-average returns. IICO combines a top-down (assessing the market environment), macro approach with a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection process, and uses a combination of country analysis, sector and industry dynamics, and individual stock selection.

As noted, IICO begins its investment process by establishing a top-down global macro view which is built by constantly assessing developments in global gross domestic product, business and product cycles, relative valuations and politics around the world. It then overlays various investment themes on top of the macro view in an effort to identify companies, sectors and regions that IICO believes will benefit under its macro view. IICO next follows a bottom-up approach to its stock selection and evaluates individual companies based on various factors, including: free cash flow, sales growth, financial leverage, and return on invested capital along with various valuation metrics. IICO uses various data and screening services as part of its stock-selection process, primarily to assess return on invested capital and relative valuation.

Although the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies (typically, companies with capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities. In addition, the Portfolio may use forward contracts in seeking to manage its exposure (increase or decrease) to various foreign currencies.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities of that type. For example, IICO may sell a security if it had a change in its top-down view, if it believes the security no longer offers significant return potential, if there exists political or economic instability in the issuer’s country, if it believes the security is showing signs of deteriorating fundamentals, if there is weak cash flow to support shareholder returns, and/or if there is a change in IICO’s macroeconomic perspective. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Depositary Receipts Risk. Investments in depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts, European Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts) generally are subject to the same risks of investing in the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted.
• Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets.
• Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions and Forward Foreign Currency Contracts Risk. The Portfolio may use foreign currency exchange transactions and forward foreign currency contracts to hedge certain market risks (such as interest rates, currency exchange rates and broad or specific market movement). These investment techniques involve a number of risks, including the possibility of default by the counterparty to the transaction and, to the extent IICO’s judgment as to certain market movements is incorrect, the risk of losses that are greater than if the investment technique had not been used.
• Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.
• Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Regional Focus Risk. Focusing on a particular geographic region or country involves increased currency, political, regulatory and other risks. To the extent the Portfolio invests a significant portion of its assets in a particular geographic region or country, economic, political, social and environmental conditions in that region or country will have a greater effect on Portfolio performance than they would in a more geographically diversified equity fund and the Portfolio’s performance may be more volatile than the performance of a more geographically diversified fund. See Market Risk.
• Theme Risk. Because the Portfolio’s investment strategy incorporates the identification of themes, the Portfolio’s performance may suffer if IICO does not correctly identify such themes or if a theme develops in an unanticipated way.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC served as the investment subadviser to the Portfolio until May 26, 2009, at which time, Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO) assumed direct investment management responsibilities for the Portfolio. On October 1, 2016, IICO, an affiliate of WRIMCO, became the Portfolio’s investment adviser.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term capital growth. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital growth and appreciation.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 25.64% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -20.48% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP International Core Equity	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	23.16%	9.34%	3.24%
MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	25.03%	7.90%	1.94%
Lipper Variable Annuity International Large-Cap Core Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	24.10%	6.29%	0.99%

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Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP International Core Equity
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP International Core Equity
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide capital growth and appreciation.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 59% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	59.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP International Core Equity seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. Such companies primarily will be located in, or principally traded in, developed European and Asian/Pacific Basin markets. In seeking to enhance potential return, the Portfolio also may invest in issuers located or doing business in emerging market countries, which generally will include the more developed of the emerging market countries. The Portfolio also may invest in depositary receipts of foreign issuers. Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, strives to identify dislocations and valuation discrepancies in the international financial markets in an effort to find what it believes are mispriced countries, sectors, currencies and, ultimately, stocks with attractive valuations relative to their potential and to their peer group. IICO uses a disciplined approach while looking for investment opportunities around the world, preferring what it believes are cash-generating and reasonably valued companies that are exposed to global investment themes which IICO believes will yield above-average returns. IICO combines a top-down (assessing the market environment), macro approach with a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection process, and uses a combination of country analysis, sector and industry dynamics, and individual stock selection. As noted, IICO begins its investment process by establishing a top-down global macro view which is built by constantly assessing developments in global gross domestic product, business and product cycles, relative valuations and politics around the world. It then overlays various investment themes on top of the macro view in an effort to identify companies, sectors and regions that IICO believes will benefit under its macro view. IICO next follows a bottom-up approach to its stock selection and evaluates individual companies based on various factors, including: free cash flow, sales growth, financial leverage, and return on invested capital along with various valuation metrics. IICO uses various data and screening services as part of its stock-selection process, primarily to assess return on invested capital and relative valuation. Although the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies (typically, companies with capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities. In addition, the Portfolio may use forward contracts in seeking to manage its exposure (increase or decrease) to various foreign currencies. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities of that type. For example, IICO may sell a security if it had a change in its top-down view, if it believes the security no longer offers significant return potential, if there exists political or economic instability in the issuer’s country, if it believes the security is showing signs of deteriorating fundamentals, if there is weak cash flow to support shareholder returns, and/or if there is a change in IICO’s macroeconomic perspective. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Depositary Receipts Risk. Investments in depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts, European Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts) generally are subject to the same risks of investing in the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions and Forward Foreign Currency Contracts Risk. The Portfolio may use foreign currency exchange transactions and forward foreign currency contracts to hedge certain market risks (such as interest rates, currency exchange rates and broad or specific market movement). These investment techniques involve a number of risks, including the possibility of default by the counterparty to the transaction and, to the extent IICO’s judgment as to certain market movements is incorrect, the risk of losses that are greater than if the investment technique had not been used. Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Regional Focus Risk. Focusing on a particular geographic region or country involves increased currency, political, regulatory and other risks. To the extent the Portfolio invests a significant portion of its assets in a particular geographic region or country, economic, political, social and environmental conditions in that region or country will have a greater effect on Portfolio performance than they would in a more geographically diversified equity fund and the Portfolio’s performance may be more volatile than the performance of a more geographically diversified fund. See Market Risk. Theme Risk. Because the Portfolio’s investment strategy incorporates the identification of themes, the Portfolio’s performance may suffer if IICO does not correctly identify such themes or if a theme develops in an unanticipated way.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC served as the investment subadviser to the Portfolio until May 26, 2009, at which time, Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO) assumed direct investment management responsibilities for the Portfolio. On October 1, 2016, IICO, an affiliate of WRIMCO, became the Portfolio’s investment adviser. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term capital growth. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital growth and appreciation. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 25.64% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -20.48% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP International Core Equity | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.06%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.16%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 118
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	368
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	638
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,409
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	118
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	368
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	638
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,409
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(42.26%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	36.96%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	14.09%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(13.88%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	13.33%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	24.91%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	1.44%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(0.94%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	1.08%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	23.16%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	25.64%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(20.48%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	23.16%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	9.34%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	3.24%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity | MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	25.03%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	7.90%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	1.94%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity | Lipper Variable Annuity International Large-Cap Core Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	24.10%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	6.29%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	0.99%

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Ivy VIP Asset Strategy

Ivy VIP Asset Strategy

Objective

To seek to provide total return.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Ivy VIP Asset Strategy - USD ($)	Class I	Class II
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses - Ivy VIP Asset Strategy		Class I	Class II
Management Fees		0.70%	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		none	0.25%
Other Expenses	[1]	0.06%	0.06%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	[2],[3]	0.76%	1.01%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example - Ivy VIP Asset Strategy - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	78	243	422	942
Class II	103	322	558	1,236

Expense Example, No Redemption - Ivy VIP Asset Strategy - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	78	243	422	942
Class II	103	322	558	1,236

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 39% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Asset Strategy seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among different asset classes of varying correlation around the globe. Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, begins its investment process by investing a portion of the Portfolio’s assets in global equity securities that IICO believes can outperform the Portfolio’s benchmark index, the MSCI ACWI Index, over a full market cycle (the Equity Sleeve). IICO then invests the Portfolio’s remaining assets in various additional asset classes, including global fixed-income securities, United States Treasury instruments, precious metals, commodities and cash (the Diversifying Sleeve), which seek to provide returns to the Portfolio while having less correlation to the Equity Sleeve. IICO may allocate the Portfolio’s investments among these different asset classes in different proportions at different times, but generally seeks to invest 50% - 80% of the Portfolio’s total assets (with a long-term target of approximately 65%) in the Equity Sleeve and 20% - 50% of the Portfolio’s total assets (with a long-term target of approximately 35%) in the Diversifying Sleeve.

In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO primarily emphasizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) approach and seeks to find relative value across the asset classes noted above. Part of IICO’s investment process also includes a top-down (assessing the market and economic environment) analysis.

With respect to the Equity Sleeve, IICO seeks what it believes are well-positioned companies with a strong and / or growing sustainable competitive advantage in attractive industries across the globe which IICO believes can exceed current earnings estimates. IICO looks for companies that are taking market share within their industries, which results in high levels of cash, as well as stable to improving margins and returns. IICO generally focuses on companies that are growing, innovating, improving margins, returning capital through dividend growth or share buybacks and / or offering what IICO believes to be sustainable high free cash flow.

Within the Equity Sleeve, the Portfolio has the flexibility to invest in both growth and value companies. Although the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies (typically, companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. The Equity Sleeve typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70).

Within the Diversifying Sleeve, the Portfolio has the flexibility to invest in a wide range of assets that, in IICO’s view, present attractive risk-adjusted returns as compared to the Equity Sleeve, and/or reduce the Portfolio’s overall risk profile because such assets have less correlation to the assets within the Equity Sleeve. Diversifying assets are comprised of global fixed-income instruments including investment grade and high yield (or junk) bonds, as well as emerging market, corporate and sovereign bonds and bank loans. Such fixed-income instruments may include a significant amount, up to 35% of the Portfolio’s total assets, in high-yield/high-risk bonds, or junk bonds, which include bonds rated BB+ or below by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P) or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. When selecting these instruments, IICO focuses heavily on free cash flow and an issuer’s ability to deleverage itself through the credit cycle. The Portfolio can also invest in government securities issued by the U.S. Treasury (such as Treasury bills, notes or bonds), obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest (but not as to market value) by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by government agencies or government-sponsored enterprises, as well as Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), and cash.

Within each of the Equity Sleeve and the Diversifying Sleeve, the Portfolio may invest in U.S. and foreign securities. The Portfolio generally will invest at least 30% of its assets, and may invest up to 75%, in foreign securities and in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, including issuers located in and/or generating revenue from emerging markets. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

IICO may allocate the Portfolio’s investments among the different types of assets noted above in different proportions at different times (keeping in mind the general percentages noted above) and may exercise a flexible strategy in selecting investments. IICO does not intend to concentrate the Portfolio in any geographic region or industry sector; however, it is not limited by investment style or by the issuer’s location or industry sector.

Subject to diversification limits, the Portfolio also may invest up to 10% of its total assets in precious metals. The Portfolio gains exposure to commodities, including precious metals, derivatives and commodity-linked instruments, by investing in a subsidiary organized in the Cayman Islands (Subsidiary). The Subsidiary is wholly owned and controlled by the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Portfolio with exposure to investment returns from commodities, derivatives and commodity-linked instruments within the limits of the Federal tax requirements applicable to regulated investment companies, such as the Portfolio.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security within the Equity Sleeve, IICO considers many factors, which may include a deterioration in a company’s fundamentals caused by global-specific factors such as geo-political landscape changes, regulatory or currency changes, or increased competition, as well as company-specific factors, such as reduced pricing power, diminished market opportunity, or increased competition. IICO also may sell a security if the price of the security reaches what IICO believes is fair value, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, or to raise cash. Within the Diversifying Sleeve, IICO generally sells assets when, in IICO’s view, such assets no longer have the ability to provide equity-like returns or no longer provide the desired portfolio diversification.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Commodities Risk. Commodity trading, including trading in precious metals, generally is considered speculative because of the significant potential for investment loss. Among the factors that could affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments in commodities are resource availability, commodity price volatility, speculation in the commodities markets, cyclical economic conditions, sudden political events and adverse international monetary policies. Markets for commodities are likely to be volatile and there may be sharp price fluctuations even during periods when prices overall are rising. Also, the Portfolio may pay more to store and accurately value its commodity holdings than it does with its other portfolio investments. Moreover, under the Federal tax law, the Portfolio may not derive more than 10% of its annual gross income from gains (without regard to losses) resulting from selling or otherwise disposing of commodities (and other “non-qualifying” income). Accordingly, the Portfolio may be required to hold its commodities or to sell them at a loss, or to sell portfolio securities at a gain, when for investment reasons it would not otherwise do so.
• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk.
• Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets.
• Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Holdings Risk. The Equity Sleeve of the Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Equity Sleeve of the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.
• Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.
• Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly.
• Loan Risk. In addition to the risks typically associated with fixed-income securities, loans carry other risks, including the risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. The risks associated with loans are similar to the risks of low-rated debt securities or “junk” bonds since loans typically are below investment grade. Loans may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale, may be difficult to value, sometimes trade infrequently on the secondary market and generally are subject to extended settlement periods. Any of these factors may impair the Portfolio’s ability to sell or realize promptly the full value of its loans in the event of a need to liquidate such loans. Accordingly, loans that have been sold may not be immediately available to meet redemptions. Extended trade settlement periods may result in cash not being immediately available to the Portfolio. As a result, the Portfolio may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions to raise cash to meet its obligations. Interests in secured loans have the benefit of collateral and, typically, of restrictive covenants limiting the ability of the borrower to further encumber its assets. There is a risk that the value of the collateral securing a loan in which the Portfolio has an interest may decline and that the collateral may not be sufficient to cover the amount owed on the loan. In the event the borrower defaults, the Portfolio’s access to the collateral may be limited or delayed by bankruptcy and other insolvency laws. These risks could cause the Portfolio to lose income or principal on a particular investment, which could affect the Portfolio’s returns. In addition, loans also are subject to the risk that a court could subordinate the loan to presently existing or future indebtedness or take other action detrimental to the holders of the loan. Further, in the event of a default, second or lower lien secured loans will generally be paid only if the value of the collateral exceeds the amount of the borrower’s obligations to the senior secured lenders, and the remaining collateral may not be sufficient to cover the full amount owed on the loan in which the Portfolio has an interest. Loans made to finance highly leveraged companies or to finance corporate acquisitions or other transactions may be especially vulnerable to adverse changes in economic or market conditions.
  With loan assignments, as an assignee, the Portfolio normally will succeed to all rights and obligations of its assignor with respect to the portion of the loan that is being assigned. However, the rights and obligations acquired by the purchaser of a loan assignment may differ from, and be more limited than, those held by the original lenders or the assignor. With loan participations, the Portfolio may not be able to control the exercise of any remedies that the lender would have under the loan and likely would not have any rights against the borrower directly, so that delays and expense may be greater than those that would be involved if the Portfolio could enforce its rights directly against the borrower.
• Low-Rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these bonds are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. In addition, these low-rated securities and obligations may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than higher-rated securities and obligations and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Portfolio may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of low-rated securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment-grade debt securities.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk and extension risk. When interest rates decline, unscheduled prepayments can be expected to accelerate, shortening the average lives of such securities, and the Portfolio may be required to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments also would limit the potential for capital appreciation on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, thereby reducing the Portfolio’s income. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the values of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities generally fall. Rising interest rates typically result in decreased prepayments and longer average lives of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities.
  Certain mortgage-backed securities are U.S. government securities. See U.S. Government Securities Risk for the risks of these types of securities. For non-U.S. government securities, there is the risk that payments on a security will not be made when due, or the value of such security will decline, because the security is not issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government or by agencies or authorities controlled or supervised by and acting as instrumentalities of the U.S. government or supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. government.
• Subsidiary Investment Risk. By investing in the Subsidiary, the Portfolio is exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act), and is not subject to all of the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Thus, the Portfolio, as an investor in the Subsidiary, would not have all of the protections offered to investors in registered investment companies. However, because the Portfolio wholly owns and controls the Subsidiary, and the Portfolio and Subsidiary are managed by IICO, it is unlikely that the Subsidiary would take action contrary to the interests of the Portfolio or the Portfolio’s shareholders. In addition, changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Portfolio and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Portfolio and/or the Subsidiary to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Portfolio and its shareholders. Although, under the Federal tax law, the Portfolio may not derive more than 10% of its annual gross income from gains resulting from selling or otherwise disposing of commodities (and other “non-qualifying” income), the Portfolio has received an opinion of counsel, which is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the courts, that income the Portfolio receives from the Subsidiary should constitute “qualifying” income.
• U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek high total return over the long term. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 13.96% (the first quarter of 2012) and the lowest quarterly return was -18.90% (the third quarter of 2011).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Asset Strategy		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares		18.27%	4.60%	3.39%
MSCI ACWI Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	23.97%	10.80%	4.65%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		21.83%	15.79%	8.50%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		3.54%	2.10%	4.01%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		0.81%	0.23%	0.34%
Lipper Variable Annuity Alternative Other Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)		9.60%	4.91%	4.20%

[1] Other Expenses includes the expenses of Ivy VIP ASF II, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Portfolio organized in the Cayman Islands.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

[3] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

[1] (Effective February 6, 2018, the MSCI ACWI Index is the Portfolio’s new benchmark index. IICO believes that this index is a more representative index for the types of securities that the Portfolio purchases than the three indexes noted below.)

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Asset Strategy
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Asset Strategy
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide total return.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 39% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	39.00%
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text]	rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent	The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Asset Strategy seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among different asset classes of varying correlation around the globe. Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, begins its investment process by investing a portion of the Portfolio’s assets in global equity securities that IICO believes can outperform the Portfolio’s benchmark index, the MSCI ACWI Index, over a full market cycle (the Equity Sleeve). IICO then invests the Portfolio’s remaining assets in various additional asset classes, including global fixed-income securities, United States Treasury instruments, precious metals, commodities and cash (the Diversifying Sleeve), which seek to provide returns to the Portfolio while having less correlation to the Equity Sleeve. IICO may allocate the Portfolio’s investments among these different asset classes in different proportions at different times, but generally seeks to invest 50% - 80% of the Portfolio’s total assets (with a long-term target of approximately 65%) in the Equity Sleeve and 20% - 50% of the Portfolio’s total assets (with a long-term target of approximately 35%) in the Diversifying Sleeve. In selecting securities for the Portfolio, IICO primarily emphasizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) approach and seeks to find relative value across the asset classes noted above. Part of IICO’s investment process also includes a top-down (assessing the market and economic environment) analysis. With respect to the Equity Sleeve, IICO seeks what it believes are well-positioned companies with a strong and / or growing sustainable competitive advantage in attractive industries across the globe which IICO believes can exceed current earnings estimates. IICO looks for companies that are taking market share within their industries, which results in high levels of cash, as well as stable to improving margins and returns. IICO generally focuses on companies that are growing, innovating, improving margins, returning capital through dividend growth or share buybacks and / or offering what IICO believes to be sustainable high free cash flow. Within the Equity Sleeve, the Portfolio has the flexibility to invest in both growth and value companies. Although the Portfolio primarily invests in securities issued by large-capitalization companies (typically, companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion at the time of acquisition), it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. The Equity Sleeve typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70). Within the Diversifying Sleeve, the Portfolio has the flexibility to invest in a wide range of assets that, in IICO’s view, present attractive risk-adjusted returns as compared to the Equity Sleeve, and/or reduce the Portfolio’s overall risk profile because such assets have less correlation to the assets within the Equity Sleeve. Diversifying assets are comprised of global fixed-income instruments including investment grade and high yield (or junk) bonds, as well as emerging market, corporate and sovereign bonds and bank loans. Such fixed-income instruments may include a significant amount, up to 35% of the Portfolio’s total assets, in high-yield/high-risk bonds, or junk bonds, which include bonds rated BB+ or below by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P) or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. When selecting these instruments, IICO focuses heavily on free cash flow and an issuer’s ability to deleverage itself through the credit cycle. The Portfolio can also invest in government securities issued by the U.S. Treasury (such as Treasury bills, notes or bonds), obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest (but not as to market value) by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by government agencies or government-sponsored enterprises, as well as Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), and cash. Within each of the Equity Sleeve and the Diversifying Sleeve, the Portfolio may invest in U.S. and foreign securities. The Portfolio generally will invest at least 30% of its assets, and may invest up to 75%, in foreign securities and in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, including issuers located in and/or generating revenue from emerging markets. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. IICO may allocate the Portfolio’s investments among the different types of assets noted above in different proportions at different times (keeping in mind the general percentages noted above) and may exercise a flexible strategy in selecting investments. IICO does not intend to concentrate the Portfolio in any geographic region or industry sector; however, it is not limited by investment style or by the issuer’s location or industry sector. Subject to diversification limits, the Portfolio also may invest up to 10% of its total assets in precious metals. The Portfolio gains exposure to commodities, including precious metals, derivatives and commodity-linked instruments, by investing in a subsidiary organized in the Cayman Islands (Subsidiary). The Subsidiary is wholly owned and controlled by the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Portfolio with exposure to investment returns from commodities, derivatives and commodity-linked instruments within the limits of the Federal tax requirements applicable to regulated investment companies, such as the Portfolio. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security within the Equity Sleeve, IICO considers many factors, which may include a deterioration in a company’s fundamentals caused by global-specific factors such as geo-political landscape changes, regulatory or currency changes, or increased competition, as well as company-specific factors, such as reduced pricing power, diminished market opportunity, or increased competition. IICO also may sell a security if the price of the security reaches what IICO believes is fair value, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, or to raise cash. Within the Diversifying Sleeve, IICO generally sells assets when, in IICO’s view, such assets no longer have the ability to provide equity-like returns or no longer provide the desired portfolio diversification.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Commodities Risk. Commodity trading, including trading in precious metals, generally is considered speculative because of the significant potential for investment loss. Among the factors that could affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments in commodities are resource availability, commodity price volatility, speculation in the commodities markets, cyclical economic conditions, sudden political events and adverse international monetary policies. Markets for commodities are likely to be volatile and there may be sharp price fluctuations even during periods when prices overall are rising. Also, the Portfolio may pay more to store and accurately value its commodity holdings than it does with its other portfolio investments. Moreover, under the Federal tax law, the Portfolio may not derive more than 10% of its annual gross income from gains (without regard to losses) resulting from selling or otherwise disposing of commodities (and other “non-qualifying” income). Accordingly, the Portfolio may be required to hold its commodities or to sell them at a loss, or to sell portfolio securities at a gain, when for investment reasons it would not otherwise do so. Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk. Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Holdings Risk. The Equity Sleeve of the Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 50 to 70). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Equity Sleeve of the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities. Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally. Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies. Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly. Loan Risk. In addition to the risks typically associated with fixed-income securities, loans carry other risks, including the risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. The risks associated with loans are similar to the risks of low-rated debt securities or “junk” bonds since loans typically are below investment grade. Loans may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale, may be difficult to value, sometimes trade infrequently on the secondary market and generally are subject to extended settlement periods. Any of these factors may impair the Portfolio’s ability to sell or realize promptly the full value of its loans in the event of a need to liquidate such loans. Accordingly, loans that have been sold may not be immediately available to meet redemptions. Extended trade settlement periods may result in cash not being immediately available to the Portfolio. As a result, the Portfolio may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions to raise cash to meet its obligations. Interests in secured loans have the benefit of collateral and, typically, of restrictive covenants limiting the ability of the borrower to further encumber its assets. There is a risk that the value of the collateral securing a loan in which the Portfolio has an interest may decline and that the collateral may not be sufficient to cover the amount owed on the loan. In the event the borrower defaults, the Portfolio’s access to the collateral may be limited or delayed by bankruptcy and other insolvency laws. These risks could cause the Portfolio to lose income or principal on a particular investment, which could affect the Portfolio’s returns. In addition, loans also are subject to the risk that a court could subordinate the loan to presently existing or future indebtedness or take other action detrimental to the holders of the loan. Further, in the event of a default, second or lower lien secured loans will generally be paid only if the value of the collateral exceeds the amount of the borrower’s obligations to the senior secured lenders, and the remaining collateral may not be sufficient to cover the full amount owed on the loan in which the Portfolio has an interest. Loans made to finance highly leveraged companies or to finance corporate acquisitions or other transactions may be especially vulnerable to adverse changes in economic or market conditions. With loan assignments, as an assignee, the Portfolio normally will succeed to all rights and obligations of its assignor with respect to the portion of the loan that is being assigned. However, the rights and obligations acquired by the purchaser of a loan assignment may differ from, and be more limited than, those held by the original lenders or the assignor. With loan participations, the Portfolio may not be able to control the exercise of any remedies that the lender would have under the loan and likely would not have any rights against the borrower directly, so that delays and expense may be greater than those that would be involved if the Portfolio could enforce its rights directly against the borrower. Low-Rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these bonds are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. In addition, these low-rated securities and obligations may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than higher-rated securities and obligations and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Portfolio may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of low-rated securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment-grade debt securities. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk and extension risk. When interest rates decline, unscheduled prepayments can be expected to accelerate, shortening the average lives of such securities, and the Portfolio may be required to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments also would limit the potential for capital appreciation on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, thereby reducing the Portfolio’s income. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the values of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities generally fall. Rising interest rates typically result in decreased prepayments and longer average lives of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities. Certain mortgage-backed securities are U.S. government securities. See U.S. Government Securities Risk for the risks of these types of securities. For non-U.S. government securities, there is the risk that payments on a security will not be made when due, or the value of such security will decline, because the security is not issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government or by agencies or authorities controlled or supervised by and acting as instrumentalities of the U.S. government or supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. government. Subsidiary Investment Risk. By investing in the Subsidiary, the Portfolio is exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act), and is not subject to all of the investor protections of the 1940 Act. Thus, the Portfolio, as an investor in the Subsidiary, would not have all of the protections offered to investors in registered investment companies. However, because the Portfolio wholly owns and controls the Subsidiary, and the Portfolio and Subsidiary are managed by IICO, it is unlikely that the Subsidiary would take action contrary to the interests of the Portfolio or the Portfolio’s shareholders. In addition, changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Portfolio and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Portfolio and/or the Subsidiary to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Portfolio and its shareholders. Although, under the Federal tax law, the Portfolio may not derive more than 10% of its annual gross income from gains resulting from selling or otherwise disposing of commodities (and other “non-qualifying” income), the Portfolio has received an opinion of counsel, which is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the courts, that income the Portfolio receives from the Subsidiary should constitute “qualifying” income. U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek high total return over the long term. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance One Year or Less [Text]	rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess	No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year.
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 13.96% (the first quarter of 2012) and the lowest quarterly return was -18.90% (the third quarter of 2011).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Performance Table Market Index Changed	rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged	(Effective February 6, 2018, the MSCI ACWI Index is the Portfolio?s new benchmark index. IICO believes that this index is a more representative index for the types of securities that the Portfolio purchases than the three indexes noted below.)
Ivy VIP Asset Strategy | Class I
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.06%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.76%	[2],[3]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 78
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	243
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	422
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	942
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	78
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	243
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	422
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	942
Ivy VIP Asset Strategy | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.06%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.01%	[2],[3]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 103
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	322
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	558
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,236
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	103
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	322
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	558
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,236
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(25.79%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	25.04%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	8.68%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(7.21%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	19.18%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	25.13%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	(5.26%)
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(8.35%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	(2.57%)
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	18.27%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Mar. 31, 2012
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	13.96%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(18.90%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	18.27%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	4.60%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	3.39%
Ivy VIP Asset Strategy | MSCI ACWI Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	23.97%	[4]
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	10.80%	[4]
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	4.65%	[4]
Ivy VIP Asset Strategy | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	21.83%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	15.79%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.50%
Ivy VIP Asset Strategy | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	3.54%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	2.10%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	4.01%
Ivy VIP Asset Strategy | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	0.81%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	0.23%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	0.34%
Ivy VIP Asset Strategy | Lipper Variable Annuity Alternative Other Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	9.60%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	4.91%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	4.20%

[1] Other Expenses includes the expenses of Ivy VIP ASF II, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Portfolio organized in the Cayman Islands.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

[3] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

[4] (Effective February 6, 2018, the MSCI ACWI Index is the Portfolio’s new benchmark index. IICO believes that this index is a more representative index for the types of securities that the Portfolio purchases than the three indexes noted below.)

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Ivy VIP Balanced

Ivy VIP Balanced

Objective

To seek to provide total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Balanced Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Balanced Class II
Management Fees	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.06%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.01%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Balanced | Class II | USD ($)	103	322	558	1,236

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Balanced | Class II | USD ($)	103	322	558	1,236

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions and/or spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 48% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Balanced seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in a diversified mix of stocks, debt securities and short-term instruments, depending on market conditions. Regarding its equity investments, the Portfolio invests primarily in medium to large, well-established companies, most of which pay a regular dividend, although it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. The Portfolio invests at least 25% of its total assets in equity securities. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 55), with the objective of providing potential capital appreciation and some dividend income.

In addition, the Portfolio invests at least 25% of its total assets in debt securities with the objective of providing income and relative stability of capital. The Portfolio may invest in preferred stocks. The majority of the Portfolio’s debt securities are either U.S. government securities or investment-grade corporate bonds rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its total assets in non-investment grade debt securities. The Portfolio has no limitations on the range of maturities of the debt securities in which it may invest.

In evaluating investments for the Portfolio, IICO focuses on companies with resilient business models characterized by stable growth rates, strong balance sheets, attractive return profiles and strong free cash flow generation. In so doing, IICO evaluates a company’s management team, its financial position, its competitive position and the condition of its respective industry in addition to other factors. IICO utilizes financial statements, independent research by its investment management personnel, third party research, brand studies done by outside parties and other tools and processes to identify what it believes to be attractive investment opportunities with a focus on the trajectory and sustainability of a company’s business model. In addition, IICO’s analysis informs its view of an appropriate valuation for each potential investment.

Investment opportunities typically fall into two categories: company-specific ideas which include factors such as a company’s competitive positioning, production cycles, cost restructuring or a new management team; and thematic ideas where IICO considers economic or political forces, interest rate term structure variances, cyclical inflections, changes in consumer behavior or technology shifts. In selecting equity securities for the Portfolio, IICO focuses on capital appreciation and follows a growth at a reasonable price investing strategy. In selecting debt securities for the Portfolio, IICO focuses on current income and capital preservation and generally seeks to invest in investment-grade securities.

Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same analysis as identified above in order to determine if the security is appropriately valued or has met its anticipated price. IICO also may sell a security if the security ceases to produce income, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk.
• Dividend-Paying Stock Risk. Dividend-paying stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform non-dividend paying stocks and the market as a whole over any period of time. In addition, there is no guarantee that the companies in which the Portfolio invests will declare dividends in the future or that dividends, if declared, will remain at current levels or increase over time. The amount of any dividend a company may pay may fluctuate significantly. In addition, the value of dividend-paying common stocks can decline when interest rates rise as other investments become more attractive to investors. This risk may be greater due to the current period of historically low interest rates.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 55). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.
• Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.
• Low-Rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these securities are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. In addition, these low-rated securities and obligations may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than higher-rated securities and obligations and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Portfolio may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of low-rated securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment-grade debt securities.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Mid Size Company Risk. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies due to such companies’ limited product lines, limited markets and financial resources and dependence upon a relatively small management group. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of larger companies and may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns.
• Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stock is subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. Preferred stock also is subject to credit risk with regard to the ability of the issuer to pay the dividend established upon issuance of the preferred stock.
• Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income.
• U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.
• Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek to provide current income and, as a secondary objective, to seek long-term appreciation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 9.59% (the fourth quarter of 2010) and the lowest quarterly return was -10.91% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Balanced	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	11.37%	8.55%	6.19%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	21.83%	15.79%	8.50%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	4.00%	2.13%	4.08%
Lipper Variable Annuity Mixed-Asset Target Allocation Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	15.82%	9.25%	5.77%

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Balanced
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Balanced
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions and/or spreads between bid and asked prices, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 48% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	48.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Balanced seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in a diversified mix of stocks, debt securities and short-term instruments, depending on market conditions. Regarding its equity investments, the Portfolio invests primarily in medium to large, well-established companies, most of which pay a regular dividend, although it may invest in securities issued by companies of any size. The Portfolio invests at least 25% of its total assets in equity securities. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 55), with the objective of providing potential capital appreciation and some dividend income. In addition, the Portfolio invests at least 25% of its total assets in debt securities with the objective of providing income and relative stability of capital. The Portfolio may invest in preferred stocks. The majority of the Portfolio’s debt securities are either U.S. government securities or investment-grade corporate bonds rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its total assets in non-investment grade debt securities. The Portfolio has no limitations on the range of maturities of the debt securities in which it may invest. In evaluating investments for the Portfolio, IICO focuses on companies with resilient business models characterized by stable growth rates, strong balance sheets, attractive return profiles and strong free cash flow generation. In so doing, IICO evaluates a company’s management team, its financial position, its competitive position and the condition of its respective industry in addition to other factors. IICO utilizes financial statements, independent research by its investment management personnel, third party research, brand studies done by outside parties and other tools and processes to identify what it believes to be attractive investment opportunities with a focus on the trajectory and sustainability of a company’s business model. In addition, IICO’s analysis informs its view of an appropriate valuation for each potential investment. Investment opportunities typically fall into two categories: company-specific ideas which include factors such as a company’s competitive positioning, production cycles, cost restructuring or a new management team; and thematic ideas where IICO considers economic or political forces, interest rate term structure variances, cyclical inflections, changes in consumer behavior or technology shifts. In selecting equity securities for the Portfolio, IICO focuses on capital appreciation and follows a growth at a reasonable price investing strategy. In selecting debt securities for the Portfolio, IICO focuses on current income and capital preservation and generally seeks to invest in investment-grade securities. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same analysis as identified above in order to determine if the security is appropriately valued or has met its anticipated price. IICO also may sell a security if the security ceases to produce income, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk. Dividend-Paying Stock Risk. Dividend-paying stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform non-dividend paying stocks and the market as a whole over any period of time. In addition, there is no guarantee that the companies in which the Portfolio invests will declare dividends in the future or that dividends, if declared, will remain at current levels or increase over time. The amount of any dividend a company may pay may fluctuate significantly. In addition, the value of dividend-paying common stocks can decline when interest rates rise as other investments become more attractive to investors. This risk may be greater due to the current period of historically low interest rates. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 55). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities. Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally. Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies. Low-Rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these securities are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. In addition, these low-rated securities and obligations may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than higher-rated securities and obligations and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Portfolio may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of low-rated securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment-grade debt securities. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Mid Size Company Risk. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies due to such companies’ limited product lines, limited markets and financial resources and dependence upon a relatively small management group. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of larger companies and may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. Preferred Stock Risk. Preferred stock is subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. Preferred stock also is subject to credit risk with regard to the ability of the issuer to pay the dividend established upon issuance of the preferred stock. Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income. U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury. Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek to provide current income and, as a secondary objective, to seek long-term appreciation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 9.59% (the fourth quarter of 2010) and the lowest quarterly return was -10.91% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Balanced | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.06%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.01%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 103
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	322
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	558
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,236
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	103
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	322
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	558
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,236
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(21.00%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	13.23%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	17.11%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	3.31%
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	11.75%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	23.70%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	7.57%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(0.32%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	2.03%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	11.37%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2010
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	9.59%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(10.91%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	11.37%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	8.55%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	6.19%
Ivy VIP Balanced | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	21.83%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	15.79%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	8.50%
Ivy VIP Balanced | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	4.00%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	2.13%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	4.08%
Ivy VIP Balanced | Lipper Variable Annuity Mixed-Asset Target Allocation Growth Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	15.82%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	9.25%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	5.77%

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Ivy VIP Energy

Ivy VIP Energy

Objective

To seek to provide capital growth and appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Ivy VIP Energy - USD ($)	Class I	Class II
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses - Ivy VIP Energy		Class I	Class II
Management Fees		0.85%	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		none	0.25%
Other Expenses		0.09%	0.09%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	[1],[2]	0.94%	1.19%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example - Ivy VIP Energy - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	96	300	520	1,155
Class II	121	378	654	1,443

Expense Example, No Redemption - Ivy VIP Energy - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	96	300	520	1,155
Class II	121	378	654	1,443

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 22% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Energy seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in securities of companies within the energy sector, which includes all aspects of the energy industry, such as exploration, discovery, production, distribution or infrastructure of energy and/or alternative energy sources.

These companies may include, but are not limited to, oil companies, oil and gas drilling, equipment and services companies, oil and gas exploration and production companies, oil and gas storage and transportation companies, natural gas pipeline companies, refinery companies, energy conservation companies, coal, transporters, utilities, alternative energy companies and innovative energy technology companies. The Portfolio also may invest in companies that are not within the energy sector that are engaged in the development of products and services to enhance energy efficiency for the users of those products and services.

After conducting a top-down (assessing the market environment) market analysis of the energy industry and geopolitical issues and then identifying trends and sectors, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, uses a research-oriented, bottom-up (researching individual issuers) investment approach when selecting securities for the Portfolio, focusing on company fundamentals and growth prospects. In general, the Portfolio emphasizes companies that IICO believes are strongly managed and can generate above average, capital growth and appreciation. IICO analyzes net asset value, free cash flow and balance sheet strength and focuses on companies that exhibit capital discipline with a low cost structure and strong assets. The Portfolio invests in a blend of value and growth companies domiciled throughout the world, which may include companies that are offered in initial public offerings (IPOs). While IICO typically seeks to invest a majority of the Portfolio’s assets in U.S. securities, the Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 55).

Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, potentially including companies domiciled or traded or doing business in emerging markets, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities to determine whether the security has ceased to offer significant growth potential, has sufficiently exceeded its target price, has become undervalued and/or whether the prospects of the issuer have deteriorated. IICO also will consider the effect of commodity price trends on certain holdings, poor capital management or whether a company has experienced a change or deterioration in its fundamentals, its valuation or its competitive advantage. IICO also may sell a security to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Concentration Risk. Because the Portfolio invests more than 25% of its total assets in the energy related industry, the Portfolio’s performance may be more susceptible to a single economic, regulatory or technological occurrence than a fund that does not concentrate its investments in this industry. Securities of companies within specific industries or sectors of the economy may periodically perform differently than the overall market. In addition, the Portfolio’s performance may be more volatile than an investment in a portfolio of broad market securities and may underperform the market as a whole, due to the relatively limited number of issuers of energy-related securities.
• Energy Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in energy securities, in addition to other risks, include price fluctuation caused by real and perceived inflationary trends and political developments, the cost assumed in complying with environmental safety regulations, demand of energy fuels, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, and tax and other governmental regulations.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 55). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.
• Initial Public Offering (IPO) Risk. Any positive effect of investments in IPOs may not be sustainable because of a number of factors. Namely, the Portfolio may not be able to buy shares in some IPOs, or may be able to buy only a small number of shares. Also, the performance of IPOs generally is volatile, and is dependent on market psychology and economic conditions. To the extent that IPOs have a significant positive impact on the Portfolio’s performance, this may not be able to be replicated in the future. The relative performance impact of IPOs also is likely to decline as the Portfolio grows.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
• Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to provide long-term capital appreciation. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital growth and appreciation.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 23.73% (the second quarter of 2008) and the lowest quarterly return was -33.43% (the third quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Energy	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	(12.64%)	0.90%	(1.17%)
S&P 1500 Energy Sector Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	(2.05%)	2.05%	0.85%
Lipper Variable Annuity Natural Resources Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	2.87%	(0.78%)	(1.50%)

[1] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

[2] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Energy
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Energy
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide capital growth and appreciation.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 22% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	22.00%
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text]	rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent	The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Energy seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in securities of companies within the energy sector, which includes all aspects of the energy industry, such as exploration, discovery, production, distribution or infrastructure of energy and/or alternative energy sources. These companies may include, but are not limited to, oil companies, oil and gas drilling, equipment and services companies, oil and gas exploration and production companies, oil and gas storage and transportation companies, natural gas pipeline companies, refinery companies, energy conservation companies, coal, transporters, utilities, alternative energy companies and innovative energy technology companies. The Portfolio also may invest in companies that are not within the energy sector that are engaged in the development of products and services to enhance energy efficiency for the users of those products and services. After conducting a top-down (assessing the market environment) market analysis of the energy industry and geopolitical issues and then identifying trends and sectors, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, uses a research-oriented, bottom-up (researching individual issuers) investment approach when selecting securities for the Portfolio, focusing on company fundamentals and growth prospects. In general, the Portfolio emphasizes companies that IICO believes are strongly managed and can generate above average, capital growth and appreciation. IICO analyzes net asset value, free cash flow and balance sheet strength and focuses on companies that exhibit capital discipline with a low cost structure and strong assets. The Portfolio invests in a blend of value and growth companies domiciled throughout the world, which may include companies that are offered in initial public offerings (IPOs). While IICO typically seeks to invest a majority of the Portfolio’s assets in U.S. securities, the Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 55). Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, potentially including companies domiciled or traded or doing business in emerging markets, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities to determine whether the security has ceased to offer significant growth potential, has sufficiently exceeded its target price, has become undervalued and/or whether the prospects of the issuer have deteriorated. IICO also will consider the effect of commodity price trends on certain holdings, poor capital management or whether a company has experienced a change or deterioration in its fundamentals, its valuation or its competitive advantage. IICO also may sell a security to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or to raise cash.
Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text]	rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration	Ivy VIP Energy seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in securities of companies within the energy sector, which includes all aspects of the energy industry, such as exploration, discovery, production, distribution or infrastructure of energy and/or alternative energy sources. These companies may include, but are not limited to, oil companies, oil and gas drilling, equipment and services companies, oil and gas exploration and production companies, oil and gas storage and transportation companies, natural gas pipeline companies, refinery companies, energy conservation companies, coal, transporters, utilities, alternative energy companies and innovative energy technology companies.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Concentration Risk. Because the Portfolio invests more than 25% of its total assets in the energy related industry, the Portfolio’s performance may be more susceptible to a single economic, regulatory or technological occurrence than a fund that does not concentrate its investments in this industry. Securities of companies within specific industries or sectors of the economy may periodically perform differently than the overall market. In addition, the Portfolio’s performance may be more volatile than an investment in a portfolio of broad market securities and may underperform the market as a whole, due to the relatively limited number of issuers of energy-related securities. Energy Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in energy securities, in addition to other risks, include price fluctuation caused by real and perceived inflationary trends and political developments, the cost assumed in complying with environmental safety regulations, demand of energy fuels, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, and tax and other governmental regulations. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 55). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities. Initial Public Offering (IPO) Risk. Any positive effect of investments in IPOs may not be sustainable because of a number of factors. Namely, the Portfolio may not be able to buy shares in some IPOs, or may be able to buy only a small number of shares. Also, the performance of IPOs generally is volatile, and is dependent on market psychology and economic conditions. To the extent that IPOs have a significant positive impact on the Portfolio’s performance, this may not be able to be replicated in the future. The relative performance impact of IPOs also is likely to decline as the Portfolio grows. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to provide long-term capital appreciation. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital growth and appreciation. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance One Year or Less [Text]	rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess	No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year.
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 23.73% (the second quarter of 2008) and the lowest quarterly return was -33.43% (the third quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Energy | Class I
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.09%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.94%	[1],[2]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 96
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	300
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	520
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,155
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	96
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	300
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	520
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	1,155
Ivy VIP Energy | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.09%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.19%	[1],[2]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 121
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	378
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	654
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,443
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	121
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	378
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	654
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,443
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(46.15%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	40.48%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	21.96%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(9.08%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	1.38%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	27.76%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	(10.56%)
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(22.14%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	34.55%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	(12.64%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2008
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	23.73%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(33.43%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	(12.64%)
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	0.90%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	(1.17%)
Ivy VIP Energy | S&P 1500 Energy Sector Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	(2.05%)
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	2.05%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	0.85%
Ivy VIP Energy | Lipper Variable Annuity Natural Resources Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	2.87%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(0.78%)
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	(1.50%)

[1] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it has been restated to reflect a change in the Portfolio’s contractual class waiver.

[2] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

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Ivy VIP Natural Resources

Ivy VIP Natural Resources

Objective

To seek to provide capital growth and appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Natural Resources Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Natural Resources Class II
Management Fees	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.11%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.21%	[1]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Natural Resources | Class II | USD ($)	123	384	665	1,466

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Natural Resources | Class II | USD ($)	123	384	665	1,466

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 44% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Natural Resources seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies with operations throughout the world that own, explore or develop natural resources and other basic commodities or supply goods and services to such companies.

For these purposes, “natural resources” generally includes, but is not limited to: energy (such as electricity and gas utilities, producers/developers, equipment/services, storage/transportation, gas/oil refining and marketing, service/drilling, pipelines and master limited partnerships (MLPs)), alternative energy (such as uranium, coal, nuclear, hydrogen, wind, solar, fuel cells), industrial products (such as building materials, cement, packaging, chemicals, materials infrastructure, supporting transport and machinery), forest products (such as lumber, plywood, pulp, paper, newsprint, tissue), base metals (such as aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc, iron ore and steel), precious metals and minerals (such as gold, silver, platinum, diamonds), and agricultural products (grains and other foods, seeds, fertilizers, water).

After conducting a top-down (assessing the market environment) market analysis of the natural resources industry and identifying trends and sectors, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, uses a research-oriented, bottom-up (researching individual issuers) investment approach when selecting securities for the Portfolio, focusing on company fundamentals and growth prospects. IICO invests in a blend of value and growth companies domiciled throughout the world, and emphasizes companies that it believes are strongly managed and can generate above-average capital growth and appreciation. IICO focuses on companies that it believes are high quality, have the potential for sustainable long-term growth and that are low-cost leaders that possess historically strong-producing assets. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 30 to 50).

Under normal circumstances, IICO anticipates that a significant portion of the Portfolio’s holdings will consist of issuers in the energy and materials sectors.

The Portfolio seeks to be diversified internationally, and therefore, IICO invests in foreign companies and U.S. companies that have principal operations in foreign jurisdictions. While IICO typically seeks to invest a majority of the Portfolio’s assets in the United States, the Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities. Exposure to companies in any one particular foreign country typically is less than 20% of the Portfolio’s total assets. The Portfolio also may have exposure to companies located in, and/or doing business in, emerging markets.

An investment in foreign securities presents additional risks such as currency fluctuations and political or economic conditions affecting the foreign country. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

The Portfolio may use forward currency contracts in an effort to manage foreign currency exposure.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities to determine whether the security has ceased to offer significant growth potential, has sufficiently exceeded its target price, has become overvalued and/or whether the prospects of the issuer have deteriorated. IICO also will consider the effect of commodity price trends on certain holdings, poor capital management or whether a company has experienced a change or deterioration in its fundamentals, its valuation or its competitive advantage. IICO also may sell a security to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Commodities Risk. Investments in certain issuers, such as resource extraction and production companies, are sensitive to fluctuations in certain commodity markets, and changes in those markets may cause the Portfolio’s holdings to lose value. Commodity trading generally is considered speculative because of the significant potential for investment loss. Among the factors that could affect the value of commodities are cyclical economic conditions, weather, embargoes, tariffs, regulatory developments, sudden political events and adverse international monetary policies. Markets for commodities are likely to be volatile and there may be sharp price fluctuations even during periods when prices overall are rising. Moreover, under the Federal tax law, the Portfolio may not derive more than 10% of its annual gross income from gains (without regard to losses) resulting from selling or otherwise disposing of commodities (and other “non-qualifying” income). Accordingly, the Portfolio may be required to hold its commodities or to sell them at a loss, or to sell portfolio securities at a gain, when for investment reasons it would not otherwise do so.
• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets.
• Energy Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in energy securities, in addition to other risks, include price fluctuation caused by real and perceived inflationary trends and political developments, the cost assumed in complying with environmental safety regulations, demand of energy fuels, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, and tax and other governmental regulations.
• Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions and Forward Foreign Currency Contracts Risk. The Portfolio may use foreign currency exchange transactions and forward foreign currency contracts to hedge certain market risks (such as interest rates, currency exchange rates and broad or specific market movement). These investment techniques involve a number of risks, including the possibility of default by the counterparty to the transaction and, to the extent IICO’s judgment as to certain market movements is incorrect, the risk of losses that are greater than if the investment technique had not been used.
• Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 30 to 50). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities.
• Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Materials Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in securities in the materials sector, in addition to other risks, include adverse effects from commodity price volatility, exchange rates, import controls and increased competition; the possibility that production of industrial materials will exceed demand as a result of overbuilding or economic downturns, leading to poor investment returns; risk for environmental damage and product liability claims; and adverse effects from depletion of resources, technical progress, labor relations and government regulations.
• Natural Resources Industry Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in securities of natural resources companies, in addition to other risks, include price fluctuation caused by real and perceived inflationary trends and political developments, the cost assumed by natural resource companies in complying with environmental and safety regulations, changes in supply of, or demand for, various natural resources, changes in energy prices, environmental incidents, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, changes in commodity prices, and special risks associated with natural or man-made disasters. Securities of natural resource companies that are dependent on a single commodity, or are concentrated in a single commodity sector, may exhibit high volatility attributable to commodity prices.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
• Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Mackenzie Financial Corporation served as the investment subadviser to the Portfolio until July 1, 2013, at which time, Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO) assumed direct investment management responsibilities for the Portfolio. On October 1, 2016, IICO, an affiliate of WRIMCO, became the Portfolio’s investment adviser.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek to provide long-term growth and any income realized was incidental. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital growth and appreciation.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 31.63% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -41.06% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Natural Resources		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares		2.97%	(1.49%)	(5.28%)
S&P North American Natural Resources Sector Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	1.23%	1.07%	(0.23%)
MSCI ACWI IMI 55% Energy + 45% Materials Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		15.76%	2.35%	0.03%
MSCI ACWI IMI Energy Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		5.21%	(0.05%)	(1.49%)
MSCI ACWI IMI Materials Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		29.31%	5.00%	1.38%
Lipper Variable Annuity Natural Resources Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)		2.87%	(0.78%)	(1.50%)

[1] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it reflects a change in the Portfolio’s management fee structure.

[1] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the S&P North American Natural Resources Sector Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the three indexes noted below.)

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Natural Resources
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Natural Resources
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide capital growth and appreciation.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 44% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	44.00%
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text]	rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent	The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it reflects a change in the Portfolio’s management fee structure.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Natural Resources seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies with operations throughout the world that own, explore or develop natural resources and other basic commodities or supply goods and services to such companies. For these purposes, “natural resources” generally includes, but is not limited to: energy (such as electricity and gas utilities, producers/developers, equipment/services, storage/transportation, gas/oil refining and marketing, service/drilling, pipelines and master limited partnerships (MLPs)), alternative energy (such as uranium, coal, nuclear, hydrogen, wind, solar, fuel cells), industrial products (such as building materials, cement, packaging, chemicals, materials infrastructure, supporting transport and machinery), forest products (such as lumber, plywood, pulp, paper, newsprint, tissue), base metals (such as aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc, iron ore and steel), precious metals and minerals (such as gold, silver, platinum, diamonds), and agricultural products (grains and other foods, seeds, fertilizers, water). After conducting a top-down (assessing the market environment) market analysis of the natural resources industry and identifying trends and sectors, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, uses a research-oriented, bottom-up (researching individual issuers) investment approach when selecting securities for the Portfolio, focusing on company fundamentals and growth prospects. IICO invests in a blend of value and growth companies domiciled throughout the world, and emphasizes companies that it believes are strongly managed and can generate above-average capital growth and appreciation. IICO focuses on companies that it believes are high quality, have the potential for sustainable long-term growth and that are low-cost leaders that possess historically strong-producing assets. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 30 to 50). Under normal circumstances, IICO anticipates that a significant portion of the Portfolio’s holdings will consist of issuers in the energy and materials sectors. The Portfolio seeks to be diversified internationally, and therefore, IICO invests in foreign companies and U.S. companies that have principal operations in foreign jurisdictions. While IICO typically seeks to invest a majority of the Portfolio’s assets in the United States, the Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities. Exposure to companies in any one particular foreign country typically is less than 20% of the Portfolio’s total assets. The Portfolio also may have exposure to companies located in, and/or doing business in, emerging markets. An investment in foreign securities presents additional risks such as currency fluctuations and political or economic conditions affecting the foreign country. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. The Portfolio may use forward currency contracts in an effort to manage foreign currency exposure. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities to determine whether the security has ceased to offer significant growth potential, has sufficiently exceeded its target price, has become overvalued and/or whether the prospects of the issuer have deteriorated. IICO also will consider the effect of commodity price trends on certain holdings, poor capital management or whether a company has experienced a change or deterioration in its fundamentals, its valuation or its competitive advantage. IICO also may sell a security to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or to raise cash.
Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text]	rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration	Ivy VIP Natural Resources seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies with operations throughout the world that own, explore or develop natural resources and other basic commodities or supply goods and services to such companies. For these purposes, “natural resources” generally includes, but is not limited to: energy (such as electricity and gas utilities, producers/developers, equipment/services, storage/transportation, gas/oil refining and marketing, service/drilling, pipelines and master limited partnerships (MLPs)), alternative energy (such as uranium, coal, nuclear, hydrogen, wind, solar, fuel cells), industrial products (such as building materials, cement, packaging, chemicals, materials infrastructure, supporting transport and machinery), forest products (such as lumber, plywood, pulp, paper, newsprint, tissue), base metals (such as aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc, iron ore and steel), precious metals and minerals (such as gold, silver, platinum, diamonds), and agricultural products (grains and other foods, seeds, fertilizers, water).
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Commodities Risk. Investments in certain issuers, such as resource extraction and production companies, are sensitive to fluctuations in certain commodity markets, and changes in those markets may cause the Portfolio’s holdings to lose value. Commodity trading generally is considered speculative because of the significant potential for investment loss. Among the factors that could affect the value of commodities are cyclical economic conditions, weather, embargoes, tariffs, regulatory developments, sudden political events and adverse international monetary policies. Markets for commodities are likely to be volatile and there may be sharp price fluctuations even during periods when prices overall are rising. Moreover, under the Federal tax law, the Portfolio may not derive more than 10% of its annual gross income from gains (without regard to losses) resulting from selling or otherwise disposing of commodities (and other “non-qualifying” income). Accordingly, the Portfolio may be required to hold its commodities or to sell them at a loss, or to sell portfolio securities at a gain, when for investment reasons it would not otherwise do so. Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Energy Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in energy securities, in addition to other risks, include price fluctuation caused by real and perceived inflationary trends and political developments, the cost assumed in complying with environmental safety regulations, demand of energy fuels, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, and tax and other governmental regulations. Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions and Forward Foreign Currency Contracts Risk. The Portfolio may use foreign currency exchange transactions and forward foreign currency contracts to hedge certain market risks (such as interest rates, currency exchange rates and broad or specific market movement). These investment techniques involve a number of risks, including the possibility of default by the counterparty to the transaction and, to the extent IICO’s judgment as to certain market movements is incorrect, the risk of losses that are greater than if the investment technique had not been used. Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 30 to 50). As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities. Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Materials Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in securities in the materials sector, in addition to other risks, include adverse effects from commodity price volatility, exchange rates, import controls and increased competition; the possibility that production of industrial materials will exceed demand as a result of overbuilding or economic downturns, leading to poor investment returns; risk for environmental damage and product liability claims; and adverse effects from depletion of resources, technical progress, labor relations and government regulations. Natural Resources Industry Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in securities of natural resources companies, in addition to other risks, include price fluctuation caused by real and perceived inflationary trends and political developments, the cost assumed by natural resource companies in complying with environmental and safety regulations, changes in supply of, or demand for, various natural resources, changes in energy prices, environmental incidents, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, changes in commodity prices, and special risks associated with natural or man-made disasters. Securities of natural resource companies that are dependent on a single commodity, or are concentrated in a single commodity sector, may exhibit high volatility attributable to commodity prices. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. Value Stock Risk. Value stocks are stocks of companies that may have experienced adverse business or industry developments or may be subject to special risks that have caused the stocks to be out of favor and, in the opinion of IICO, undervalued. The value of a security believed by IICO to be undervalued may never reach what is believed to be its full value, such security’s value may decrease or such security may be appropriately priced.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Mackenzie Financial Corporation served as the investment subadviser to the Portfolio until July 1, 2013, at which time, Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO) assumed direct investment management responsibilities for the Portfolio. On October 1, 2016, IICO, an affiliate of WRIMCO, became the Portfolio’s investment adviser. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek to provide long-term growth and any income realized was incidental. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital growth and appreciation. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 31.63% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -41.06% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Performance Table Market Index Changed	rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged	(The Portfolio’s benchmark changed, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the S&P North American Natural Resources Sector Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the three indexes noted below.)
Ivy VIP Natural Resources | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.11%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.21%	[1]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 123
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	384
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	665
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,466
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	123
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	384
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	665
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,466
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(61.46%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	73.64%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	17.06%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(21.45%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	1.89%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	7.80%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	(13.04%)
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(22.39%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	23.81%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	2.97%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	31.63%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(41.06%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	2.97%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(1.49%)
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	(5.28%)
Ivy VIP Natural Resources | S&P North American Natural Resources Sector Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	1.23%	[2]
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	1.07%	[2]
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	(0.23%)	[2]
Ivy VIP Natural Resources | MSCI ACWI IMI 55% Energy + 45% Materials Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	15.76%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	2.35%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	0.03%
Ivy VIP Natural Resources | MSCI ACWI IMI Energy Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	5.21%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(0.05%)
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	(1.49%)
Ivy VIP Natural Resources | MSCI ACWI IMI Materials Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	29.31%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	5.00%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	1.38%
Ivy VIP Natural Resources | Lipper Variable Annuity Natural Resources Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	2.87%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(0.78%)
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	(1.50%)

[1] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown above does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because it reflects a change in the Portfolio’s management fee structure.

[2] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the S&P North American Natural Resources Sector Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the three indexes noted below.)

XML

Ivy VIP Science and Technology

Ivy VIP Science and Technology

Objective

To seek to provide growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Ivy VIP Science and Technology - USD ($)	Class I	Class II
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses - Ivy VIP Science and Technology		Class I	Class II
Management Fees		0.85%	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		none	0.25%
Other Expenses		0.05%	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	[1]	0.90%	1.15%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example - Ivy VIP Science and Technology - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	92	287	498	1,108
Class II	117	365	633	1,398

Expense Example, No Redemption - Ivy VIP Science and Technology - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	92	287	498	1,108
Class II	117	365	633	1,398

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 27% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Science and Technology invests primarily in the equity securities of science and technology companies around the globe. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of science or technology companies. Such companies may include companies that, in the opinion of Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, derive a competitive advantage by the application of scientific or technological developments or discoveries to grow their business or increase their competitive advantage. Science and technology companies are companies whose products, processes or services, in the opinion of IICO, are being, or are expected to be, significantly benefited by the use or commercial application of scientific or technological developments or discoveries. The Portfolio also may invest in companies that utilize science and/or technology as an agent of change to significantly enhance their business opportunities. The Portfolio may invest in securities issued by companies of any size, and may invest without limitation in foreign securities, including securities of issuers within emerging markets.

The Portfolio is non-diversified, meaning that it may invest a significant portion of its total assets in a limited number of issuers.

IICO typically emphasizes growth potential in selecting stocks; that is, IICO seeks companies in which earnings are likely to grow faster than the economy. IICO aims to identify strong secular trends within industries and then applies a largely bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection process by considering a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio. These may include but are not limited to a company’s growth potential, earnings potential, quality of management, valuation, financial statements, industry position/market size potential and applicable economic and market conditions, as well as whether a company’s products and services have high barriers to entry. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60).

Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities in order to determine whether the security has ceased to offer significant growth potential, has become overvalued and/or whether the company prospects of the issuer have deteriorated due to a change in management, change in strategy and/or a change in its financial characteristics. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Concentration Risk. Because the Portfolio invests more than 25% of its total assets in the science and technology industry, the Portfolio’s performance may be more susceptible to a single economic, regulatory or technological occurrence than a fund that does not concentrate its investments in this industry. Securities of companies within specific industries or sectors of the economy may periodically perform differently than the overall market. In addition, the Portfolio’s performance may be more volatile than an investment in a portfolio of broad market securities and may underperform the market as a whole, due to the relatively limited number of issuers of science and technology related securities.
• Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets.
• Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.
• Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.
• Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60), and the Portfolio’s manager also tends to invest a significant portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a limited number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities or if the Portfolio’s manager invested a greater portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a larger number of stocks.
• Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation.
• Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.
• Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Mid Size Company Risk. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies due to such companies’ limited product lines, limited markets and financial resources and dependence upon a relatively small management group. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of larger companies and may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns.
• Non-Diversification Risk. The Portfolio is a “non-diversified” mutual fund and, as such, its investments are not required to meet certain diversification requirements under Federal law. Compared with “diversified” portfolios, the Portfolio may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of an issuer. Thus, the Portfolio may hold fewer securities than other portfolios. A decline in the value of those investments would cause the Portfolio’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Portfolio held more diversified holdings.
• Science and Technology Industry Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in science and technology securities, in addition to other risks, include: operating in rapidly changing fields, abrupt or erratic market movements, limited product lines, markets or financial resources, management that is dependent on a limited number of people, short product cycles, aggressive pricing of products and services, new market entrants and obsolescence of existing technology. In addition, these securities may be impacted by commodity and energy prices, which can be volatile, and may increase the volatility of these securities.
• Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly.
• Small Company Risk. Securities of small-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small-capitalization companies at the desired time.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term capital growth. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 20.14% (the first quarter of 2012) and the lowest quarterly return was -18.81% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Science and Technology	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	32.12%	15.96%	10.48%
S&P North American Technology Sector Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	37.78%	21.68%	12.25%
Lipper Variable Annuity Science & Technology Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	33.40%	18.47%	9.92%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Science and Technology
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Science and Technology
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide growth of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 27% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	27.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Science and Technology invests primarily in the equity securities of science and technology companies around the globe. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of science or technology companies. Such companies may include companies that, in the opinion of Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, derive a competitive advantage by the application of scientific or technological developments or discoveries to grow their business or increase their competitive advantage. Science and technology companies are companies whose products, processes or services, in the opinion of IICO, are being, or are expected to be, significantly benefited by the use or commercial application of scientific or technological developments or discoveries. The Portfolio also may invest in companies that utilize science and/or technology as an agent of change to significantly enhance their business opportunities. The Portfolio may invest in securities issued by companies of any size, and may invest without limitation in foreign securities, including securities of issuers within emerging markets. The Portfolio is non-diversified, meaning that it may invest a significant portion of its total assets in a limited number of issuers. IICO typically emphasizes growth potential in selecting stocks; that is, IICO seeks companies in which earnings are likely to grow faster than the economy. IICO aims to identify strong secular trends within industries and then applies a largely bottom-up (researching individual issuers) stock selection process by considering a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio. These may include but are not limited to a company’s growth potential, earnings potential, quality of management, valuation, financial statements, industry position/market size potential and applicable economic and market conditions, as well as whether a company’s products and services have high barriers to entry. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60). Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities in order to determine whether the security has ceased to offer significant growth potential, has become overvalued and/or whether the company prospects of the issuer have deteriorated due to a change in management, change in strategy and/or a change in its financial characteristics. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text]	rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration	Ivy VIP Science and Technology invests primarily in the equity securities of science and technology companies around the globe. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of science or technology companies. Such companies may include companies that, in the opinion of Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, derive a competitive advantage by the application of scientific or technological developments or discoveries to grow their business or increase their competitive advantage. Science and technology companies are companies whose products, processes or services, in the opinion of IICO, are being, or are expected to be, significantly benefited by the use or commercial application of scientific or technological developments or discoveries.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Concentration Risk. Because the Portfolio invests more than 25% of its total assets in the science and technology industry, the Portfolio’s performance may be more susceptible to a single economic, regulatory or technological occurrence than a fund that does not concentrate its investments in this industry. Securities of companies within specific industries or sectors of the economy may periodically perform differently than the overall market. In addition, the Portfolio’s performance may be more volatile than an investment in a portfolio of broad market securities and may underperform the market as a whole, due to the relatively limited number of issuers of science and technology related securities. Emerging Market Risk. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold. Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Growth Stock Risk. Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may be more volatile or not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 40 to 60), and the Portfolio’s manager also tends to invest a significant portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a limited number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities or if the Portfolio’s manager invested a greater portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a larger number of stocks. Information Technology Sector Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in the information technology sector, in addition to other risks, include the intense competition to which information technology companies may be subject; the dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel among information technology companies; effects on profitability from being heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights and the loss or impairment of those rights; obsolescence of existing technology; general economic conditions; and government regulation. Large Company Risk. Large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies. Liquidity Risk. Generally, a security is liquid if the Portfolio is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Mid Size Company Risk. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of larger companies due to such companies’ limited product lines, limited markets and financial resources and dependence upon a relatively small management group. Securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of larger companies and may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. Non-Diversification Risk. The Portfolio is a “non-diversified” mutual fund and, as such, its investments are not required to meet certain diversification requirements under Federal law. Compared with “diversified” portfolios, the Portfolio may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of an issuer. Thus, the Portfolio may hold fewer securities than other portfolios. A decline in the value of those investments would cause the Portfolio’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Portfolio held more diversified holdings. Science and Technology Industry Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in science and technology securities, in addition to other risks, include: operating in rapidly changing fields, abrupt or erratic market movements, limited product lines, markets or financial resources, management that is dependent on a limited number of people, short product cycles, aggressive pricing of products and services, new market entrants and obsolescence of existing technology. In addition, these securities may be impacted by commodity and energy prices, which can be volatile, and may increase the volatility of these securities. Sector Risk. At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a broadly related group of industries within an economic sector. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic or market events, making the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. Small Company Risk. Securities of small-capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small-capitalization companies at the desired time.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]	rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus	Non-Diversification Risk. The Portfolio is a “non-diversified” mutual fund and, as such, its investments are not required to meet certain diversification requirements under Federal law. Compared with “diversified” portfolios, the Portfolio may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of an issuer. Thus, the Portfolio may hold fewer securities than other portfolios. A decline in the value of those investments would cause the Portfolio’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Portfolio held more diversified holdings.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year. Once that class has a full calendar year of performance, it will be included in the table below. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term capital growth. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance One Year or Less [Text]	rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess	No performance information is presented for the Portfolio’s Class I shares because the share class has not been in existence for a full calendar year.
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 20.14% (the first quarter of 2012) and the lowest quarterly return was -18.81% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Ivy VIP Science and Technology | Class I
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.90%	[1]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 92
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	287
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	498
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,108
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	92
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	287
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	498
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	1,108
Ivy VIP Science and Technology | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.15%	[1]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 117
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	365
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	633
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,398
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	117
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	365
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	633
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,398
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(33.89%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	43.84%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	12.75%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	(5.77%)
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	27.83%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	56.39%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	2.91%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	(2.88%)
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	1.54%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	32.12%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Mar. 31, 2012
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	20.14%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(18.81%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	32.12%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	15.96%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	10.48%
Ivy VIP Science and Technology | S&P North American Technology Sector Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	37.78%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	21.68%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	12.25%
Ivy VIP Science and Technology | Lipper Variable Annuity Science & Technology Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	33.40%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	18.47%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	9.92%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees.

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Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities

Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities

Objective

To seek to provide total return through capital appreciation and current income.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities Class II
Management Fees	0.90%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.16%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.31%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	0.09%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	1.22%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same taking into account the management fee reduction for the period indicated above. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities | Class II | USD ($)	124	406	710	1,571

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities | Class II | USD ($)	124	406	710	1,571

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 73% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in the securities of companies in the real estate or real estate-related industries. “Real estate” securities include securities of issuers that receive at least 50% of their gross revenue from the construction, ownership, leasing, management, financing or sale of residential, commercial or industrial real estate. “Real estate-related” securities include securities issued by companies primarily engaged in businesses that sell or offer products or services that are closely related to the real estate industry. The Portfolio does not directly invest in real estate.

Most of the Portfolio’s real estate securities portfolio consists of securities issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other real estate operating companies (REOCs) that are listed on a securities exchange or traded over-the-counter. A REIT is a corporation (or a trust or association that otherwise would be taxable as a domestic corporation) that invests in real estate, mortgages on real estate or shares issued by other REITs and qualifies for pass-through Federal income tax treatment provided it meets certain conditions, including the requirement that it distribute at least 90% of its taxable income. A REOC is a corporation or partnership (or an entity classified as such for Federal tax purposes) that makes similar investments, except that a REOC has not elected or qualified to be taxed as a REIT and, therefore, among other differences, does not have a requirement to distribute any of its taxable income. REOCs also are more flexible than REITs in terms of what types of real estate investments they can make. At times, the Portfolio may invest a significant portion of its total assets in a limited number of issuers.

The Portfolio’s investment subadviser, Securian Asset Management, Inc. (Securian), primarily utilizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) fundamental stock-picking approach in selecting what it believes are high-quality securities for investment by the Portfolio, which may include consideration of factors such as an issuer’s financial condition and valuation, capital structure and risk, income durability, dividend sustainability, financial performance, quality of management, policies and strategies, real estate properties and competitive market condition. Other key attributes considered include an issuer’s liquidity, transparency, diversification, return history and cash flow growth potential. The Portfolio then generally invests in those issuers that Securian believes have potential for long-term sustainable growth in earnings, or those trading at discounts to the underlying value of assets owned. Securian also seeks companies it believes have strong profitability and the ability to provide a strong return on investment, a dominant market position, stable property management and high-quality buildings and building maintenance. As part of its investment process, Securian also considers macro-economic and technical factors impacting real estate securities.

Securian considers various indicators in determining to sell a security, which may include the following: relative valuation is no longer compelling and operating conditions and/or performance are not sustainable, company fundamentals have deteriorated or do not meet expectations, and economics, financial market or sector of the real estate industry has weakened. Securian also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.
• Concentration Risk. Because the Portfolio invests more than 25% of its total assets in the real estate industry, the Portfolio’s performance may be more susceptible to a single economic, regulatory or technological occurrence than a fund that does not concentrate its investments in this industry. Securities of companies within specific industries or sectors of the economy may periodically perform differently than the overall market. In addition, the Portfolio’s performance may be more volatile than an investment in a portfolio of broad market securities and may underperform the market as a whole, due to the relatively limited number of issuers of real estate and real estate related securities.
• Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks, and the Portfolio’s managers also tend to invest a significant portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a limited number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities or if the Portfolio’s managers invested a greater portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a larger number of stocks.
• Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less.
• Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. The value of dividend-paying common stocks, including equity REITs, can decline when interest rates rise. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on Securian’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Real Estate Industry Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in real estate securities, in addition to other risks, include rental income fluctuation, depreciation, property tax value changes, differences in real estate market values, overbuilding and extended vacancies, increased competition, operating expenses or zoning laws, costs of environmental clean-up or damages from natural disasters, cash flow fluctuations, and defaults by borrowers and tenants.
• REIT-Related Risk. The value of the Portfolio’s securities of a REIT may be adversely affected by changes in the value of the REIT’s underlying property or the property secured by mortgages the REIT holds, loss of REIT Federal tax status or changes in laws and/or rules related to that status, or the REIT’s failure to maintain its exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. In addition, the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income from REIT securities due to falling interest rates or decreasing dividend payments.
• REOC-Related Risk. REOCs are not required to pay any specific level of income as dividends, and there is no minimum restriction on the number of owners or limits on ownership concentration. The value of the Portfolio’s REOC securities may be adversely affected by certain of the same factors that adversely affect REITs. In addition, a corporate REOC does not qualify for the favorable Federal tax treatment that is accorded a REIT. In addition, the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income from REOC securities due to falling interest rates or decreasing dividend payments.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 29.85% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -36.77% (the fourth quarter of 2008).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares		5.39%	8.67%	6.65%
FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	5.23%	9.46%	7.44%
Wilshire US Real Estate Securities Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		4.84%	9.70%	7.36%
Lipper Variable Annuity Real Estate Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)		5.45%	8.48%	6.95%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, has contractually agreed to reduce the management fee paid by the Portfolio by an annual rate of 0.09% of average daily net assets. Prior to that date, the reduction may not be terminated by IICO or the Board of Trustees.

[1] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Wilshire US Real Estate Securities Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Wilshire US Real Estate Securities Index.)

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide total return through capital appreciation and current income.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination	April 30, 2019
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 73% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	73.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same taking into account the management fee reduction for the period indicated above. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in the securities of companies in the real estate or real estate-related industries. “Real estate” securities include securities of issuers that receive at least 50% of their gross revenue from the construction, ownership, leasing, management, financing or sale of residential, commercial or industrial real estate. “Real estate-related” securities include securities issued by companies primarily engaged in businesses that sell or offer products or services that are closely related to the real estate industry. The Portfolio does not directly invest in real estate. Most of the Portfolio’s real estate securities portfolio consists of securities issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other real estate operating companies (REOCs) that are listed on a securities exchange or traded over-the-counter. A REIT is a corporation (or a trust or association that otherwise would be taxable as a domestic corporation) that invests in real estate, mortgages on real estate or shares issued by other REITs and qualifies for pass-through Federal income tax treatment provided it meets certain conditions, including the requirement that it distribute at least 90% of its taxable income. A REOC is a corporation or partnership (or an entity classified as such for Federal tax purposes) that makes similar investments, except that a REOC has not elected or qualified to be taxed as a REIT and, therefore, among other differences, does not have a requirement to distribute any of its taxable income. REOCs also are more flexible than REITs in terms of what types of real estate investments they can make. At times, the Portfolio may invest a significant portion of its total assets in a limited number of issuers. The Portfolio’s investment subadviser, Securian Asset Management, Inc. (Securian), primarily utilizes a bottom-up (researching individual issuers) fundamental stock-picking approach in selecting what it believes are high-quality securities for investment by the Portfolio, which may include consideration of factors such as an issuer’s financial condition and valuation, capital structure and risk, income durability, dividend sustainability, financial performance, quality of management, policies and strategies, real estate properties and competitive market condition. Other key attributes considered include an issuer’s liquidity, transparency, diversification, return history and cash flow growth potential. The Portfolio then generally invests in those issuers that Securian believes have potential for long-term sustainable growth in earnings, or those trading at discounts to the underlying value of assets owned. Securian also seeks companies it believes have strong profitability and the ability to provide a strong return on investment, a dominant market position, stable property management and high-quality buildings and building maintenance. As part of its investment process, Securian also considers macro-economic and technical factors impacting real estate securities. Securian considers various indicators in determining to sell a security, which may include the following: relative valuation is no longer compelling and operating conditions and/or performance are not sustainable, company fundamentals have deteriorated or do not meet expectations, and economics, financial market or sector of the real estate industry has weakened. Securian also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.
Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text]	rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration	Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in the securities of companies in the real estate or real estate-related industries. “Real estate” securities include securities of issuers that receive at least 50% of their gross revenue from the construction, ownership, leasing, management, financing or sale of residential, commercial or industrial real estate. “Real estate-related” securities include securities issued by companies primarily engaged in businesses that sell or offer products or services that are closely related to the real estate industry. The Portfolio does not directly invest in real estate.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company. Concentration Risk. Because the Portfolio invests more than 25% of its total assets in the real estate industry, the Portfolio’s performance may be more susceptible to a single economic, regulatory or technological occurrence than a fund that does not concentrate its investments in this industry. Securities of companies within specific industries or sectors of the economy may periodically perform differently than the overall market. In addition, the Portfolio’s performance may be more volatile than an investment in a portfolio of broad market securities and may underperform the market as a whole, due to the relatively limited number of issuers of real estate and real estate related securities. Holdings Risk. The Portfolio typically holds a limited number of stocks, and the Portfolio’s managers also tend to invest a significant portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a limited number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Portfolio may have a greater impact on the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) than it would if the Portfolio invested in a larger number of securities or if the Portfolio’s managers invested a greater portion of the Portfolio’s total assets in a larger number of stocks. Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less. Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. The value of dividend-paying common stocks, including equity REITs, can decline when interest rates rise. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on Securian’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Real Estate Industry Risk. Investment risks associated with investing in real estate securities, in addition to other risks, include rental income fluctuation, depreciation, property tax value changes, differences in real estate market values, overbuilding and extended vacancies, increased competition, operating expenses or zoning laws, costs of environmental clean-up or damages from natural disasters, cash flow fluctuations, and defaults by borrowers and tenants. REIT-Related Risk. The value of the Portfolio’s securities of a REIT may be adversely affected by changes in the value of the REIT’s underlying property or the property secured by mortgages the REIT holds, loss of REIT Federal tax status or changes in laws and/or rules related to that status, or the REIT’s failure to maintain its exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. In addition, the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income from REIT securities due to falling interest rates or decreasing dividend payments. REOC-Related Risk. REOCs are not required to pay any specific level of income as dividends, and there is no minimum restriction on the number of owners or limits on ownership concentration. The value of the Portfolio’s REOC securities may be adversely affected by certain of the same factors that adversely affect REITs. In addition, a corporate REOC does not qualify for the favorable Federal tax treatment that is accorded a REIT. In addition, the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income from REOC securities due to falling interest rates or decreasing dividend payments.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Availability Phone [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone	800.777.6472
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 29.85% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -36.77% (the fourth quarter of 2008).
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Performance Table Market Index Changed	rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged	(The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Wilshire US Real Estate Securities Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Wilshire US Real Estate Securities Index.)
Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.90%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.16%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	1.31%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	0.09%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.22%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 124
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	406
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	710
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	1,571
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	124
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	406
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	710
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 1,571
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	(36.04%)
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	23.62%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	28.51%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	5.01%
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	17.72%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	1.13%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	30.17%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	4.78%
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	4.26%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	5.39%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	29.85%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(36.77%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	5.39%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	8.67%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	6.65%
Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities | FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	5.23%	[2]
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	9.46%	[2]
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.44%	[2]
Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities | Wilshire US Real Estate Securities Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	4.84%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	9.70%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	7.36%
Ivy VIP Securian Real Estate Securities | Lipper Variable Annuity Real Estate Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	5.45%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	8.48%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	6.95%

[1] Through April 30, 2019, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, has contractually agreed to reduce the management fee paid by the Portfolio by an annual rate of 0.09% of average daily net assets. Prior to that date, the reduction may not be terminated by IICO or the Board of Trustees.

[2] (The Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Wilshire US Real Estate Securities Index, effective April 30, 2018. IICO believes that the FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index is more reflective of the types of securities in which the Portfolio invests than the Wilshire US Real Estate Securities Index.)

XML

Ivy VIP Government Money Market

Ivy VIP Government Money Market

Objective

To seek to provide current income consistent with maintaining liquidity and preservation of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Government Money Market Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Government Money Market Class II
Management Fees	0.35%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	none
Other Expenses	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.40%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Government Money Market | Class II | USD ($)	41	128	224	505

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Government Money Market | Class II | USD ($)	41	128	224	505

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Government Money Market seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 99.5% of its total assets in: (1) debt securities issued or guaranteed by the United States or certain United States government agencies or instrumentalities (government securities), (2) repurchase agreements that are fully collateralized by cash and/or government securities, and/or (3) cash. The Portfolio also has adopted a policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in government securities and/or repurchase agreements that are fully collateralized by government securities. In contrast to the Portfolio’s 99.5% policy, the Portfolio’s 80% policy does not include cash or repurchase agreements collateralized by cash. The Portfolio’s investments in government securities may include direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury (such as Treasury bills, notes or bonds), obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest (but not as to market value) by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by government agencies or government-sponsored enterprises. The Portfolio considers repurchase agreements with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to be government securities for purposes of the Portfolio’s investment policies.

The Portfolio seeks, as well, to maintain a net asset value (NAV) of $1.00 per share. The Portfolio maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity of 60 calendar days or less, a dollar-weighted average life of 120 calendar days or less, and the Portfolio invests only in securities with a remaining maturity of not more than 397 calendar days.

Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, selects securities for the Portfolio in compliance with the maturity, quality, diversification and liquidity requirements of Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (Rule 2a-7). IICO considers a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio, including the credit quality of the particular issuer or guarantor of the security, along with the liquidity, maturity and yield.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses when buying securities to determine whether the security no longer offers adequate return or complies with Rule 2a-7. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

The Portfolio intends to continue to qualify as a “government money market fund,” as such term is defined in or interpreted under Rule 2a-7. “Government money market funds” are exempt from requirements that permit money market funds to impose liquidity fees and/or temporary redemption gates. While the Board of Trustees of Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios (Board) may elect in the future to subject the Portfolio to liquidity fees or redemption gates, the Board has not elected to do so at this time and has no current intention to do so.

Principal Investment Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Portfolio. Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. An investment in the Portfolio is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Portfolio’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the Portfolio, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Portfolio at any time. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Amortized Cost Risk. In the event that the Board determines that the extent of the deviation between the Portfolio’s amortized cost per share and its market-based NAV per share could result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Board will cause the Portfolio to take such action as it deems appropriate to eliminate, or reduce to the extent practicable, such dilution or unfair results, including but not limited to, suspending redemption of Portfolio shares or liquidating the Portfolio.

• Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk. U.S. government securities generally have the least credit risk, but are not completely free from credit risk. Any downgrade of securities issued by the U.S. government may result in a downgrade of securities issued by its agencies or instrumentalities.

• Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less.

• Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Money Market Fund Regulatory Risk. As a money market fund, the Portfolio is subject to the specific rules governing money market funds and is subject to regulation by the SEC. These rules govern the manner in which the Portfolio is structured and operated and could significantly affect the money market fund industry generally and, therefore, may impact Portfolio expenses, operations, returns and liquidity.

• Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk and extension risk. When interest rates decline, unscheduled prepayments can be expected to accelerate, shortening the average lives of such securities, and the Portfolio may be required to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments also would limit the potential for capital appreciation on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, thereby reducing the Portfolio’s income. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the values of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities generally fall. Rising interest rates typically result in decreased prepayments and longer average lives of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities. The mortgage-backed securities in which the Portfolio generally invests are U.S. government securities. See U.S. Government Securities Risk for the risks of these types of securities.

• Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income.

• Repurchase Agreements Risk. Repurchase agreements are agreements in which the seller of a security to the Portfolio agrees to repurchase that security from the Portfolio at a mutually agreed-upon price and time. The return on the securities subject to the repurchase agreement may be more or less than the return on the repurchase agreement. Repurchase agreements carry the risk that the counterparty may not fulfill its obligations under the agreement. This could cause the Portfolio’s income to decline and may impact the Portfolio’s performance.

• U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with that of a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek maximum current income consistent with stability of principal. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide current income consistent with maintaining liquidity and preservation of capital.

Effective October 14, 2016, the Portfolio changed its name and investment strategy to reflect that it is classified as a “government money market fund,” as such term is defined in or interpreted under Rule 2a-7. Performance prior to October 14, 2016 reflects the Portfolio’s former investment strategy as a prime money market fund, which permitted investments in certain types of securities that, as a government money market fund, the Portfolio is no longer permitted to hold.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance, including its most recent 7-day yield.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 0.76% (the first quarter of 2008) and the lowest quarterly return was 0.00% (the third and fourth quarters of 2010 and the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and the first quarter of 2016). As of December 31, 2017, the 7-day yield was 1.03%. Yields are computed by annualizing the average daily dividend per share during the time period for which the yield is presented.

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Government Money Market	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class II Shares	0.59%	0.16%	0.41%
Lipper Variable Annuity Money Market Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)	0.39%	0.09%	0.31%

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Ivy VIP Government Money Market
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Ivy VIP Government Money Market
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	To seek to provide current income consistent with maintaining liquidity and preservation of capital.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Ivy VIP Government Money Market seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 99.5% of its total assets in: (1) debt securities issued or guaranteed by the United States or certain United States government agencies or instrumentalities (government securities), (2) repurchase agreements that are fully collateralized by cash and/or government securities, and/or (3) cash. The Portfolio also has adopted a policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in government securities and/or repurchase agreements that are fully collateralized by government securities. In contrast to the Portfolio’s 99.5% policy, the Portfolio’s 80% policy does not include cash or repurchase agreements collateralized by cash. The Portfolio’s investments in government securities may include direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury (such as Treasury bills, notes or bonds), obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest (but not as to market value) by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by government agencies or government-sponsored enterprises. The Portfolio considers repurchase agreements with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to be government securities for purposes of the Portfolio’s investment policies. The Portfolio seeks, as well, to maintain a net asset value (NAV) of $1.00 per share. The Portfolio maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity of 60 calendar days or less, a dollar-weighted average life of 120 calendar days or less, and the Portfolio invests only in securities with a remaining maturity of not more than 397 calendar days. Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, selects securities for the Portfolio in compliance with the maturity, quality, diversification and liquidity requirements of Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (Rule 2a-7). IICO considers a number of factors in selecting securities for the Portfolio, including the credit quality of the particular issuer or guarantor of the security, along with the liquidity, maturity and yield. Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO uses the same type of analysis that it uses when buying securities to determine whether the security no longer offers adequate return or complies with Rule 2a-7. IICO also may sell a security to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash. The Portfolio intends to continue to qualify as a “government money market fund,” as such term is defined in or interpreted under Rule 2a-7. “Government money market funds” are exempt from requirements that permit money market funds to impose liquidity fees and/or temporary redemption gates. While the Board of Trustees of Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios (Board) may elect in the future to subject the Portfolio to liquidity fees or redemption gates, the Board has not elected to do so at this time and has no current intention to do so.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	You could lose money by investing in the Portfolio. Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. An investment in the Portfolio is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Portfolio’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the Portfolio, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Portfolio at any time. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include: Amortized Cost Risk. In the event that the Board determines that the extent of the deviation between the Portfolio’s amortized cost per share and its market-based NAV per share could result in material dilution or other unfair results to shareholders, the Board will cause the Portfolio to take such action as it deems appropriate to eliminate, or reduce to the extent practicable, such dilution or unfair results, including but not limited to, suspending redemption of Portfolio shares or liquidating the Portfolio. Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk. U.S. government securities generally have the least credit risk, but are not completely free from credit risk. Any downgrade of securities issued by the U.S. government may result in a downgrade of securities issued by its agencies or instrumentalities. Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less. Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally. Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally. Money Market Fund Regulatory Risk. As a money market fund, the Portfolio is subject to the specific rules governing money market funds and is subject to regulation by the SEC. These rules govern the manner in which the Portfolio is structured and operated and could significantly affect the money market fund industry generally and, therefore, may impact Portfolio expenses, operations, returns and liquidity. Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk and extension risk. When interest rates decline, unscheduled prepayments can be expected to accelerate, shortening the average lives of such securities, and the Portfolio may be required to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments also would limit the potential for capital appreciation on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, thereby reducing the Portfolio’s income. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the values of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities generally fall. Rising interest rates typically result in decreased prepayments and longer average lives of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities. The mortgage-backed securities in which the Portfolio generally invests are U.S. government securities. See U.S. Government Securities Risk for the risks of these types of securities. Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income. Repurchase Agreements Risk. Repurchase agreements are agreements in which the seller of a security to the Portfolio agrees to repurchase that security from the Portfolio at a mutually agreed-upon price and time. The return on the securities subject to the repurchase agreement may be more or less than the return on the repurchase agreement. Repurchase agreements carry the risk that the counterparty may not fulfill its obligations under the agreement. This could cause the Portfolio’s income to decline and may impact the Portfolio’s performance. U.S. Government Securities Risk. Certain U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury (Treasury) securities and securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other U.S. government securities, such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and, instead, may be supported only by the credit of the issuer or by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	You could lose money by investing in the Portfolio.
Risk Money Market Fund [Text]	rr_RiskMoneyMarketFund	Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. An investment in the Portfolio is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]	rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution	An investment in the Portfolio is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with that of a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results. Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower. Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek maximum current income consistent with stability of principal. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide current income consistent with maintaining liquidity and preservation of capital. Effective October 14, 2016, the Portfolio changed its name and investment strategy to reflect that it is classified as a “government money market fund,” as such term is defined in or interpreted under Rule 2a-7. Performance prior to October 14, 2016 reflects the Portfolio’s former investment strategy as a prime money market fund, which permitted investments in certain types of securities that, as a government money market fund, the Portfolio is no longer permitted to hold. The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance, including its most recent 7-day yield.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with that of a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio).
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	Chart of Year-by-Year Returns as of December 31 each year
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]	rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads	The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 0.76% (the first quarter of 2008) and the lowest quarterly return was 0.00% (the third and fourth quarters of 2010 and the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and the first quarter of 2016). As of December 31, 2017, the 7-day yield was 1.03%. Yields are computed by annualizing the average daily dividend per share during the time period for which the yield is presented.
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	Average Annual Total Returns as of December 31, 2017
Money Market Seven Day Yield, Caption [Text]	rr_MoneyMarketSevenDayYieldCaption	As of December 31, 2017, the 7-day yield was 1.03%. Yields are computed by annualizing the average daily dividend per share during the time period for which the yield is presented.
Money Market Seven Day Yield Phone	rr_MoneyMarketSevenDayYieldPhone	800.777.6472
Money Market Seven Day Yield	rr_MoneyMarketSevenDayYield	1.03%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market | Class II
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.35%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.05%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.40%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 41
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	128
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	224
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	505
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01	41
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03	128
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05	224
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10	$ 505
2008	rr_AnnualReturn2008	2.18%
2009	rr_AnnualReturn2009	1.02%
2010	rr_AnnualReturn2010	0.08%
2011	rr_AnnualReturn2011	0.02%
2012	rr_AnnualReturn2012	0.02%
2013	rr_AnnualReturn2013	0.02%
2014	rr_AnnualReturn2014	0.02%
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	0.02%
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	0.13%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	0.59%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Mar. 31, 2008
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	0.76%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Mar. 31, 2016
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	none
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 4th Quarter 2015	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate4thQuarter2015	Dec. 31, 2015
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 3rd Quarter 2015	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate3rdQuarter2015	Sep. 30, 2015
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 2nd Quarter 2015	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate2ndQuarter2015	Jun. 30, 2015
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 1st Quarter 2015	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate1stQuarter2015	Mar. 31, 2015
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 4th Quarter 2014	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate4thQuarter2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 3rd Quarter 2014	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate3rdQuarter2014	Sep. 30, 2014
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 2nd Quarter 2014	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate2ndQuarter2014	Jun. 30, 2014
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 1st Quarter 2014	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate1stQuarter2014	Mar. 31, 2014
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 4th Quarter 2013	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate4thQuarter2013	Dec. 31, 2013
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 3rd Quarter 2013	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate3rdQuarter2013	Sep. 30, 2013
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 2nd Quarter 2013	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate2ndQuarter2013	Jun. 30, 2013
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 1st Quarter 2013	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate1stQuarter2013	Mar. 31, 2013
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 4th Quarter 2012	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate4thQuarter2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 3rd Quarter 2012	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate3rdQuarter2012	Sep. 30, 2012
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 2nd Quarter 2012	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate2ndQuarter2012	Jun. 30, 2012
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 1st Quarter 2012	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate1stQuarter2012	Mar. 31, 2012
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 4th Quarter 2011	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate4thQuarter2011	Dec. 31, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 3rd Quarter 2011	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate3rdQuarter2011	Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 2nd Quarter 2011	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate2ndQuarter2011	Jun. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 1st Quarter 2011	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate1stQuarter2011	Mar. 31, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 4th Quarter 2010	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDate4thQuarter2010	Dec. 31, 2010
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date 3rd Quarter 2010	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnDatethirdQuarter2010	Sep. 30, 2010
Lowest Quarterly Return, Fourth Quarter 2015	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFourthQuarter2015	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Third Quarter 2015	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnThirdQuarter2015	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Second Quarter 2015	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnSecondQuarter2015	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, First Quarter 2015	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFirstQuarter2015	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Fourth Quarter 2014	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFourthQuarter2014	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Third Quarter 2014	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnThirdQuarter2014	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Second Quarter 2014	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnSecondQuarter2014	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, First Quarter 2014	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFirstQuarter2014	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Fourth Quarter 2013	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFourthQuarter2013	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Third Quarter 2013	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnThirdQuarter2013	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Second Quarter 2013	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnSecondQuarter2013	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, First Quarter 2013	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFirstQuarter2013	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Fourth Quarter 2012	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFourthQuarter2012	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Third Quarter 2012	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnThirdQuarter2012	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Second Quarter 2012	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnSecondQuarter2012	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, First Quarter 2012	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFirstQuarter2012	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Fourth Quarter 2011	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFourthQuarter2011	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Third Quarter 2011	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnThirdQuarter2011	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Second Quarter 2011	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnSecondQuarter2011	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, First Quarter 2011	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFirstQuarter2011	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Fourth Quarter 2010	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnFourthQuarter2010	0.00%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Third Quarter 2010	ifvip_LowestQuarterlyReturnThirdQuarter2010	0.00%
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	0.59%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	0.16%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	0.41%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market | Lipper Variable Annuity Money Market Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	0.39%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	0.09%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	0.31%

XML

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive

Objective

To seek to provide growth of capital consistent with a more aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive Class II
Management Fees	none
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	none
Other Expenses	0.07%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	1.02%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.09%	[2]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | Class II | USD ($)	111	347	601	1,329

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | Class II | USD ($)	111	347	601	1,329

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 20% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 50-60% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 25-35% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-20% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 0-25% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. The Portfolio’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			50-60%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			25-35%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-35%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-35%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-35%
Bonds			0-20%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-20%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			0-25%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-25%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-25%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown, and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented U.S. and international/global stocks and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds and U.S. government securities, and money market instruments. Although the majority of the Portfolio’s indirect stock holdings are of U.S. and foreign large cap companies, the Portfolio may have potentially significant exposure to mid cap companies and small cap companies. Large cap companies typically are companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion. Mid cap companies typically are companies with market capitalizations that range between $1 billion and $10 billion. Small cap companies typically are companies with market capitalizations below $3.5 billion.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive is intended for aggressive investors comfortable with incurring the risk associated with growth investing and investing in a high percentage of stocks, including foreign stocks, investors with long-term time horizons or investors who want to maximize long-term returns and who have a higher tolerance for possible short-term losses.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market.
  The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek maximum growth of capital consistent with a more aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital consistent with a more aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 12.72% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -15.01% (the third quarter of 2011).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive		1 Year	5 Years	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares		19.83%	10.93%	7.09%	Mar. 04, 2008
Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[1]	19.60%	11.33%	7.13%	Mar. 04, 2008
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		21.13%	15.58%	9.80%	Mar. 04, 2008
MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		25.03%	7.90%	3.03%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		4.09%	2.50%	4.26%	Mar. 04, 2008
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[2]	21.83%	15.79%	9.70%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[2]	3.54%	2.10%	3.90%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[2]	0.81%	0.23%	0.29%	Mar. 04, 2008

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[1] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 55% Russell 3000 Index + 30% MSCI EAFE Index + 15% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index.

[2] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Apr. 30, 2018

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

To seek to provide growth of capital consistent with a more aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 20% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

20.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees

The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 50-60% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 25-35% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-20% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 0-25% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. The Portfolio’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			50-60%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			25-35%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-35%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-35%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-35%
Bonds			0-20%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-20%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			0-25%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-25%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-25%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown, and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented U.S. and international/global stocks and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds and U.S. government securities, and money market instruments. Although the majority of the Portfolio’s indirect stock holdings are of U.S. and foreign large cap companies, the Portfolio may have potentially significant exposure to mid cap companies and small cap companies. Large cap companies typically are companies with market capitalizations of at least $10 billion. Mid cap companies typically are companies with market capitalizations that range between $1 billion and $10 billion. Small cap companies typically are companies with market capitalizations below $3.5 billion.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive is intended for aggressive investors comfortable with incurring the risk associated with growth investing and investing in a high percentage of stocks, including foreign stocks, investors with long-term time horizons or investors who want to maximize long-term returns and who have a higher tolerance for possible short-term losses.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market.
  The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

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Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek maximum growth of capital consistent with a more aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide growth of capital consistent with a more aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes.

Performance Availability Phone [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone

800.777.6472

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads

The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 12.72% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -15.01% (the third quarter of 2011).

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Performance Table Market Index Changed

rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged

Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | Class II

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

none

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.07%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

1.02%

^[1]

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.09%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

$ 111

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

347

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

601

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,329

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

111

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

347

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

601

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

$ 1,329

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

23.32%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

15.53%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(4.15%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

12.18%

2013

rr_AnnualReturn2013

27.13%

2014

rr_AnnualReturn2014

4.86%

2015

rr_AnnualReturn2015

0.34%

2016

rr_AnnualReturn2016

4.80%

2017

rr_AnnualReturn2017

19.83%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

highest quarterly return

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

12.72%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

lowest quarterly return

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2011

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(15.01%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

19.83%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

10.93%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

7.09%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

19.60%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

11.33%

^[3]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

7.13%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[3]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.13%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.58%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.80%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

25.03%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

7.90%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.03%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.09%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.50%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.26%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.83%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.79%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.70%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.54%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.10%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.90%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Aggressive | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.81%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.23%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

0.29%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[4]

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[3] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 55% Russell 3000 Index + 30% MSCI EAFE Index + 15% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index.

[4] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive

Objective

To seek to provide growth of capital, but also to seek income consistent with a moderately aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive Class II
Management Fees	none
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	none
Other Expenses	0.03%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.96%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.99%	[2]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | Class II | USD ($)	101	315	547	1,213

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | Class II | USD ($)	101	315	547	1,213

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 20% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 45-55% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 20-30% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-25% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 5-35% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class in an effort to manage volatility. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. The Portfolio’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			45-55%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			20-30%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-30%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-30%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-30%
Bonds			0-25%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-25%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			5-35%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-35%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-35%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown, and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented U.S. and international/global stocks and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds and U.S. government securities and money market instruments. Although the majority of the Portfolio’s indirect stock holdings are of U.S. and foreign large cap companies, the Portfolio is likely to have some exposure to mid cap and small cap companies.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive is intended for investors who want to maximize returns over the long term but who have a tolerance for possible short-term losses or who are looking for some additional diversification.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 11.31% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -13.12% (the third quarter of 2011).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive		1 Year	5 Years	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares		16.72%	9.59%	6.66%	Mar. 04, 2008
Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[1]	17.46%	10.33%	6.89%	Mar. 04, 2008
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		21.13%	15.58%	9.80%	Mar. 04, 2008
MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		25.03%	7.90%	3.03%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		4.09%	2.50%	4.26%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		1.27%	1.10%	2.20%	Mar. 04, 2008
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[2]	21.83%	15.79%	9.70%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[2]	3.54%	2.10%	3.90%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[2]	0.81%	0.23%	0.29%	Mar. 04, 2008

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[1] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 50% Russell 3000 Index + 25% MSCI EAFE Index + 20% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 5% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index.

[2] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Apr. 30, 2018

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

To seek to provide growth of capital, but also to seek income consistent with a moderately aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 20% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

20.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees

The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 45-55% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 20-30% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-25% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 5-35% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class in an effort to manage volatility. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. The Portfolio’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			45-55%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			20-30%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-30%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-30%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-30%
Bonds			0-25%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-25%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			5-35%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-35%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-35%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown, and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented U.S. and international/global stocks and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds and U.S. government securities and money market instruments. Although the majority of the Portfolio’s indirect stock holdings are of U.S. and foreign large cap companies, the Portfolio is likely to have some exposure to mid cap and small cap companies.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive is intended for investors who want to maximize returns over the long term but who have a tolerance for possible short-term losses or who are looking for some additional diversification.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes.

Performance Availability Phone [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone

800.777.6472

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads

The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 11.31% (the second quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -13.12% (the third quarter of 2011).

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Performance Table Market Index Changed

rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged

Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | Class II

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

none

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.03%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.96%

^[1]

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.99%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

$ 101

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

315

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

547

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,213

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

101

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

315

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

547

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

$ 1,213

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

20.70%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

14.46%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(3.02%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

10.82%

2013

rr_AnnualReturn2013

23.81%

2014

rr_AnnualReturn2014

4.61%

2015

rr_AnnualReturn2015

0.06%

2016

rr_AnnualReturn2016

4.52%

2017

rr_AnnualReturn2017

16.72%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

highest quarterly return

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

11.31%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

lowest quarterly return

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2011

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(13.12%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

16.72%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

9.59%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.66%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

17.46%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

10.33%

^[3]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.89%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[3]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.13%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.58%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.80%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

25.03%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

7.90%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.03%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.09%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.50%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.26%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

1.27%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.10%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.20%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.83%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.79%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.70%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.54%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.10%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.90%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.81%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.23%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

0.29%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[4]

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[3] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 50% Russell 3000 Index + 25% MSCI EAFE Index + 20% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 5% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index.

[4] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate

Objective

To seek to provide total return consistent with a moderate level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate Class II
Management Fees	none
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	none
Other Expenses	0.03%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.91%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.94%	[2]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | Class II | USD ($)	96	300	520	1,155

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | Class II | USD ($)	96	300	520	1,155

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 22% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 40-50% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 15-25% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-35% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 10-45% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class in an effort to add income and manage volatility. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			40-50%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			15-25%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-25%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-25%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-25%
Bonds			0-35%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-35%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			10-45%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-45%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-45%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented, primarily large cap, U.S. and, to a lesser extent, international/global stocks, as well as a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and money market instruments.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate is intended for investors who have a lower tolerance for risk than more aggressive investors and who are seeking both growth and income, who have a longer time horizon, or who are willing to accept moderate short-term price fluctuations in exchange for potential longer-term returns.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek a high level of total return consistent with a moderate level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return consistent with a moderate level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 9.62% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -10.70% (the third quarter of 2011).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate		1 Year	5 Years	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares		14.70%	8.48%	5.86%	Mar. 04, 2008
Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[1]	15.35%	9.33%	6.61%	Mar. 04, 2008
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		21.13%	15.58%	9.80%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		4.09%	2.50%	4.26%	Mar. 04, 2008
MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		25.03%	7.90%	3.03%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)		1.27%	1.10%	2.20%	Mar. 04, 2008
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[2]	21.83%	15.79%	9.70%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[2]	3.54%	2.10%	3.90%	Mar. 04, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)	[2]	0.81%	0.23%	0.29%	Mar. 04, 2008

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[1] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 45% Russell 3000 Index + 25% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 20% MSCI EAFE Index + 10% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index.

[2] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Apr. 30, 2018

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

To seek to provide total return consistent with a moderate level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 22% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

22.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees

The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 40-50% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 15-25% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-35% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 10-45% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class in an effort to add income and manage volatility. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			40-50%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			15-25%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-25%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-25%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-25%
Bonds			0-35%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-35%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			10-45%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-45%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-45%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented, primarily large cap, U.S. and, to a lesser extent, international/global stocks, as well as a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and money market instruments.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate is intended for investors who have a lower tolerance for risk than more aggressive investors and who are seeking both growth and income, who have a longer time horizon, or who are willing to accept moderate short-term price fluctuations in exchange for potential longer-term returns.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek a high level of total return consistent with a moderate level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return consistent with a moderate level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes.

Performance Availability Phone [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone

800.777.6472

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads

The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 9.62% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -10.70% (the third quarter of 2011).

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Performance Table Market Index Changed

rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged

Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | Class II

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

none

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.03%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.91%

^[1]

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.94%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

$ 96

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

300

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

520

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,155

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

96

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

300

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

520

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

$ 1,155

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

17.95%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

12.63%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(1.46%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

9.53%

2013

rr_AnnualReturn2013

20.83%

2014

rr_AnnualReturn2014

4.24%

2015

rr_AnnualReturn2015

0.32%

2016

rr_AnnualReturn2016

3.65%

2017

rr_AnnualReturn2017

14.70%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

highest quarterly return

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

9.62%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

lowest quarterly return

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2011

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(10.70%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

14.70%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

8.48%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.86%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

15.35%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

9.33%

^[3]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.61%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[3]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.13%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.58%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.80%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.09%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.50%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.26%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

25.03%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

7.90%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.03%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

1.27%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.10%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.20%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.83%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.79%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.70%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.54%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.10%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.90%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 4, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.81%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.23%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

0.29%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 04, 2008

^[4]

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[3] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 45% Russell 3000 Index + 25% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 20% MSCI EAFE Index + 10% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index.

[4] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative

Objective

To seek to provide total return consistent with a moderately conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative Class II
Management Fees	none
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	none
Other Expenses	0.05%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.85%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.90%	[2]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | Class II | USD ($)	92	287	498	1,108

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | Class II | USD ($)	92	287	498	1,108

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 24% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 0-35% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, approximately 35-45% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 15-55% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class, and approximately 10-20% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class. The Portfolio’s allocation is principally weighted towards bond investments and short-term investments while including stock investments for long-term growth. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. The Portfolio’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			35-45%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-15%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-15%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-15%
International/Global Stocks			10-20%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-20%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-20%
Bonds			0-35%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-35%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-20%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-5%
Short-Term Investments			15-55%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-55%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-55%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a diversified mixture of stocks of U.S. and, to a lesser extent, international/global stocks that typically are large cap; the Portfolio also indirectly holds a mixture of investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of non-investment grade corporate bonds and money market instruments.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative is intended for investors who have a lower tolerance for risk and whose primary goal is income, who have a shorter time horizon or who are willing to accept some amount of market volatility in exchange for greater potential income and growth.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market.
  The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek a high level of total return consistent with a moderately conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return consistent with a moderately conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 8.25% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -8.47% (the third quarter of 2011).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative		1 Year	5 Years	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares		12.77%	7.36%	5.58%	Mar. 12, 2008
Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)	[1]	13.28%	8.32%	6.44%	Mar. 12, 2008
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)		21.13%	15.58%	9.94%	Mar. 12, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)		4.09%	2.50%	4.40%	Mar. 12, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)		1.27%	1.10%	2.25%	Mar. 12, 2008
MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)		25.03%	7.90%	3.23%	Mar. 12, 2008
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)	[2]	21.83%	15.79%	9.80%	Mar. 12, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)	[2]	3.54%	2.10%	4.03%	Mar. 12, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)	[2]	0.81%	0.23%	0.28%	Mar. 12, 2008

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[1] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 40% Russell 3000 Index + 30% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 15% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index + 15% MSCI EAFE Index.

[2] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Apr. 30, 2018

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

To seek to provide total return consistent with a moderately conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 24% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

24.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees

The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 0-35% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, approximately 35-45% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 15-55% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class, and approximately 10-20% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class. The Portfolio’s allocation is principally weighted towards bond investments and short-term investments while including stock investments for long-term growth. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. The Portfolio’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			35-45%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-15%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-15%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-15%
International/Global Stocks			10-20%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-20%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-20%
Bonds			0-35%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-35%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-20%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-5%
Short-Term Investments			15-55%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-55%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-55%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a diversified mixture of stocks of U.S. and, to a lesser extent, international/global stocks that typically are large cap; the Portfolio also indirectly holds a mixture of investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of non-investment grade corporate bonds and money market instruments.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative is intended for investors who have a lower tolerance for risk and whose primary goal is income, who have a shorter time horizon or who are willing to accept some amount of market volatility in exchange for greater potential income and growth.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market.
  The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek a high level of total return consistent with a moderately conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return consistent with a moderately conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes.

Performance Availability Phone [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone

800.777.6472

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads

The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 8.25% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -8.47% (the third quarter of 2011).

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Performance Table Market Index Changed

rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged

Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | Class II

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

none

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.05%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.85%

^[1]

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.90%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

$ 92

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

287

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

498

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,108

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

92

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

287

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

498

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

$ 1,108

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

15.12%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

10.97%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

none

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

8.41%

2013

rr_AnnualReturn2013

17.71%

2014

rr_AnnualReturn2014

3.88%

2015

rr_AnnualReturn2015

0.33%

2016

rr_AnnualReturn2016

3.10%

2017

rr_AnnualReturn2017

12.77%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

highest quarterly return

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

8.25%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

lowest quarterly return

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2011

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(8.47%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

12.77%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

7.36%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.58%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 12, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

13.28%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

8.32%

^[3]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.44%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 12, 2008

^[3]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.13%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.58%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.94%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 12, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.09%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.50%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.40%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 12, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

1.27%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.10%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.25%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 12, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

25.03%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

7.90%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.23%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 12, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.83%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.79%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.80%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 12, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.54%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.10%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.03%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 12, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 12, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.81%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.23%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

0.28%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 12, 2008

^[4]

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[3] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 40% Russell 3000 Index + 30% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 15% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index + 15% MSCI EAFE Index.

[4] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative

Objective

To seek to provide total return consistent with a conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative Class II
Management Fees	none
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	none
Other Expenses	0.06%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.80%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.86%	[2]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | Class II | USD ($)	88	274	477	1,061

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | Class II | USD ($)	88	274	477	1,061

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 30% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 20-65% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class, approximately 0-40% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, approximately 30-40% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class (with stocks of various capitalization levels, but primarily large cap stocks), and approximately 5-15% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class. The Portfolio’s allocation primarily focuses on bonds and short-term investments while including stock investments for long-term growth. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. The Portfolio’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			30-40%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-15%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-15%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-15%
International/Global Stocks			5-15%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-15%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-15%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-15%
Bonds			0-40%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-40%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-20%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-5%
Short-Term Investments			20-65%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-65%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-65%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a diversified mixture of money market instruments, investment-grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities, and, to a lesser extent, stocks of primarily large cap companies.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative is intended for investors who have a low tolerance for risk and whose primary goal is income, or who have a short time horizon.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in bonds and short-term instruments, as well as, to a lesser extent, stocks, both U.S. and foreign, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek a high level of total return consistent with a conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return consistent with a conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 6.75% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -6.56% (the third quarter of 2011).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative		1 Year	5 Years	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares		10.51%	6.25%	4.95%	Mar. 13, 2008
Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)	[1]	11.24%	7.32%	6.07%	Mar. 13, 2008
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)		21.13%	15.58%	10.04%	Mar. 13, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)		4.09%	2.50%	4.32%	Mar. 13, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)		1.27%	1.10%	2.22%	Mar. 13, 2008
MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)		25.03%	7.90%	2.99%	Mar. 13, 2008
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)	[2]	21.83%	15.79%	9.90%	Mar. 13, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)	[2]	3.54%	2.10%	3.95%	Mar. 13, 2008
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)	[2]	0.81%	0.23%	0.28%	Mar. 13, 2008

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[1] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 35% Russell 3000 Index + 35% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 20% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index + 10% MSCI EAFE Index.

[2] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Apr. 30, 2018

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

To seek to provide total return consistent with a conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly. If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 30% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

30.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees

The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative seeks to achieve its objective by allocating its assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 20-65% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class, approximately 0-40% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, approximately 30-40% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class (with stocks of various capitalization levels, but primarily large cap stocks), and approximately 5-15% of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class. The Portfolio’s allocation primarily focuses on bonds and short-term investments while including stock investments for long-term growth. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund. The Portfolio’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			30-40%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-15%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-15%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-15%
International/Global Stocks			5-15%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-15%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-15%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-15%
Bonds			0-40%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-40%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-20%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-5%
Short-Term Investments			20-65%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-65%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-65%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations are projections only and may be changed by Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, from time to time. Actual allocations are not limited to the ranges shown and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative’s asset allocation on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative; therefore, allocation changes may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a diversified mixture of money market instruments, investment-grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities, and, to a lesser extent, stocks of primarily large cap companies.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative is intended for investors who have a low tolerance for risk and whose primary goal is income, or who have a short time horizon.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in bonds and short-term instruments, as well as, to a lesser extent, stocks, both U.S. and foreign, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.

• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio at its discretion. A material change in the asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.

• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek a high level of total return consistent with a conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return consistent with a conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Portfolios.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes.

Performance Availability Phone [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone

800.777.6472

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads

The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 6.75% (the third quarter of 2009) and the lowest quarterly return was -6.56% (the third quarter of 2011).

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Performance Table Market Index Changed

rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged

Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | Class II

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

none

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.06%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.80%

^[1]

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.86%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

$ 88

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

274

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

477

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,061

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

88

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

274

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

477

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

$ 1,061

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

12.95%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

9.38%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

0.75%

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

6.95%

2013

rr_AnnualReturn2013

14.75%

2014

rr_AnnualReturn2014

3.39%

2015

rr_AnnualReturn2015

0.45%

2016

rr_AnnualReturn2016

2.84%

2017

rr_AnnualReturn2017

10.51%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

highest quarterly return

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

6.75%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

lowest quarterly return

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2011

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(6.56%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

10.51%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

6.25%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.95%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 13, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

11.24%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

7.32%

^[3]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.07%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 13, 2008

^[3]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.13%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.58%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

10.04%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 13, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.09%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.50%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.32%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 13, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

1.27%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.10%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.22%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 13, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

25.03%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

7.90%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.99%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 13, 2008

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.83%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

15.79%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.90%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 13, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.54%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.10%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.95%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 13, 2008

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Conservative | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on March 13, 2008)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.81%

^[4]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.23%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

0.28%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 13, 2008

^[4]

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[3] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 35% Russell 3000 Index + 35% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 20% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index + 10% MSCI EAFE Index.

[4] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility

Objective

To seek to provide total return consistent with a moderate level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Managed Volatility Portfolios, while seeking to manage volatility of investment return.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility Class II
Management Fees	0.20%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	none
Other Expenses	0.03%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.89%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.12%	[2]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | Class II | USD ($)	114	356	617	1,363

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | Class II | USD ($)	114	356	617	1,363

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly (including, but not limited to, derivative securities described below). If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 21% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various Underlying Funds and by utilizing a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns. The Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), manages the Portfolio’s investments in the Underlying Funds and other assets that are not part of the volatility management strategy. An investment subadviser, Securian Asset Management, Inc. (Securian), manages the volatility management strategy of the Portfolio.

Under normal circumstances, IICO allocates approximately 90-95% of the Portfolio’s assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 35-50% of the value of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 10-25% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-45% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 10-45% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility allocates its remaining assets to a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns in an attempt to stabilize the equity returns of the Portfolio. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. The investment subadviser, Securian, executes this volatility management strategy by increasing or reducing, through the use of exchange-traded futures contracts on certain equity indexes, the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets. For example, when the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high, Securian will seek to reduce the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either selling exchange-traded futures contracts (taking short positions in such contracts) or reducing its long positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. When the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively low, Securian will seek to increase the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either purchasing exchange-traded futures contracts (taking long positions in such contracts) or reducing its short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of fluctuations in the value of a financial instrument or index over time. Volatility may result in rapid and dramatic price swings.

The amount of Portfolio assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will, under normal circumstances, range between 5-10% of the market value of the Portfolio’s assets, which will consist primarily of assets maintained as margin for those futures contracts and also may include cash held for use in the strategy. Shorter-term allocations may vary from this 5-10% range. In order to maintain its derivatives positions in the volatility management strategy, IICO may, from time to time, sell certain Portfolio assets, which may include redemption of shares of Underlying Funds.

The use of exchange-traded futures contracts may have the effect of introducing leverage into the Portfolio, since the amount required to enter into such contracts is small in relation to the investment exposure of such contracts. Although the amount of the Portfolio’s assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will range between 5-10%, the volatility management strategy may seek to increase or decrease the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by a substantial amount when the recent historical volatility in the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high or low and create investment exposure greater than the amount of assets used to implement the strategy. However, the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets with exchange-traded futures contracts from the volatility management strategy typically will not exceed the maximum equity allocation shown below or decrease the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets below 10% of the Portfolio’s assets.

Investment Process for Investments in Underlying Funds

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			35-50%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			10-25%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-25%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-25%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-25%
Bonds			0-45%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-45%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			10-45%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-45%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-45%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations in the Underlying Funds are projections only and may be changed by IICO from time to time. Actual allocations in the Underlying Funds are not limited to the ranges shown, and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes in the Underlying Funds will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility; therefore, allocation changes in the Underlying Funds may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented, primarily large cap, U.S. and, to a lesser extent, international/global stocks, as well as a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and money market instruments.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility is intended for investors who have a lower tolerance for risk than more aggressive investors but seek to manage the volatility of their investment and who are seeking both growth and income, who have a longer time horizon, or who are willing to accept moderate short-term price fluctuations in exchange for potential longer-term returns.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Derivatives Risk. The use of derivatives presents several risks, including the risk that these instruments may change in value in a manner that adversely affects the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) and the risk that fluctuations in the value of the derivatives may not correlate with the reference instrument underlying the derivative. Derivatives can be highly complex, can create investment leverage, may perform in unanticipated ways and may be highly volatile, and the Portfolio could lose more than the amount it invests. Derivatives may be difficult to value and may at times be highly illiquid, and the Portfolio may not be able to close out or sell a derivative position at a particular time or at an anticipated price. Moreover, some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than others. To the extent the judgment of Securian as to certain anticipated price movements is incorrect, the risk of loss may be greater than if the derivative technique(s) had not been used. When used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative also may not correlate perfectly with the security or other risk being hedged. Suitable derivatives may not be available in all circumstances, and there can be no assurance that the Portfolio will use derivatives to reduce exposure to other risks when that might be beneficial. Derivatives also may be subject to counterparty credit risk, which includes the risk that the Portfolio may sustain a loss as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of, or other non-compliance by, another party to the transaction. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, it likely will be required to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate cash or other liquid assets in a manner that satisfies contractual undertakings and regulatory requirements. The need to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate assets could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise. Ongoing changes to regulation of the derivatives markets and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivatives instruments could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue its investment strategies.
• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.
• Leveraging Risk. The risk that certain transactions of the Portfolio, such as transactions in derivative instruments, may give rise to leverage, causing the Portfolio to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged and can result in losses to the Portfolio that exceed the amount originally invested. Because of leverage, the Portfolio’s investment exposure may exceed the Portfolio’s net assets.
• Managed Volatility Strategy Risk. Securian may be unsuccessful in managing volatility, and there is a risk that the Portfolio may experience a high level of volatility in its returns. The Portfolio’s holdings are subject to price volatility, and the Portfolio may not be any less volatile than the market as a whole and could be more volatile. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the Portfolio will achieve its goal of managing the volatility of its equity returns. Furthermore, while the management of volatility seeks competitive returns with more consistent volatility, the management of volatility does not ensure that the Portfolio will deliver competitive returns. Additionally, even if successful, the Portfolio’s management of volatility also may generally result in the Portfolio’s NAV increasing to a lesser degree than the markets (for example, in a rising market with relatively high volatility) or decreasing to a greater degree than the market (for example, in a declining market with relatively low volatility). The Portfolio’s managed volatility strategy may expose the Portfolio to losses (some of which may be sudden) to which it would not have otherwise been exposed if it invested only in Underlying Funds. Additionally, the derivatives used by Securian to hedge the value of the Portfolio are not identical to the Underlying Funds, and as a result, the Portfolio’s investment in derivatives may decline in value at the same time as the Portfolio’s investment in Underlying Funds. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. It is possible that the fixed-income portion of the Portfolio, whose volatility would not be managed by the volatility management strategy, could become more volatile than the equity portion of the Portfolio.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on the skill of IICO and/or Securian in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that their decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio among the Underlying Funds at its discretion. A material change in such asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 4.23% (the first quarter of 2017) and the lowest quarterly return was -5.23% (the third quarter of 2015).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility		1 Year	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares		13.80%	5.87%	Aug. 01, 2013
Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[1]	15.35%	8.20%	Aug. 01, 2013
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		21.13%	12.97%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		4.09%	3.29%	Aug. 01, 2013
MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		25.03%	6.75%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		1.27%	1.28%	Aug. 01, 2013
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[2]	21.83%	13.35%	Aug. 01, 2018
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[2]	3.54%	2.92%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[2]	0.81%	0.26%	Aug. 01, 2013

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[1] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 45% Russell 3000 Index + 25% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 20% MSCI EAFE Index + 10% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index.

[2] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

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Risk/Return:

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Registrant Name

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Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios

Prospectus Date

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Apr. 30, 2018

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility

Risk/Return:

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Risk/Return [Heading]

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Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility

Objective [Heading]

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Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

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To seek to provide total return consistent with a moderate level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Managed Volatility Portfolios, while seeking to manage volatility of investment return.

Expense [Heading]

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Fees and Expenses

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

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This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

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Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

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Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

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Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

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The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly (including, but not limited to, derivative securities described below). If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 21% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

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21.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

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The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Expense Example [Heading]

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Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

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This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Strategy [Heading]

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Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

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Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various Underlying Funds and by utilizing a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns. The Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), manages the Portfolio’s investments in the Underlying Funds and other assets that are not part of the volatility management strategy. An investment subadviser, Securian Asset Management, Inc. (Securian), manages the volatility management strategy of the Portfolio.

Under normal circumstances, IICO allocates approximately 90-95% of the Portfolio’s assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 35-50% of the value of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 10-25% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-45% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 10-45% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility allocates its remaining assets to a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns in an attempt to stabilize the equity returns of the Portfolio. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. The investment subadviser, Securian, executes this volatility management strategy by increasing or reducing, through the use of exchange-traded futures contracts on certain equity indexes, the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets. For example, when the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high, Securian will seek to reduce the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either selling exchange-traded futures contracts (taking short positions in such contracts) or reducing its long positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. When the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively low, Securian will seek to increase the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either purchasing exchange-traded futures contracts (taking long positions in such contracts) or reducing its short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of fluctuations in the value of a financial instrument or index over time. Volatility may result in rapid and dramatic price swings.

The amount of Portfolio assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will, under normal circumstances, range between 5-10% of the market value of the Portfolio’s assets, which will consist primarily of assets maintained as margin for those futures contracts and also may include cash held for use in the strategy. Shorter-term allocations may vary from this 5-10% range. In order to maintain its derivatives positions in the volatility management strategy, IICO may, from time to time, sell certain Portfolio assets, which may include redemption of shares of Underlying Funds.

The use of exchange-traded futures contracts may have the effect of introducing leverage into the Portfolio, since the amount required to enter into such contracts is small in relation to the investment exposure of such contracts. Although the amount of the Portfolio’s assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will range between 5-10%, the volatility management strategy may seek to increase or decrease the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by a substantial amount when the recent historical volatility in the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high or low and create investment exposure greater than the amount of assets used to implement the strategy. However, the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets with exchange-traded futures contracts from the volatility management strategy typically will not exceed the maximum equity allocation shown below or decrease the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets below 10% of the Portfolio’s assets.

Investment Process for Investments in Underlying Funds

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			35-50%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			10-25%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-25%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-25%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-25%
Bonds			0-45%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-45%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			10-45%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-45%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-45%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations in the Underlying Funds are projections only and may be changed by IICO from time to time. Actual allocations in the Underlying Funds are not limited to the ranges shown, and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes in the Underlying Funds will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility; therefore, allocation changes in the Underlying Funds may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented, primarily large cap, U.S. and, to a lesser extent, international/global stocks, as well as a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and money market instruments.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate — Managed Volatility is intended for investors who have a lower tolerance for risk than more aggressive investors but seek to manage the volatility of their investment and who are seeking both growth and income, who have a longer time horizon, or who are willing to accept moderate short-term price fluctuations in exchange for potential longer-term returns.

Risk [Heading]

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Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

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As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Derivatives Risk. The use of derivatives presents several risks, including the risk that these instruments may change in value in a manner that adversely affects the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) and the risk that fluctuations in the value of the derivatives may not correlate with the reference instrument underlying the derivative. Derivatives can be highly complex, can create investment leverage, may perform in unanticipated ways and may be highly volatile, and the Portfolio could lose more than the amount it invests. Derivatives may be difficult to value and may at times be highly illiquid, and the Portfolio may not be able to close out or sell a derivative position at a particular time or at an anticipated price. Moreover, some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than others. To the extent the judgment of Securian as to certain anticipated price movements is incorrect, the risk of loss may be greater than if the derivative technique(s) had not been used. When used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative also may not correlate perfectly with the security or other risk being hedged. Suitable derivatives may not be available in all circumstances, and there can be no assurance that the Portfolio will use derivatives to reduce exposure to other risks when that might be beneficial. Derivatives also may be subject to counterparty credit risk, which includes the risk that the Portfolio may sustain a loss as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of, or other non-compliance by, another party to the transaction. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, it likely will be required to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate cash or other liquid assets in a manner that satisfies contractual undertakings and regulatory requirements. The need to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate assets could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise. Ongoing changes to regulation of the derivatives markets and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivatives instruments could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue its investment strategies.
• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.
• Leveraging Risk. The risk that certain transactions of the Portfolio, such as transactions in derivative instruments, may give rise to leverage, causing the Portfolio to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged and can result in losses to the Portfolio that exceed the amount originally invested. Because of leverage, the Portfolio’s investment exposure may exceed the Portfolio’s net assets.
• Managed Volatility Strategy Risk. Securian may be unsuccessful in managing volatility, and there is a risk that the Portfolio may experience a high level of volatility in its returns. The Portfolio’s holdings are subject to price volatility, and the Portfolio may not be any less volatile than the market as a whole and could be more volatile. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the Portfolio will achieve its goal of managing the volatility of its equity returns. Furthermore, while the management of volatility seeks competitive returns with more consistent volatility, the management of volatility does not ensure that the Portfolio will deliver competitive returns. Additionally, even if successful, the Portfolio’s management of volatility also may generally result in the Portfolio’s NAV increasing to a lesser degree than the markets (for example, in a rising market with relatively high volatility) or decreasing to a greater degree than the market (for example, in a declining market with relatively low volatility). The Portfolio’s managed volatility strategy may expose the Portfolio to losses (some of which may be sudden) to which it would not have otherwise been exposed if it invested only in Underlying Funds. Additionally, the derivatives used by Securian to hedge the value of the Portfolio are not identical to the Underlying Funds, and as a result, the Portfolio’s investment in derivatives may decline in value at the same time as the Portfolio’s investment in Underlying Funds. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. It is possible that the fixed-income portion of the Portfolio, whose volatility would not be managed by the volatility management strategy, could become more volatile than the equity portion of the Portfolio.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on the skill of IICO and/or Securian in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that their decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio among the Underlying Funds at its discretion. A material change in such asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

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As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

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Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes.

Performance Availability Phone [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone

800.777.6472

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

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Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

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The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

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In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 4.23% (the first quarter of 2017) and the lowest quarterly return was -5.23% (the third quarter of 2015).

Performance Table Heading

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Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Performance Table Market Index Changed

rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged

Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | Class II

Risk/Return:

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Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.20%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.03%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.89%

^[1]

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.12%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

$ 114

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

356

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

617

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,363

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

114

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

356

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

617

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

$ 1,363

2014

rr_AnnualReturn2014

3.75%

2015

rr_AnnualReturn2015

(0.43%)

2016

rr_AnnualReturn2016

1.81%

2017

rr_AnnualReturn2017

13.80%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

highest quarterly return

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Mar. 31, 2017

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

4.23%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

lowest quarterly return

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2015

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(5.23%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

13.80%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.87%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

15.35%

^[3]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

8.20%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[3]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.13%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

12.97%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.09%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.29%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

25.03%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.75%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

1.27%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

1.28%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.83%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

13.35%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2018

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.54%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.92%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderate - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.81%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

0.26%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[4]

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[3] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 45% Russell 3000 Index + 25% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 20% MSCI EAFE Index + 10% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index.

[4] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

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Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility

Objective

To seek to provide growth of capital, but also to seek income consistent with a moderately aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Managed Volatility Portfolios, while seeking to manage volatility of investment return.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility Class II
Management Fees	0.20%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	none
Other Expenses	0.07%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.95%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.22%	[2]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | Class II | USD ($)	124	387	670	1,477

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | Class II | USD ($)	124	387	670	1,477

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly (including, but not limited to, derivative securities described below). If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 19% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various Underlying Funds and by utilizing a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns. The Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), manages the Portfolio’s investments in the Underlying Funds and other assets that are not part of the volatility management strategy. An investment subadviser, Securian Asset Management, Inc. (Securian), manages the volatility management strategy of the Portfolio.

Under normal circumstances, IICO allocates approximately 90-95% of the Portfolio’s assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 40-55% of the value of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 15-30% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-40% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 5-35% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility allocates its remaining assets to a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns in an attempt to stabilize the equity returns of the Portfolio. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. The investment subadviser, Securian, executes this volatility management strategy by increasing or reducing, through the use of exchange-traded futures contracts on certain equity indexes, the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets. For example, when the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high, Securian will seek to reduce the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either selling exchange-traded futures contracts (taking short positions in such contracts) or reducing its long positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. When the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively low, Securian will seek to increase the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either purchasing exchange-traded futures contracts (taking long positions in such contracts) or reducing its short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of fluctuations in the value of a financial instrument or index over time. Volatility may result in rapid and dramatic price swings.

The amount of Portfolio assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will, under normal circumstances, range between 5-10% of the market value of the Portfolio’s assets, which will consist primarily of assets maintained as margin for those futures contracts and also may include cash held for use in the strategy. Shorter-term allocations may vary from this 5-10% range. In order to maintain its derivatives positions in the volatility management strategy, IICO may, from time to time, sell certain Portfolio assets, which may include redemption of shares of Underlying Funds.

The use of exchange-traded futures contracts may have the effect of introducing leverage into the Portfolio, since the amount required to enter into such contracts is small in relation to the investment exposure of such contracts. Although the amount of the Portfolio’s assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will range between 5-10%, the volatility management strategy may seek to increase or decrease the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by a substantial amount when the recent historical volatility in the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high or low and create investment exposure greater than the amount of assets used to implement the strategy. However, the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets with exchange-traded futures contracts from the volatility management strategy typically will not exceed the maximum equity allocation shown below or decrease the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets below 20% of the Portfolio’s assets.

Investment Process for Investments in Underlying Funds

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			40-55%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			15-30%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-30%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-30%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-30%
Bonds			0-40%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-40%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			5-35%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-35%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-35%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations in the Underlying Funds are projections only and may be changed by IICO from time to time. Actual allocations in the Underlying Funds are not limited to the ranges shown, and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes in the Underlying Funds will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility; therefore, allocation changes in the Underlying Funds may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented U.S. and international/global stocks and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and money market instruments. Although the majority of the Portfolio’s indirect stock holdings are of U.S. and foreign large cap companies, the Portfolio is likely to have some exposure to mid cap and small cap companies.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility is intended for investors who want to maximize returns over the long term, who have a tolerance for possible short-term losses and who seek some additional diversification but also seek to manage the volatility of their investment.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Derivatives Risk. The use of derivatives presents several risks, including the risk that these instruments may change in value in a manner that adversely affects the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) and the risk that fluctuations in the value of the derivatives may not correlate with the reference instrument underlying the derivative. Derivatives can be highly complex, can create investment leverage, may perform in unanticipated ways and may be highly volatile, and the Portfolio could lose more than the amount it invests. Derivatives may be difficult to value and may at times be highly illiquid, and the Portfolio may not be able to close out or sell a derivative position at a particular time or at an anticipated price. Moreover, some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than others. To the extent the judgment of Securian as to certain anticipated price movements is incorrect, the risk of loss may be greater than if the derivative technique(s) had not been used. When used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative also may not correlate perfectly with the security or other risk being hedged. Suitable derivatives may not be available in all circumstances, and there can be no assurance that the Portfolio will use derivatives to reduce exposure to other risks when that might be beneficial. Derivatives also may be subject to counterparty credit risk, which includes the risk that the Portfolio may sustain a loss as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of, or other non-compliance by, another party to the transaction. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, it likely will be required to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate cash or other liquid assets in a manner that satisfies contractual undertakings and regulatory requirements. The need to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate assets could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise. Ongoing changes to regulation of the derivatives markets and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivatives instruments could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue its investment strategies.
• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.
• Leveraging Risk. The risk that certain transactions of the Portfolio, such as transactions in derivative instruments, may give rise to leverage, causing the Portfolio to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged and can result in losses to the Portfolio that exceed the amount originally invested. Because of leverage, the Portfolio’s investment exposure may exceed the Portfolio’s net assets.
• Managed Volatility Strategy Risk. Securian may be unsuccessful in managing volatility, and there is a risk that the Portfolio may experience a high level of volatility in its returns. The Portfolio’s holdings are subject to price volatility, and the Portfolio may not be any less volatile than the market as a whole and could be more volatile. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the Portfolio will achieve its goal of managing the volatility of its equity returns. Furthermore, while the management of volatility seeks competitive returns with more consistent volatility, the management of volatility does not ensure that the Portfolio will deliver competitive returns. Additionally, even if successful, the Portfolio’s management of volatility also may generally result in the Portfolio’s NAV increasing to a lesser degree than the markets (for example, in a rising market with relatively high volatility) or decreasing to a greater degree than the market (for example, in a declining market with relatively low volatility). The Portfolio’s managed volatility strategy may expose the Portfolio to losses (some of which may be sudden) to which it would not have otherwise been exposed if it invested only in Underlying Funds. Additionally, the derivatives used by Securian to hedge the value of the Portfolio are not identical to the Underlying Funds, and as a result, the Portfolio’s investment in derivatives may decline in value at the same time as the Portfolio’s investment in Underlying Funds. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. It is possible that the fixed-income portion of the Portfolio, whose volatility would not be managed by the volatility management strategy, could become more volatile than the equity portion of the Portfolio.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on the skill of IICO and/or Securian in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that their decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio among the Underlying Funds at its discretion. A material change in such asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 4.87% (the first quarter of 2017) and the lowest quarterly return was -6.26% (the third quarter of 2015).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility		1 Year	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares		15.70%	6.54%	Aug. 01, 2013
Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[1]	17.46%	8.96%	Aug. 01, 2013
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		21.13%	12.97%	Aug. 01, 2013
MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		25.03%	6.75%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		4.09%	3.29%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		1.27%	1.28%	Aug. 01, 2013
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[2]	21.83%	13.35%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[2]	3.54%	2.92%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[2]	0.81%	0.26%	Aug. 01, 2013

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[1] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 50% Russell 3000 Index + 25% MSCI EAFE Index + 20% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 5% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index.

[2] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

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Risk/Return:

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Registrant Name

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Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios

Prospectus Date

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Apr. 30, 2018

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility

Risk/Return:

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Risk/Return [Heading]

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Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility

Objective [Heading]

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Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

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To seek to provide growth of capital, but also to seek income consistent with a moderately aggressive level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Managed Volatility Portfolios, while seeking to manage volatility of investment return.

Expense [Heading]

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Fees and Expenses

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

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This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

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Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

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Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

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Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

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The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly (including, but not limited to, derivative securities described below). If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 19% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

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19.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

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The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Expense Example [Heading]

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Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

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This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Strategy [Heading]

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Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

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Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various Underlying Funds and by utilizing a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns. The Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), manages the Portfolio’s investments in the Underlying Funds and other assets that are not part of the volatility management strategy. An investment subadviser, Securian Asset Management, Inc. (Securian), manages the volatility management strategy of the Portfolio.

Under normal circumstances, IICO allocates approximately 90-95% of the Portfolio’s assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 40-55% of the value of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 15-30% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-40% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 5-35% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility allocates its remaining assets to a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns in an attempt to stabilize the equity returns of the Portfolio. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. The investment subadviser, Securian, executes this volatility management strategy by increasing or reducing, through the use of exchange-traded futures contracts on certain equity indexes, the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets. For example, when the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high, Securian will seek to reduce the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either selling exchange-traded futures contracts (taking short positions in such contracts) or reducing its long positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. When the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively low, Securian will seek to increase the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either purchasing exchange-traded futures contracts (taking long positions in such contracts) or reducing its short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of fluctuations in the value of a financial instrument or index over time. Volatility may result in rapid and dramatic price swings.

The amount of Portfolio assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will, under normal circumstances, range between 5-10% of the market value of the Portfolio’s assets, which will consist primarily of assets maintained as margin for those futures contracts and also may include cash held for use in the strategy. Shorter-term allocations may vary from this 5-10% range. In order to maintain its derivatives positions in the volatility management strategy, IICO may, from time to time, sell certain Portfolio assets, which may include redemption of shares of Underlying Funds.

The use of exchange-traded futures contracts may have the effect of introducing leverage into the Portfolio, since the amount required to enter into such contracts is small in relation to the investment exposure of such contracts. Although the amount of the Portfolio’s assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will range between 5-10%, the volatility management strategy may seek to increase or decrease the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by a substantial amount when the recent historical volatility in the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high or low and create investment exposure greater than the amount of assets used to implement the strategy. However, the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets with exchange-traded futures contracts from the volatility management strategy typically will not exceed the maximum equity allocation shown below or decrease the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets below 20% of the Portfolio’s assets.

Investment Process for Investments in Underlying Funds

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			40-55%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-20%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-20%
International/Global Stocks			15-30%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-30%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-30%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-30%
Bonds			0-40%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-40%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-15%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-10%
Short-Term Investments			5-35%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-35%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-35%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations in the Underlying Funds are projections only and may be changed by IICO from time to time. Actual allocations in the Underlying Funds are not limited to the ranges shown, and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes in the Underlying Funds will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility; therefore, allocation changes in the Underlying Funds may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a well-diversified mixture of both growth-oriented and value-oriented U.S. and international/global stocks and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and money market instruments. Although the majority of the Portfolio’s indirect stock holdings are of U.S. and foreign large cap companies, the Portfolio is likely to have some exposure to mid cap and small cap companies.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive — Managed Volatility is intended for investors who want to maximize returns over the long term, who have a tolerance for possible short-term losses and who seek some additional diversification but also seek to manage the volatility of their investment.

Risk [Heading]

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Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

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As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Derivatives Risk. The use of derivatives presents several risks, including the risk that these instruments may change in value in a manner that adversely affects the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) and the risk that fluctuations in the value of the derivatives may not correlate with the reference instrument underlying the derivative. Derivatives can be highly complex, can create investment leverage, may perform in unanticipated ways and may be highly volatile, and the Portfolio could lose more than the amount it invests. Derivatives may be difficult to value and may at times be highly illiquid, and the Portfolio may not be able to close out or sell a derivative position at a particular time or at an anticipated price. Moreover, some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than others. To the extent the judgment of Securian as to certain anticipated price movements is incorrect, the risk of loss may be greater than if the derivative technique(s) had not been used. When used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative also may not correlate perfectly with the security or other risk being hedged. Suitable derivatives may not be available in all circumstances, and there can be no assurance that the Portfolio will use derivatives to reduce exposure to other risks when that might be beneficial. Derivatives also may be subject to counterparty credit risk, which includes the risk that the Portfolio may sustain a loss as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of, or other non-compliance by, another party to the transaction. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, it likely will be required to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate cash or other liquid assets in a manner that satisfies contractual undertakings and regulatory requirements. The need to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate assets could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise. Ongoing changes to regulation of the derivatives markets and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivatives instruments could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue its investment strategies.
• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.
• Leveraging Risk. The risk that certain transactions of the Portfolio, such as transactions in derivative instruments, may give rise to leverage, causing the Portfolio to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged and can result in losses to the Portfolio that exceed the amount originally invested. Because of leverage, the Portfolio’s investment exposure may exceed the Portfolio’s net assets.
• Managed Volatility Strategy Risk. Securian may be unsuccessful in managing volatility, and there is a risk that the Portfolio may experience a high level of volatility in its returns. The Portfolio’s holdings are subject to price volatility, and the Portfolio may not be any less volatile than the market as a whole and could be more volatile. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the Portfolio will achieve its goal of managing the volatility of its equity returns. Furthermore, while the management of volatility seeks competitive returns with more consistent volatility, the management of volatility does not ensure that the Portfolio will deliver competitive returns. Additionally, even if successful, the Portfolio’s management of volatility also may generally result in the Portfolio’s NAV increasing to a lesser degree than the markets (for example, in a rising market with relatively high volatility) or decreasing to a greater degree than the market (for example, in a declining market with relatively low volatility). The Portfolio’s managed volatility strategy may expose the Portfolio to losses (some of which may be sudden) to which it would not have otherwise been exposed if it invested only in Underlying Funds. Additionally, the derivatives used by Securian to hedge the value of the Portfolio are not identical to the Underlying Funds, and as a result, the Portfolio’s investment in derivatives may decline in value at the same time as the Portfolio’s investment in Underlying Funds. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. It is possible that the fixed-income portion of the Portfolio, whose volatility would not be managed by the volatility management strategy, could become more volatile than the equity portion of the Portfolio.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on the skill of IICO and/or Securian in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that their decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio among the Underlying Funds at its discretion. A material change in such asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

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Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes.

Performance Availability Phone [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone

800.777.6472

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads

The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

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In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 4.87% (the first quarter of 2017) and the lowest quarterly return was -6.26% (the third quarter of 2015).

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Performance Table Market Index Changed

rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged

Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | Class II

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.20%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.07%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.95%

^[1]

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.22%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

$ 124

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

387

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

670

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,477

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

124

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

387

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

670

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

$ 1,477

2014

rr_AnnualReturn2014

3.91%

2015

rr_AnnualReturn2015

(0.71%)

2016

rr_AnnualReturn2016

2.36%

2017

rr_AnnualReturn2017

15.70%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

highest quarterly return

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Mar. 31, 2017

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

4.87%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

lowest quarterly return

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2015

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(6.26%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

15.70%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.54%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

17.46%

^[3]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

8.96%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[3]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.13%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

12.97%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

25.03%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.75%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.09%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.29%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

1.27%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

1.28%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.83%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

13.35%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.54%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.92%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Aggressive - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.81%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

0.26%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[4]

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[3] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 50% Russell 3000 Index + 25% MSCI EAFE Index + 20% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 5% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index.

[4] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

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Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility

Objective

To seek to provide total return consistent with a moderately conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Managed Volatility Portfolios, while seeking to manage volatility of investment return.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility Class II USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility Class II
Management Fees	0.20%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	none
Other Expenses	0.07%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.85%	[1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	1.12%	[2]

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Expense Example	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | Class II | USD ($)	114	356	617	1,363

Expense Example, No Redemption	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | Class II | USD ($)	114	356	617	1,363

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly (including, but not limited to, derivative securities described below). If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 26% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various Underlying Funds and by utilizing a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns. The Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), manages the Portfolio’s investments in the Underlying Funds and other assets that are not part of the volatility management strategy. An investment subadviser, Securian Asset Management, Inc. (Securian), manages the volatility management strategy of the Portfolio.

Under normal circumstances, IICO allocates approximately 90-95% of the Portfolio’s assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 30-45% of the value of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 5-20% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-50% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 15-55% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility allocates its remaining assets to a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns in an attempt to stabilize the equity returns of the Portfolio. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. The investment subadviser, Securian, executes this volatility management strategy by increasing or reducing, through the use of exchange-traded futures contracts on certain equity indexes, the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets. For example, when the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high, Securian will seek to reduce the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either selling exchange-traded futures contracts (taking short positions in such contracts) or reducing its long positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. When the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively low, Securian will seek to increase the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either purchasing exchange-traded futures contracts (taking long positions in such contracts) or reducing its short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of fluctuations in the value of a financial instrument or index over time. Volatility may result in rapid and dramatic price swings.

The amount of Portfolio assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will, under normal circumstances, range between 5-10% of the market value of the Portfolio’s assets, which will consist primarily of assets maintained as margin for those futures contracts and also may include cash held for use in the strategy. Shorter-term allocations may vary from this 5-10% range. In order to maintain its derivatives positions in the volatility management strategy, IICO may, from time to time, sell certain Portfolio assets, which may include redemption of shares of Underlying Funds.

The use of exchange-traded futures contracts may have the effect of introducing leverage into the Portfolio, since the amount required to enter into such contracts is small in relation to the investment exposure of such contracts. Although the amount of the Portfolio’s assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will range between 5-10%, the volatility management strategy may seek to increase or decrease the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by a substantial amount when the recent historical volatility in the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high or low and create investment exposure greater than the amount of assets used to implement the strategy. However, the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets with exchange-traded futures contracts from the volatility management strategy typically will not exceed the maximum equity allocation shown below or decrease the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets below 10% of the Portfolio’s assets.

Investment Process for Investments in Underlying Funds

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			30-45%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-15%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-15%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-15%
International/Global Stocks			5-20%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-20%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-20%
Bonds			0-50%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-50%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-20%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-5%
Short-Term Investments			15-55%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-55%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-55%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations in the Underlying Funds are projections only and may be changed by IICO from time to time. Actual allocations in the Underlying Funds are not limited to the ranges shown and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes in the Underlying Funds will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility; therefore, allocation changes in the Underlying Funds may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a diversified mixture of stocks of U.S. and, to a lesser extent, international/global companies that typically are large cap; the Portfolio also indirectly holds a mixture of investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of non-investment grade corporate bonds and money market instruments.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility is intended for investors who have a lower tolerance for risk but seek to manage volatility of their investment and whose primary goal is income, who have a shorter time horizon or who are willing to accept some amount of market volatility in exchange for greater potential income and growth.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Derivatives Risk. The use of derivatives presents several risks, including the risk that these instruments may change in value in a manner that adversely affects the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) and the risk that fluctuations in the value of the derivatives may not correlate with the reference instrument underlying the derivative. Derivatives can be highly complex, can create investment leverage, may perform in unanticipated ways and may be highly volatile, and the Portfolio could lose more than the amount it invests. Derivatives may be difficult to value and may at times be highly illiquid, and the Portfolio may not be able to close out or sell a derivative position at a particular time or at an anticipated price. Moreover, some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than others. To the extent the judgment of Securian as to certain anticipated price movements is incorrect, the risk of loss may be greater than if the derivative technique(s) had not been used. When used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative also may not correlate perfectly with the security or other risk being hedged. Suitable derivatives may not be available in all circumstances, and there can be no assurance that the Portfolio will use derivatives to reduce exposure to other risks when that might be beneficial. Derivatives also may be subject to counterparty credit risk, which includes the risk that the Portfolio may sustain a loss as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of, or other non-compliance by, another party to the transaction. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, it likely will be required to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate cash or other liquid assets in a manner that satisfies contractual undertakings and regulatory requirements. The need to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate assets could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise. Ongoing changes to regulation of the derivatives markets and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivatives instruments could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue its investment strategies.
• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.
• Leveraging Risk. The risk that certain transactions of the Portfolio, such as transactions in derivative instruments, may give rise to leverage, causing the Portfolio to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged and can result in losses to the Portfolio that exceed the amount originally invested. Because of leverage, the Portfolio’s investment exposure may exceed the Portfolio’s net assets.
• Managed Volatility Strategy Risk. Securian may be unsuccessful in managing volatility, and there is a risk that the Portfolio may experience a high level of volatility in its returns. The Portfolio’s holdings are subject to price volatility, and the Portfolio may not be any less volatile than the market as a whole and could be more volatile. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the Portfolio will achieve its goal of managing the volatility of its equity returns. Furthermore, while the management of volatility seeks competitive returns with more consistent volatility, the management of volatility does not ensure that the Portfolio will deliver competitive returns. Additionally, even if successful, the Portfolio’s management of volatility also may generally result in the Portfolio’s NAV increasing to a lesser degree than the markets (for example, in a rising market with relatively high volatility) or decreasing to a greater degree than the market (for example, in a declining market with relatively low volatility). The Portfolio’s managed volatility strategy may expose the Portfolio to losses (some of which may be sudden) to which it would not have otherwise been exposed if it invested only in Underlying Funds. Additionally, the derivatives used by Securian to hedge the value of the Portfolio are not identical to the Underlying Funds, and as a result, the Portfolio’s investment in derivatives may decline in value at the same time as the Portfolio’s investment in Underlying Funds. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. It is possible that the fixed-income portion of the Portfolio, whose volatility would not be managed by the volatility management strategy, could become more volatile than the equity portion of the Portfolio.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on the skill of IICO and/or Securian in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that their decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio among the Underlying Funds at its discretion. A material change in such asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 3.69% (the first quarter of 2017) and the lowest quarterly return was -4.30% (the third quarter of 2015).

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility		1 Year	Life of Portfolio	Inception Date
Class II Shares		11.84%	4.87%	Aug. 01, 2013
Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[1]	13.28%	7.44%	Aug. 01, 2013
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		21.13%	12.97%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		4.09%	3.29%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		1.27%	1.28%	Aug. 01, 2013
MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)		25.03%	6.75%	Aug. 01, 2013
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[2]	21.83%	13.35%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[2]	3.54%	2.92%	Aug. 01, 2013
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)	[2]	0.81%	0.26%	Aug. 01, 2013

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[1] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 40% Russell 3000 Index + 30% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 15% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index + 15% MSCI EAFE Index.

[2] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Apr. 30, 2018

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

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Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility

Objective [Heading]

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Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

To seek to provide total return consistent with a moderately conservative level of risk as compared to the other Ivy VIP Pathfinder Managed Volatility Portfolios, while seeking to manage volatility of investment return.

Expense [Heading]

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Fees and Expenses

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

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This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

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Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

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Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

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The Portfolio does not incur transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells shares of Underlying Funds that are Portfolios of the Trust (or “turns over” its portfolio), but it could incur transaction costs if it were to buy and sell other types of securities directly (including, but not limited to, derivative securities described below). If the Portfolio were to buy and sell other types of securities directly, a higher portfolio turnover rate could indicate higher transaction costs. Such costs, if incurred, would not be reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the example and would affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 26% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

26.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees

The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your direct and indirect costs, combined, would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various Underlying Funds and by utilizing a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns. The Portfolio’s investment manager, Ivy Investment Management Company (IICO), manages the Portfolio’s investments in the Underlying Funds and other assets that are not part of the volatility management strategy. An investment subadviser, Securian Asset Management, Inc. (Securian), manages the volatility management strategy of the Portfolio.

Under normal circumstances, IICO allocates approximately 90-95% of the Portfolio’s assets among the asset classes below so that approximately 30-45% of the value of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the U.S. stocks class, approximately 5-20% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the international/global stocks class, approximately 0-50% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the bonds class, and approximately 15-55% of this portion of the Portfolio’s assets is in the short-term investments class. Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility implements this allocation by investing primarily in the Underlying Funds shown below. The Portfolio typically will invest in Class I shares of an Underlying Fund to the extent offered by the Underlying Fund; otherwise the Portfolio will invest in Class II shares of an Underlying Fund.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility allocates its remaining assets to a volatility management strategy that is intended to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s equity returns in an attempt to stabilize the equity returns of the Portfolio. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. The investment subadviser, Securian, executes this volatility management strategy by increasing or reducing, through the use of exchange-traded futures contracts on certain equity indexes, the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets. For example, when the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high, Securian will seek to reduce the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either selling exchange-traded futures contracts (taking short positions in such contracts) or reducing its long positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. When the recent historical volatility of the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively low, Securian will seek to increase the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by either purchasing exchange-traded futures contracts (taking long positions in such contracts) or reducing its short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts. Volatility is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of fluctuations in the value of a financial instrument or index over time. Volatility may result in rapid and dramatic price swings.

The amount of Portfolio assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will, under normal circumstances, range between 5-10% of the market value of the Portfolio’s assets, which will consist primarily of assets maintained as margin for those futures contracts and also may include cash held for use in the strategy. Shorter-term allocations may vary from this 5-10% range. In order to maintain its derivatives positions in the volatility management strategy, IICO may, from time to time, sell certain Portfolio assets, which may include redemption of shares of Underlying Funds.

The use of exchange-traded futures contracts may have the effect of introducing leverage into the Portfolio, since the amount required to enter into such contracts is small in relation to the investment exposure of such contracts. Although the amount of the Portfolio’s assets allocated to the volatility management strategy typically will range between 5-10%, the volatility management strategy may seek to increase or decrease the Portfolio’s exposure to equity assets by a substantial amount when the recent historical volatility in the equity portion of the Portfolio is relatively high or low and create investment exposure greater than the amount of assets used to implement the strategy. However, the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets with exchange-traded futures contracts from the volatility management strategy typically will not exceed the maximum equity allocation shown below or decrease the Portfolio’s effective exposure to equity assets below 10% of the Portfolio’s assets.

Investment Process for Investments in Underlying Funds

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility’s currently anticipated allocation ranges for each asset class, as well as the Portfolio’s target allocation of investments among some or all of the Underlying Funds, are summarized in the table below. Shorter-term allocations may vary from the target allocation.

Asset Class	Target Allocations
U.S. Stocks			30-45%
Ivy VIP Core Equity		0-15%
Ivy VIP Growth		0-15%
Ivy VIP Mid Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Core		0-10%
Ivy VIP Small Cap Growth		0-10%
Ivy VIP Value		0-15%
International/Global Stocks			5-20%
Ivy VIP Global Equity Income		0-20%
Ivy VIP Global Growth		0-20%
Ivy VIP International Core Equity		0-20%
Bonds			0-50%
Ivy VIP Corporate Bond		0-50%
Ivy VIP Global Bond		0-20%
Ivy VIP High Income		0-5%
Short-Term Investments			15-55%
Ivy VIP Government Money Market		0-55%
Ivy VIP Limited-Term Bond		0-55%
Total Allocation			100%

These allocations in the Underlying Funds are projections only and may be changed by IICO from time to time. Actual allocations in the Underlying Funds are not limited to the ranges shown and ranges may vary from those shown above. IICO monitors Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility’s holdings and cash flow and will periodically adjust the Portfolio’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds to realign it with the Portfolio’s risk profile and investment strategies. IICO evaluates Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility’s asset allocation in the Underlying Funds on an ongoing basis in view of its risk profile and strategies. This means that allocation changes in the Underlying Funds will be made as needed in the view of IICO. IICO applies a long-term investment horizon with respect to Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility; therefore, allocation changes in the Underlying Funds may not be made in response to short-term market conditions. The Portfolio does not intend to actively trade among the Underlying Funds, nor does it intend to attempt to capture short-term market opportunities.

By owning shares of the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio indirectly holds a diversified mixture of stocks of U.S. and, to a lesser extent, international/global companies that typically are large cap; the Portfolio also indirectly holds a mixture of investment grade corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and, to a lesser extent, a mixture of non-investment grade corporate bonds and money market instruments.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative — Managed Volatility is intended for investors who have a lower tolerance for risk but seek to manage volatility of their investment and whose primary goal is income, who have a shorter time horizon or who are willing to accept some amount of market volatility in exchange for greater potential income and growth.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

• Derivatives Risk. The use of derivatives presents several risks, including the risk that these instruments may change in value in a manner that adversely affects the Portfolio’s net asset value (NAV) and the risk that fluctuations in the value of the derivatives may not correlate with the reference instrument underlying the derivative. Derivatives can be highly complex, can create investment leverage, may perform in unanticipated ways and may be highly volatile, and the Portfolio could lose more than the amount it invests. Derivatives may be difficult to value and may at times be highly illiquid, and the Portfolio may not be able to close out or sell a derivative position at a particular time or at an anticipated price. Moreover, some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than others. To the extent the judgment of Securian as to certain anticipated price movements is incorrect, the risk of loss may be greater than if the derivative technique(s) had not been used. When used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative also may not correlate perfectly with the security or other risk being hedged. Suitable derivatives may not be available in all circumstances, and there can be no assurance that the Portfolio will use derivatives to reduce exposure to other risks when that might be beneficial. Derivatives also may be subject to counterparty credit risk, which includes the risk that the Portfolio may sustain a loss as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of, or other non-compliance by, another party to the transaction. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, it likely will be required to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate cash or other liquid assets in a manner that satisfies contractual undertakings and regulatory requirements. The need to provide margin or collateral and/or segregate assets could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue other opportunities as they arise. Ongoing changes to regulation of the derivatives markets and potential changes in the regulation of funds using derivatives instruments could limit the Portfolio’s ability to pursue its investment strategies.
• Fund of Funds Risk. The ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective depends both on the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds and the ability of those funds to meet their respective investment objectives. The Portfolio’s share price will likely change daily based on the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. In general, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those of the Underlying Funds it holds. Because the Portfolio is weighted towards Underlying Funds that invest in stocks, both U.S. and foreign, including mid cap and small cap stocks, as well as bonds and short-term instruments, the Portfolio is more subject to the risks associated with those investments.

• Equity Funds Risk. The Portfolio invests in equity funds, for which a principal risk is market risk, the chance that stock prices overall will decline over short or even long periods of time. This includes the risk that returns from the stock market segments in which the Portfolio is most heavily indirectly invested may underperform other asset classes, other market segments or the overall stock market. The values of certain types of stocks, such as stocks of small cap companies and foreign companies, may fluctuate more widely than others. The prices of small cap company stocks may be based, in part, on future expectations rather than current achievements.
• Bond Funds Risk. The principal risks that may be encountered by the Portfolio’s investments in bond funds are: bond prices overall may decline when interest rates rise (interest rate risk); a bond issuer may fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner (credit risk); and a fixed-income security issuer may repay a higher yielding bond before its maturity date, during periods of falling interest rates (reinvestment risk). Interest rates in the U.S. are at, or near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.
• Foreign Securities Risk. A portion of the Portfolio’s assets may be invested in funds with significant exposure to foreign securities, including exposure to emerging markets. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending on the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses. Sovereign debt instruments also are subject to the risk that a government or agency issuing the debt may be unable to pay interest and/or repay principal due to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves or political concerns. In such instance, the Portfolio may have limited recourse against the issuing government or agency. Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries. Emerging markets are more susceptible to capital controls, governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds, and less efficient trading markets. Furthermore, because foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies, the value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations.

• Investment Company Securities Risk. Investment in other investment companies typically reflects the risks of the types of securities in which the investment companies invest. When the Portfolio invests in another investment company, shareholders of the Portfolio bear their proportionate share of the other investment company’s fees and expenses as well as their share of the Portfolio’s fees and expenses, which could result in the duplication of certain fees.
• Leveraging Risk. The risk that certain transactions of the Portfolio, such as transactions in derivative instruments, may give rise to leverage, causing the Portfolio to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged and can result in losses to the Portfolio that exceed the amount originally invested. Because of leverage, the Portfolio’s investment exposure may exceed the Portfolio’s net assets.
• Managed Volatility Strategy Risk. Securian may be unsuccessful in managing volatility, and there is a risk that the Portfolio may experience a high level of volatility in its returns. The Portfolio’s holdings are subject to price volatility, and the Portfolio may not be any less volatile than the market as a whole and could be more volatile. In addition, there can be no guarantee that the Portfolio will achieve its goal of managing the volatility of its equity returns. Furthermore, while the management of volatility seeks competitive returns with more consistent volatility, the management of volatility does not ensure that the Portfolio will deliver competitive returns. Additionally, even if successful, the Portfolio’s management of volatility also may generally result in the Portfolio’s NAV increasing to a lesser degree than the markets (for example, in a rising market with relatively high volatility) or decreasing to a greater degree than the market (for example, in a declining market with relatively low volatility). The Portfolio’s managed volatility strategy may expose the Portfolio to losses (some of which may be sudden) to which it would not have otherwise been exposed if it invested only in Underlying Funds. Additionally, the derivatives used by Securian to hedge the value of the Portfolio are not identical to the Underlying Funds, and as a result, the Portfolio’s investment in derivatives may decline in value at the same time as the Portfolio’s investment in Underlying Funds. Securian does not intend to attempt to manage the volatility of the Portfolio’s fixed-income returns. It is possible that the fixed-income portion of the Portfolio, whose volatility would not be managed by the volatility management strategy, could become more volatile than the equity portion of the Portfolio.
• Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on the skill of IICO and/or Securian in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that their decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds. Furthermore, IICO may alter the asset allocation of the Portfolio among the Underlying Funds at its discretion. A material change in such asset allocation could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.
• Market Risk. Markets can be volatile, and the Portfolio’s holdings can decline in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments or conditions that may cause a broad market decline. Different parts of the market, including different sectors and different types of securities, can react differently to these developments. Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the U.S. and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects, which have resulted, and may continue to result, in volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Portfolio. These circumstances also have decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.
• Other Risks Applicable to a Fund of Funds Structure. There are other risks associated with a Fund of Funds structure. IICO has the authority to select and replace Underlying Funds. IICO is subject to a potential conflict of interest in doing so because IICO serves as the investment manager to the Underlying Funds and the advisory fees paid by some of the Underlying Funds are higher than fees paid by other Underlying Funds. It is important to note, however, that IICO has a fiduciary duty to the Portfolio and must act in the Portfolio’s best interests.

Additional information about the risks of the Underlying Funds is provided in the Portfolio’s prospectus in their respective sections and in the section entitled Additional Information about Principal Investment Strategies, Other Investments and Risks.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

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As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes. The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call 800.777.6472 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for Class II shares of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of various broad-based securities market indexes.

Performance Availability Phone [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone

800.777.6472

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns
as of December 31 each year

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads

The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 3.69% (the first quarter of 2017) and the lowest quarterly return was -4.30% (the third quarter of 2015).

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

as of December 31, 2017

Performance Table Market Index Changed

rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged

Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | Class II

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.20%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.07%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.85%

^[1]

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.12%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

$ 114

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

356

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

617

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,363

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

114

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

356

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

617

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

$ 1,363

2014

rr_AnnualReturn2014

3.06%

2015

rr_AnnualReturn2015

(0.52%)

2016

rr_AnnualReturn2016

1.21%

2017

rr_AnnualReturn2017

11.84%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

highest quarterly return

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Mar. 31, 2017

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

3.69%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

lowest quarterly return

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2015

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(4.30%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

11.84%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.87%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | Blended Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

13.28%

^[3]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

7.44%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[3]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.13%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

12.97%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.09%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.29%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

1.27%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

1.28%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | MSCI EAFE Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

25.03%

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.75%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.83%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

13.35%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.54%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.92%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[4]

Ivy VIP Pathfinder Moderately Conservative - Managed Volatility | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury Bills: 1-3 Month Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Index comparison begins on August 1, 2013)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.81%

^[4]

Life of Portfolio

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

0.26%

^[4]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Aug. 01, 2013

^[4]

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invested during its last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of each Underlying Fund for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[3] The Blended Benchmark is computed using a combination of 40% Russell 3000 Index + 30% Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Bond Index + 15% Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index + 15% MSCI EAFE Index.

[4] Prior to April 30, 2018, the Portfolio compared its performance to these indexes. Effective April 30, 2018, the Portfolio changed the underlying funds held by the Portfolio. Going forward, the Portfolio will show its performance compared to other, more applicable benchmark indexes and will no longer compare its performance to these indexes.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	Ivy Variable Insurance Portfolios
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Apr. 30, 2018
Document Creation Date	dei_DocumentCreationDate	Apr. 27, 2018