Reinsurance - Narrative (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) reinsurer	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Reinsurance recoverables	$ 3,565,032	$ 2,225,924
FFG division \| The Hartford
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Number of reinsurer insolvency for making company responsible for administering reinsurance business \| reinsurer	1
Largest Reinsurance Recoverable Balances
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Number of reinsurers with the largest reinsurance recoverable balances \| reinsurer	3
Reinsurance recoverables	$ 3,491,548
Sun Life \| Assurant Employee Benefits
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Reinsurance recoverables	1,025,038
The Hartford \| FFG division \| The Hartford
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Reinsurance recoverables	558,292	562,334
John Hancock \| LTC Operations \| John Hancock
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Reinsurance recoverables	1,908,217	1,554,780
Reinsurance invested assets
Ceded Credit Risk [Line Items]
Invested assets held in trusts	$ 466,079	$ 733,732

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- Definition

Represents the number of reinsurers with the largest reinsurance recoverable balances.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Carrying amount of cash and investment securities on deposit with state regulatory authorities in connection with capital requirements.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 320
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=28366721&loc=d3e22002-158495

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount, after valuation allowance, recoverable under reinsurance contracts including premium paid under reinsurance contracts. Examples include, but are not limited to, settled and unsettled claims, incurred but not reported losses, loss adjustment expense, premium paid, policy benefits and policy reserves.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6480758&loc=d3e6824-158387

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 310
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6485522&loc=d3e21409-158489

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.(a),6)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

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