Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	Mar. 31, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company (“TALIC,” the “Registrant,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transamerica Corporation (“TA Corp”, “the Parent”), which is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Aegon N.V., a limited liability share company organized under Dutch law. Aegon N.V. and its subsidiaries and joint ventures have life insurance and pension operations in over twenty countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia and are also active in savings and investment operations, accident and health insurance, and general insurance and have limited banking operations in a number of these countries. The Company is a life insurance company that conducts its business primarily in the annuity markets and, to a lesser extent, in the life insurance markets of the financial services industry. The Company is domiciled in the State of Arkansas and is currently licensed to sell insurance and annuities in forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.
Basis of Reporting	Basis of Reporting The accompanying Financial Statements have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The Company also submits financial statements to insurance industry regulatory authorities, which are prepared on the basis of statutory accounting principles (“SAP”). The interim Financial Statements are unaudited; all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) necessary for a fair statement of the Financial Statements have been included. These unaudited Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the audited Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. For a complete discussion of the Company’s 2017 Financial Statements and accounting policies, refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K. The nature of the Company’s business is such that results of any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year.
Accounting Estimates and Assumptions	Accounting Estimates and Assumptions The preparation of financial statements in conformity to GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions affecting the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Those estimates are inherently subject to change and actual results could differ from those estimates. Included among the material (or potentially material) reported amounts and disclosures that require extensive use of estimates are: the fair value of certain investments (including derivatives), asset valuation allowances, deferred policy acquisition costs (“DAC”), deferred sales inducements (“DSI”), the value of business acquired (“VOBA”), goodwill, policyholder liabilities, income taxes, and the potential effects of unresolved litigation matters.
Investments	Investments Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities The Company’s investments consist principally of fixed maturity securities that are classified as available-for-sale (“AFS”) and are reported at estimated fair value. With the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-01, as of January 1, 2018, the Company classified holdings in non-redeemable preferred stock as equity securities, which are reported at estimated fair value on the Balance Sheets, with valuation adjustments recorded through net investment income on the Statements of Income (Loss).
Subsequent Events	Subsequent Events The Financial Statements are adjusted to reflect events that occurred between the Balance Sheet date and the date when the Financial Statements are issued, provided they give evidence of conditions that existed at the Balance Sheet date. Events that are indicative of conditions that arose after the Balance Sheet date are disclosed, but do not result in an adjustment of the Financial Statements themselves. No subsequent events have been identified that require adjustments in the Financial Statements. On March 1, 2018, the Company declared a $200,000 cash dividend which was paid to the Parent on April 20, 2018.
Current Accounting Guidance	Current Accounting Guidance ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flow (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments In August 2016, Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flow (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, to reduce diversity in practice in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The amendments in this Update provide guidance on the following eight specific cash flow issues: debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs; settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments or other debt instruments with coupon interest rates that are insignificant in relation to the effective interest rate of the borrowing; contingent consideration payments made after a business combination; proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims; proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, including bank-owned life insurance policies; distributions received from equity method investees; beneficial interests in securitization transactions; and separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle. The amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years, and they should be applied using a retrospective transition method to each period presented unless impracticable. The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2018. Adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on its Financial Statements. ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments – Overall In January 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments. For the Company, the amendments in this guidance are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendments in this guidance are to be applied by means of a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption, except for those related to equity securities without readily determinable fair values (including disclosure requirements) which are to be applied prospectively to equity investments that exist as of the date of adoption of the Update. The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2018. The Company has no equity securities without readily determinable fair value, however it has equity securities that are in scope. Therefore, adoption of this ASU resulted in a $3,023 beginning of period cumulative-effect adjustment for unrealized gains and current period had unrealized losses recorded through net investment income (loss) in the Statements of Income (Loss), which are not material to the Company’s Financial Statements. See the Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss), Statements of Stockholder’s Equity and Note 7 AOCI, for Financial Statement and disclosure impacts related to the beginning of period cumulative-effect adjustment and Note 3 Investments, for current period disclosure impact. ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The guidance in this update supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Topic 605, Revenue Recognition, and most industry-specific guidance unless the contracts are within the scope of other standards (for example, financial instruments, insurance contracts or lease contracts). The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The guidance establishes a five-step process to achieve this core principle. An entity may use either of two transition methods: retrospective to each prior reporting period presented with certain practical expedients, or retrospective with the cumulative effect of initial application recognized at the date of initial application subject to certain additional disclosures. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net), which clarifies the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations of Topic 606. In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, which clarifies the following two aspects of Topic 606: identifying performance obligations and the licensing implementation guidance. In May 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, which provides clarifying guidance in a few narrow areas and adds some practical expedients to the guidance. In December 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which affects narrow aspects of the guidance issued in Update 2014-09. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-03, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections (Topic 250) and Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323), which requires the Company to determine the appropriate financial statement disclosures about the potential material effects of ASU 2014-09 when adopted. In November 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-14, Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220), Revenue Recognition (Topic 605), and Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (SEC Update). In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Deferral of the Effective Date, which defers the effective date by one year. As a result, these updates are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. The Update was adopted on January 1, 2018. The Company performed its evaluation and determined the majority of the Company’s revenue streams are out-of-scope (Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 944), therefore adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on its Financial Statements.
Future Accounting Guidance	Future Accounting Guidance There were no new accounting pronouncements issued during the first quarter of 2018 that are applicable to the Company.

Disclosure of accounting policy for investments in financial assets, including marketable securities (debt and equity securities with readily determinable fair values), investments accounted for under the equity method and cost method, securities borrowed and loaned, and repurchase and resale agreements. For marketable securities, the disclosure may include the entity's accounting treatment for transfers between investment categories and how the fair values for such securities are determined. Also, for all investments, an entity may describe its policy for assessing, recognizing and measuring impairment of the investment.