Net Income Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015		Mar. 31, 2014
Numerator [Abstract]
Net income attributable to PartnerRe Ltd.	$ 245,917		$ 309,843
Dividends on preferred shares	14,184		14,184
Net income attributable to PartnerRe Ltd. common shareholders	$ 231,733		$ 295,659
Denominator [Abstract]
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding	47,525,344		51,652,177
Share options and other (1)	1,184,884		1,075,396
Weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding	48,710,228		52,727,573
Basic net income	$ 4.88		$ 5.72
Diluted net income	$ 4.76	[1]	$ 5.61	[1]
Anti-dilutive common shares excluded from weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding - diluted (1)	119,202		69,144

[1] Where the exercise price of share based awards is greater than the average market price of the common shares, the common shares are considered anti-dilutive and are excluded from the calculation of weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding - diluted.