Net (Loss) Income Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2012
Numerator [Abstract]
Net (loss) income attributable to PartnerRe Ltd.	$ (175,571)		$ 176,146		$ 58,799		$ 536,287
Dividends on preferred shares	(14,796)		(15,405)		(29,494)		(30,811)
Loss on redemption of preferred shares	0		0		9,135		0
Net (loss) income available to PartnerRe Ltd. common shareholders	$ (190,367)		$ 160,741		$ 20,170		$ 505,476
Denominator [Abstract]
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding	56,485,882		63,816,027		57,449,528		64,610,127
Share options and other	0	[1]	607,009	[1]	1,084,998	[1]	522,801	[1]
Weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding	56,485,882		64,423,036		58,534,526		65,132,928
Basic net (loss) income	$ (3.37)		$ 2.52		$ 0.35		$ 7.82
Diluted net (loss) income	$ (3.37)		$ 2.50		$ 0.34		$ 7.76
Share options excluded from computation of weighted average number of common share and common share equivalents outstanding					142,500		1,512,600
Weighted average number of potentially dilutive common shares and common share equivalents outstanding	1,003,800

[1] At June 30, 2013 and 2012, share based awards to purchase 142.5 thousand and 1,512.6 thousand common shares, respectively, were excluded from the calculation of diluted weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding because their exercise prices were greater than the average market price of the common shares. In addition, dilutive securities, in the form of share options and other, of 1,003.8 thousand shares were not included in the weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding for the purpose of computing the diluted net loss per share because to do so would have been anti-dilutive for the three months ended June 30, 2013.