Statutory Information (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Exchange | Pennsylvania and New York
Statutory information
Cash and securities deposited by the property and casualty and life entities with regulatory authorities under statutory requirements	$ 15
Property and casualty insurance operations | Exchange | Pennsylvania and New York
Statutory information
SAP Capital and surplus	340
Minimum amount of statutory capital and surplus required for the Exchange's property and casualty insurance subsidiaries	12
Maximum dividend payout that the Exchange could receive from its property and casualty insurance subsidiaries after regulatory restrictions	33
Amount of dividends paid from subsidiaries with prior approval from the state regulatory agency	0	0	0
Property and casualty insurance operations | Exchange | Pennsylvania
Statutory information
SAP Net income (loss)	479	311	182
SAP Capital and surplus	6,467	5,633
NAIC prepared statutory surplus, excluding the impact of Pennsylvania prescribed practices	5,900
Property and casualty insurance operations | Erie Insurance Company (EIC) | Pennsylvania
Statutory information
SAP Net income (loss)	17	14	9
SAP Capital and surplus	294	276
NAIC prepared statutory surplus, excluding the impact of Pennsylvania prescribed practices	290
Maximum dividend available for distribution without prior approval by the state regulatory agency, as percentage of statutory surplus (as a percent)	10.00%
Property and casualty insurance operations | Erie Insurance Company of New York (ENY) | New York
Statutory information
SAP Net income (loss)	1	(1)	(1)
SAP Capital and surplus	22	21
Maximum dividend available for distribution without prior approval by the state regulatory agency, as percentage of statutory surplus (as a percent)	10.00%
Maximum dividend available for distribution without prior approval by the state regulatory agency, as percentage of adjusted net investment income (as a percent)	100.00%
Property and casualty insurance operations | Erie Insurance Property and Casualty Company (EPC) | Pennsylvania
Statutory information
SAP Net income (loss)	0	0	0
SAP Capital and surplus	12	11
Maximum dividend available for distribution without prior approval by the state regulatory agency, as percentage of statutory surplus (as a percent)	10.00%
Property and casualty insurance operations | Flagship City Insurance Company (Flagship) | Pennsylvania
Statutory information
SAP Net income (loss)	0	0	0
SAP Capital and surplus	12	11
Maximum dividend available for distribution without prior approval by the state regulatory agency, as percentage of statutory surplus (as a percent)	10.00%
Life insurance operations | Exchange | Pennsylvania
Statutory information
Maximum dividend available for distribution without prior approval by the state regulatory agency, as percentage of statutory surplus (as a percent)	10.00%
Amount of dividends paid from subsidiaries with prior approval from the state regulatory agency	0	0	0
Maximum dividend payout that could be received from subsidiaries without prior approval from the regulatory agency	29
Life insurance operations | Erie Family Life Insurance Company (EFL) | Pennsylvania
Statutory information
SAP Net income (loss)	15	25	34
SAP Capital and surplus	291	281
Life insurance operations | Indemnity | Pennsylvania
Statutory information
Amount of dividends paid from subsidiaries with prior approval from the state regulatory agency	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0