Indemnity Supplemental Information (Details 2) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended										12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2013 Indemnity Offices	Dec. 31, 2012 Indemnity	Dec. 31, 2011 Indemnity	Dec. 31, 2013 Indemnity Erie Family Life Insurance Company (EFL)	Dec. 31, 2012 Indemnity Erie Family Life Insurance Company (EFL)	Dec. 31, 2011 Indemnity Erie Family Life Insurance Company (EFL)	Mar. 31, 2011 Indemnity Erie Family Life Insurance Company (EFL)	Dec. 31, 2013 Indemnity Management operations	Dec. 31, 2012 Indemnity Management operations	Dec. 31, 2011 Indemnity Management operations	Dec. 31, 2011 Indemnity Life insurance operations	Dec. 31, 2013 Indemnity Investment operations	Dec. 31, 2012 Indemnity Investment operations	Dec. 31, 2011 Indemnity Investment operations	Dec. 31, 2013 Exchange	Dec. 31, 2012 Exchange	Dec. 31, 2011 Exchange	Mar. 31, 2011 Exchange Erie Family Life Insurance Company (EFL)
Income attributable to Indemnity shareholder interest
Management fee revenue, net																			$ 1,266	$ 1,157	$ 1,067
Service agreement revenue									32	32	34								31	31	33
Total revenues	1,697	1,577	1,426	1,571	1,372	1,460	1,160	1,520	6,271	5,512	4,824								1,297	1,188	1,100	10
Cost of management operations																			1,088	983	892
Total benefits and expenses	1,227	1,179	1,163	1,135	1,207	1,190	1,230	986	4,704	4,613	4,466											7
Net investment income									422	438	433	15	16	16									15	16	16	407	422	417
Net realized gains (losses) on investment									771	418	(4)	1	5	3									1	5	3	770	413	(7)
Net impairment losses recognized in earnings									(13)	0	(2)	0	0	0									0	0	0	(13)	0	(2)
Equity in earnings of limited partnerships									161	131	149	22	15	26									22	15	26	139	116	123
Income (loss) from operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interest	470	398	263	436	165	270	(70)	534	1,567	899	358	247	241	256					209	205	208	3	38	36	45
Provision for income taxes, adjusted for consolidation presentation												84	81	87
Net income (loss) attributable to Indemnity	36	46	44	37	30	51	43	36	163	160	169	163	160	169
Percent income attributable to Indemnity shareholder interest																			100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	21.60%
Indemnity's ownership interest in EFL prior to and through March 31, 2011 (as a percent)																		21.60%
Indemnity's ownership interest in EFL sold to the Exchange (as a percent)																		21.60%
Exchange's ownership interest in EFL prior to and through March 31, 2011 (as a percent)																													78.40%
Exchange's ownership interest in EFL after March 31, 2011 (as a percent)																													100.00%
Cash settlements for payments on the account of the Exchange												351	343	325
Cash settlements for payments on the account of EFL															32	30	28
Number of field office facilities leased from the Exchange (in number of facilities)												3
Rent expense on office space leased from Exchange												6	6	6
Annual rentals paid to EFL															$ 0.4	$ 0.4	$ 0.4