| **Accounting Policies Pending Accounting Updates (Policies)** | 9 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      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| **Accounting Policies [Abstract]**                            |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  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| Adopted Accounting Updates and Pending Accounting Updates     | Adopted Accounting UpdatesASU 2014-09 Revenue from Contracts with Customers In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. ASU 2014-09 requires an entity to 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 and services. Insurance contracts do not fall within the scope of this ASU. The effective date of ASU 2014-09 was for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2018, and it did not have a material impact on the company's consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations. ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10) - Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial LiabilitiesIn January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10) - Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. ASU 2016-01 revised the accounting related to the classification and measurement of investments in equity securities and the presentation of certain fair value changes for financial liabilities measured at fair value. The effective date of ASU 2016-01 was for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The company adopted this ASU on January 1, 2018, and applied it prospectively without prior period amounts restated. As a result of the adoption, $2.503 billion of  after-tax unrealized gains on equity securities was reclassified on January 1, 2018, from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings. Results of operations were impacted as changes in fair value of equity securities are now reported in net income instead of reported in other comprehensive income. As a result of the adoption of this ASU, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, net investment gains of $458 million and $372 million in the condensed consolidated statements of income included an increase of $450 million and $351 million from the fair value change of equity securities, respectively.ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash PaymentsIn August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. ASU 2016-15 addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice. The effective date of ASU 2016-15 is for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2018, and it did not have a material impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations.ASU 2017-07, Compensation - Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit CostIn March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-07, Compensation - Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Costs. ASU 2017-07 provides guidance on how to present the components of net periodic benefit costs in the income statement for pension plans and other post-retirement benefit plans and allows only the service cost component of net benefit cost to be eligible for capitalization when applicable. The effective date of ASU 2017-07 is for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after   December 15, 2017. The company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2018, and disclosed the line items used in the statements of income to present the service and non-service components of net periodic benefit costs in Note 11, Employee Retirement Benefits, to these consolidated financial statements. The adoption did not have a material impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations. ASU 2017-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification AccountingIn May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting. ASU 2017-09 clarifies when to account for a change to the terms or conditions of a share based payment award as a modification. Under the new guidance, modification accounting is required only if the fair value, the vesting conditions, or the classification of the award (as equity or liability) changes as a result of the change in terms or conditions. The effective date of ASU 2017-09 was for interim and annual reporting periods, beginning after December 15, 2017, and was applied prospectively. The company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2018, and it did not have a material impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations.Pending Accounting UpdatesASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842)In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The main provision of ASU 2016-02 requires the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under previous GAAP. The effective date of ASU 2016-02 is for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842 andASU 2018-11,Targeted Improvements to Topic 842. ASU 2018-10 makes narrow-scope amendments to certain aspects of the new leasing standard while ASU 2018-11 provides relief from costs of implementing certain aspects of the new leasing standard. These ASU's have not yet been adopted; however, they are not expected to have a material impact on our company’s consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations.ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial InstrumentsIn June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. ASU 2016-13 amends previous guidance on the impairment of financial instruments by adding an impairment model that allows an entity to recognize expected credit losses as an allowance rather than impairing as they are incurred. The new guidance is intended to reduce complexity of credit impairment models and result in a more timely recognition of expected credit losses. The effective date of ASU 2016-13 is for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. The ASU has not yet been adopted. Management is currently evaluating the impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows and results of operations.ASU 2017-08, Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt SecuritiesIn March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-08, Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities. ASU 2017-08 amends guidance on the amortization period of premiums on certain purchased callable debt securities. The amendments shorten the amortization period of premiums on certain purchased callable debt securities to the earliest call date. The amendments should be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to beginning retained earnings. The effective date of ASU 2017-08 is for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The ASU has not yet been adopted; however, it is not expected to have a material impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations.ASU 2018-07, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718) - Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment AccountingIn June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting. ASU 2018-07 expands the scope of Topic 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, which currently only includes share-based payments issued to employees, to include share-based payments issued to nonemployees for the acquisition of goods and services. The effective date of ASU 2018-07 is for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The ASU has not yet been adopted; however, it is not expected to have a material impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations.ASU 2018-12, Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration ContractsIn August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-12, Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts. ASU 2018-12 is intended to improve the timeliness of recognizing changes in the liability for future policy benefits and modify the rate used to discount future cash flows. The ASU will simplify and improve the accounting for certain market-based options or guarantees associated with deposit or account balance contracts, simplify amortization of deferred acquisition costs while improving and expanding required disclosures. The effective date of ASU 2018-12 is for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2020. The ASU has not yet been adopted. Management is currently evaluating the impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows and results of operations.ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value MeasurementIn August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. ASU 2018-13 clarifies the fair value measurement disclosure requirements of ASC 820 by adding, eliminating and modifying disclosures. The effective date of ASU 2018-13 is for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. The ASU has not yet been adopted; however, it is not expected to have a material impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations.ASU 2018-14, Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Defined Benefit Plans - General (Topic 715-20): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit PlansIn August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-14, Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Defined Benefit Plans - General (Topic 715-20): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans. ASU 2018-14 clarifies the guidance in ASC 715 to add, remove, and clarify disclosure requirements related to defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans. The effective date of ASU 2018-14 is for annual reporting periods ending after December 15, 2020. The ASU has not yet been adopted; however, it is not expected to have a material impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations.ASU 2018-15, Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service ContractIn August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract. ASU 2018-15 amends ASC 350 to include implementation costs of a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract and clarifies that a customer should apply ASC 350-40 to determine which implementation costs should be capitalized in a cloud computing arrangement that is considered a service contract. The effective date of ASU 2018-15 is for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. The ASU has not yet been adopted. Management is currently evaluating the impact on our company's consolidated financial position, cash flows and results of operations. |

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| - Definition
Disclosure of accounting policy pertaining to new accounting pronouncements that may impact the entity's financial reporting. Includes, but is not limited to, quantification of the expected or actual impact.
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