Globe Life (GL) 10-Q 9 May 14 2014 Q1 Quarterly report Financial data

Document_and_Entity_Informatio

Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Apr. 28, 2014
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]	'	'
Document Type	'10-Q	'
Amendment Flag	'false	'
Document Period End Date	31-Mar-14	'
Document Fiscal Year Focus	'2014	'
Document Fiscal Period Focus	'Q1	'
Trading Symbol	'TMK	'
Entity Registrant Name	'TORCHMARK CORP	'
Entity Central Index Key	'0000320335	'
Current Fiscal Year End Date	'--12-31	'
Entity Filer Category	'Large Accelerated Filer	'
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	'	87,811,120

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets

Consolidated Balance Sheets (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Assets	'	'
Fixed maturities, available for sale, at fair value (amortized cost: 2014-$12,618,368 ; 2013-$12,488,875)	$13,618,451	$12,879,133	[1]
Equity securities, at fair value (cost: 2014-$776 ; 2013-$875)	1,309	1,884	[1]
Policy loans	451,972	448,887	[1]
Other long-term investments	12,641	13,207	[1]
Short-term investments	109,065	76,890	[1]
Total investments	14,193,438	13,420,001	[1]
Cash	40,016	36,943	[1]
Accrued investment income	209,801	200,038	[1]
Other receivables	372,617	331,103	[1]
Deferred acquisition costs	3,363,952	3,337,649	[1]
Goodwill	441,591	441,591	[1]
Other assets	442,562	424,419	[1]
Total assets	19,063,977	18,191,744	[1]
Liabilities:	'	'
Future policy benefits	11,376,058	11,256,155	[1]
Unearned and advance premiums	77,911	74,174	[1]
Policy claims and other benefits payable	231,269	223,380	[1]
Other policyholders' funds	95,906	94,286	[1]
Total policy liabilities	11,781,144	11,647,995	[1]
Current and deferred income taxes payable	1,528,582	1,285,574	[1]
Other liabilities	309,436	261,898	[1]
Short-term debt	264,918	229,070	[1]
Long-term debt (fair value: 2014-$1,151,946 ; 2013-$1,360,461)	991,176	990,865	[1]
Total liabilities	14,875,256	14,415,402	[1]
Shareholders' equity:	'	'
Preferred stock, par value $1 per share-Authorized 5,000,000 shares; outstanding: -0- in 2014 and in 2013	0	0	[1]
Common stock, par value $1 per share-Authorized 320,000,000 shares; outstanding: (2014-100,812,123 issued, less 12,593,085 held in treasury and 2013-100,812,123 issued, less 11,310,536 held in treasury)	100,812	100,812	[1]
Additional paid-in capital	473,961	462,058	[1]
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	606,058	210,981	[1]
Retained earnings	3,659,477	3,545,939	[1]
Treasury stock, at cost	-651,587	-543,448	[1]
Total shareholders' equity	4,188,721	3,776,342	[1]
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	$19,063,977	$18,191,744	[1]
[1]	Derived from audited financial statements

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets_Pa

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified
Statement Of Financial Position [Abstract]	'	'
Fixed maturities, available for sale, amortized cost	$12,618,368	$12,488,875	[1]
Equity securities, cost	776	875	[1]
Long-term debt, fair value	$1,151,946	$1,360,461	[1]
Preferred stock, par value	$1	$1	[1]
Preferred stock, shares authorized	5,000,000	5,000,000	[1]
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	0	0	[1]
Common stock, par value	$1	$1	[1]
Common stock, shares authorized	320,000,000	320,000,000	[1]
Common stock, shares issued	100,812,123	100,812,123	[1]
Common stock, shares held in treasury	12,593,085	11,310,536	[1]
[1]	Derived from audited financial statements

Consolidated_Statements_Of_Ope

Consolidated Statements Of Operations (Unaudited) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Revenue:	'	'
Life premium	$489,058	$470,813
Health premium	329,863	313,871
Other premium	99	130
Total premium	819,020	784,814
Net investment income	181,000	176,839
Realized investment gains (losses)	16,619	-1,229
Other-than-temporary impairments	0	-2,678
Other income	481	470
Total revenue	1,017,120	958,216
Benefits and expenses:	'	'
Life policyholder benefits	320,176	305,141
Health policyholder benefits	255,718	236,127
Other policyholder benefits	10,623	10,735
Total policyholder benefits	586,517	552,003
Amortization of deferred acquisition costs	104,733	101,714
Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs	59,378	58,251
Other operating expense	56,956	52,308
Interest expense	19,049	20,877
Total benefits and expenses	826,633	785,153
Income before income taxes	190,487	173,063
Income taxes	-57,631	-53,431
Net income	$132,856	$119,632
Basic net income per share	$1.50	$1.28
Diluted net income per share	$1.48	$1.27
Dividends declared per common share	$0.19	$0.17

Consolidated_Statements_Of_Com

Consolidated Statements Of Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Net income	$132,856	$119,632
Unrealized gains (losses) on securities:	'	'
Less applicable taxes	-213,667	44,633
Unrealized investment gains (losses), net of tax	396,890	-79,370
Unrealized gains (losses) attributable to deferred acquisition costs	-4,228	2,957
Less applicable taxes	1,480	-1,035
Unrealized gains (losses) attributable to deferred acquisition costs, net of tax	-2,748	1,922
Foreign exchange translation adjustments, other than securities	-1,177	-1,033
Less applicable taxes	439	284
Foreign exchange translation adjustments, other than securities, net of tax	-738	-749
Amortization of pension costs	2,574	4,543
Less applicable taxes	-901	-1,591
Amortization of pension costs, net of tax	1,673	2,952
Other comprehensive income (loss)	395,077	-75,245
Comprehensive income (loss)	527,933	44,387
Securities [Member]	'	'
Unrealized gains (losses) on securities:	'	'
Unrealized holding gains (losses) arising during period	629,066	-129,121
Reclassification adjustment for (gains) losses on securities included in net income	-16,619	2,561
Reclassification adjustment for amortization of (discount) and premium	-2,227	-1,882
Foreign exchange adjustment on securities recorded at fair value	-871	5,212
Unrealized gains (losses) on securities	609,349	-123,230
Other Investments [Member]	'	'
Unrealized gains (losses) on securities:	'	'
Unrealized gains (losses) on other investments	1,208	-773
Total unrealized investment gains (losses)	$610,557	($124,003)

Consolidated_Statements_Of_Cas

Consolidated Statements Of Cash Flows (Unaudited) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014		Mar. 31, 2013
Statement Of Cash Flows [Abstract]	'		'
Cash provided from operations	$274,850		$290,374
Long-term investments sold or matured:	'		'
Fixed maturities available for sale - sold	16,049		46,361
Fixed maturities available for sale - matured, called, and repaid	22,288		150,541
Equities	700		14,000
Other long-term investments	68		119
Total long-term investments sold or matured	39,105		211,021
Long-term investments acquired:	'		'
Fixed maturities	-158,344		-340,891
Other long-term investments	-20		-45
Total long-term investments acquired	-158,364		-340,936
Net increase in policy loans	-3,085		-3,961
Net (increase) decrease in short-term investments	-32,175		-81,390
Net change in payable or receivable for securities	-902		-44,187
Disposition of properties	0		200
Additions to properties	-5,075		-855
Investment in low-income housing interests	-15,042		-7,738
Cash used for investment activities	-175,538		-267,846
Cash provided from (used for) financing activities:	'		'
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	13,954		31,396
Net borrowings (repayments) of commercial paper	35,848		49,825
Excess tax benefit from stock option exercises	4,366		5,892
Acquisition of treasury stock	-125,635		-129,239
Cash dividends paid to shareholders	-15,219		-14,136
Net receipts (withdrawals) from deposit-type products	-17,181		-6,705
Cash provided by (used for) financing activities	-103,867		-62,967
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on cash	7,628		3,985
Net increase (decrease) in cash	3,073		-36,454
Cash at beginning of year	36,943	[1]	61,710
Cash at end of period	$40,016		$25,256
[1]	Derived from audited financial statements

Accounting_Policies

Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Accounting Policies	'
	Note A—Accounting Policies
	The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q. Therefore, they do not include all of the annual disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). However, in the opinion of management, these statements include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated financial position at March 31, 2014, and the consolidated results of operations, comprehensive income, and cash flows for the periods ended March 31, 2014 and 2013. The interim period condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements that are included in the Form 10-K filed on February 28, 2014.
	New Unadopted Accounting Guidance: The FASB has issued new accounting guidance, Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures: Accounting for Investments in Qualified Affordable Housing Projects (ASU 2014-01). This accounting guidance replaces the effective yield method of accounting with respect to investments in qualified affordable housing projects and, if certain conditions are present, provides for a new method of accounting. The new method of accounting allows an investor to amortize the cost of its investment based on the proportion of the tax credits/benefits received during the year to the total expected tax credits/benefits to be received over the life of the investment and will be recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as a component of “Income tax expense.” Additional disclosures are required concerning investments in qualified affordable housing.
	The new guidance is effective for Torchmark beginning January 1, 2015, with early adoption permitted. The guidance continues to permit the effective-yield method for investments held as of the date of adoption. Adoption is required on a retrospective basis. Torchmark is currently evaluating the impact of adoption but does not expect that adoption will have a material impact on net income or shareholders’ equity.

Earnings_Per_Share

Earnings Per Share	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'
Earnings Per Share	'
	Note B—Earnings Per Share
	A reconciliation of basic and diluted weighted-average shares outstanding is as follows.
		For the three months ended
		March 31,
		2014		2013
	Basic weighted average shares outstanding		88,775,643		93,580,778
	Weighted average dilutive options outstanding		1,248,050		989,132
	Diluted weighted average shares outstanding		90,023,693		94,569,910
	Antidilutive shares		3,513		0
	Stock Split: Torchmark declared a three for two stock split to be paid in the form of a 50% stock dividend on all of the Company’s outstanding common stock. The record date for the three for two stock split will be the close of business on June 2, 2014. On July 1, 2014, the payment date, holders of Torchmark common stock will receive one additional share of stock for every two shares held. The Company will pay cash for the fractional shares that result from the stock split. All share and per share amounts will be adjusted to reflect this stock split subsequent to the effective date.

Postretirement_Benefit_Plans

Postretirement Benefit Plans	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Postretirement Benefit Plans	'
	Note C—Postretirement Benefit Plans
	The following tables present a summary of post-retirement benefit costs by component.
	Components of Post-Retirement Benefit Costs
		Three Months ended March 31,
		Pension Benefits						Other Benefits
		2014			2013			2014			2013
	Service cost	$	3,232		$	3,765		$	56		$	85
	Interest cost		4,819			4,264			147			260
	Expected return on assets		(4,753	)		(4,356	)		0			0
	Amortization:
	Prior service cost		528			571			0			0
	Actuarial (gain) loss		2,044			4,063			0			0
	Direct recognition of (gain) loss		0			0			(62	)		0
	Net periodic benefit cost	$	5,870		$	8,307		$	141		$	345
	The following chart presents assets at fair value for the defined-benefit pension plans at March 31, 2014 and the prior-year end.
	Pension Assets by Component
		March 31, 2014						December 31, 2013
		Amount			%			Amount			%
	Corporate debt	$	158,546			53		$	147,445			51
	Other fixed maturities		275			0			267			0
	Equity securities		117,176			39			115,287			38
	Short-term investments		1,738			1			13,318			5
	Guaranteed annuity contract		13,723			5			13,769			5
	Other		7,006			2			1,667			1
	Total	$	298,464			100		$	291,753			100
	The liability for the funded defined-benefit pension plans was $331 million at March 31, 2014 and $322 million at December 31, 2013. No cash contributions were made to the qualified pension plans during the three months ended March 31, 2014. Torchmark expects cash contributions to not exceed $20 million during the remainder of 2014. With respect to the Company’s non-qualified supplemental retirement plan, life insurance policies on the lives of plan participants have been established with an unaffiliated carrier to fund a portion of the Company’s obligations under the plan. These policies, as well as investments deposited with an unaffiliated trustee, were previously placed in a Rabbi Trust to provide for payment of the plan obligations. At March 31, 2014, the combined value of the insurance policies and investments in the Rabbi Trust to support plan liabilities were $67 million, compared with $66 million at year end 2013. Since this plan is non-qualified, the value of the insurance policies and investments are recorded as other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are not included in the chart of plan assets above. The liability for the non-qualified pension plan was $59 million at March 31, 2014 and $58 million at December 31, 2013.

Investments

Investments	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Investments Schedule [Abstract]	'
Investments	'
	Note D—Investments
	Portfolio Composition:
	A summary of fixed maturities and equity securities available for sale by cost or amortized cost and estimated fair value at March 31, 2014 is as follows.
			Amortized			Unrealized			Unrealized			Fair Value			Total Fixed
			Cost			Gains			Losses						Maturities*
	Fixed maturities available for sale:
	Bonds:
	U.S. Government direct, guaranteed, and government-sponsored enterprises		$	430,777		$	329		$	(51,050	)	$	380,056			3	%
	States, municipalities, and political subdivisions			1,278,263			105,064			(3,863	)		1,379,464			10
	Foreign governments			43,642			535			(17	)		44,160			0
	Corporates			10,265,282			1,065,442			(147,287	)		11,183,437			82
	Collateralized debt obligations			65,014			5,950			(6,634	)		64,330			1
	Other asset-backed securities			32,612			2,872			(36	)		35,448			0
	Redeemable preferred stocks			502,778			35,706			(6,928	)		531,556			4
	Total fixed maturities			12,618,368			1,215,898			(215,815	)		13,618,451			100	%
	Equity securities			776			533			0			1,309
	Total fixed maturities and equity securities		$	12,619,144		$	1,216,431		$	(215,815	)	$	13,619,760
	*	At fair value
	A schedule of fixed maturities by contractual maturity date at March 31, 2014 is shown below on an amortized cost basis and on a fair value basis. Actual maturity dates could differ from contractual maturities due to call or prepayment provisions.
			Amortized			Fair
			Cost			Value
	Fixed maturities available for sale:
	Due in one year or less		$	192,438		$	196,987
	Due from one to five years			410,166			452,731
	Due from five to ten years			948,053			1,039,939
	Due from ten to twenty years			3,170,200			3,507,188
	Due after twenty years			7,796,872			8,318,545
	Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities			100,639			103,061
			$	12,618,368		$	13,618,451
	Selected information about sales of fixed maturities is as follows.
	For the three months ended March 31,
			2014			2013
	Proceeds from sales		$	16,050		$	46,361
	Gross realized gains			15,925			991
	Gross realized losses			0			(776	)
	Fair Value Measurements:
	The following table represents assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis.
	Fair Value Measurements at March 31, 2014 Using:
	Description		Quoted Prices			Significant			Significant			Total Fair
			in Active			Other			Unobservable			Value
			Markets for			Observable			Inputs (Level 3)
			Identical			Inputs (Level 2)
			Assets
			(Level 1)
	Fixed maturities available for sale:
	Bonds:
	U.S. Government direct, guaranteed, and government-sponsored enterprises		$	0		$	380,056		$	0		$	380,056
	States, municipalities, and political subdivisions			0			1,379,464			0			1,379,464
	Foreign governments			0			44,160			0			44,160
	Corporates			56,745			10,780,662			346,030			11,183,437
	Collateralized debt obligations			0			0			64,330			64,330
	Other asset-backed securities			0			35,448			0			35,448
	Redeemable preferred stocks			22,922			508,634			0			531,556
	Total fixed maturities			79,667			13,128,424			410,360			13,618,451
	Equity securities			533			0			776			1,309
	Total fixed maturities and equity securities		$	80,200		$	13,128,424		$	411,136		$	13,619,760
	Percent of total			0.6	%		96.4	%		3	%		100	%
	Analysis of Changes in Fair Value Measurements Using
	Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
			For the three months ended March 31, 2014
			Asset-			Collateralized			Corporates (1)			Equities			Total
			backed			debt
			securities			obligations
Balance at January 1, 2014		$	0		$	58,205		$	300,300		$	776		$	359,281
Total gains or losses:
Included in realized gains/losses			0			15,924			1			0			15,925
Included in other comprehensive income			0			7,283			12,772			0			20,055
Acquisitions			0			0			33,791			0			33,791
Sales			0			(16,049	)		(1	)		0			(16,050	)
Amortization			0			1,307			3			0			1,310
Other (2)			0			(2,340	)		(836	)		0			(3,176	)
Transfers in and/or out of Level 3 (3)			0			0			0			0			0
Balance at March 31, 2014		$	0		$	64,330		$	346,030		$	776		$	411,136
Percent of total fixed maturity and equity securities			0	%		0.5	%		2.5	%		0	%		3	%
		For the three months ended March 31, 2013
		Asset-			Collateralized			Corporates (1)			Equities			Total
		backed			debt
		securities			obligations
Balance at January 1, 2013		$	7,981		$	46,571		$	231,072		$	739		$	286,363
Total gains or losses:
Included in realized gains/losses			0			0			0			0			0
Included in other comprehensive income			426			2,852			(863	)		0			2,415
Acquisitions			0			0			62,310			0			62,310
Sales			0			0			0			0			0
Amortization			(57	)		691			(3	)		0			631
Other (2)			0			0			0			0			0
Transfers in and/or out of Level 3 (3)			(8,350	)		0			(8,181	)		0			(16,531	)
Balance at March 31, 2013		$	0		$	50,114		$	284,335		$	739		$	335,188
Percent of total fixed maturity and equity securities			0	%		0.4	%		2.1	%		0	%		2.5	%
-1	Includes redeemable preferred stocks.
-2	Includes capitalized interest, foreign exchange adjustments, and principal repayments.
-3	Considered to be transferred at the end of the period. Transfers into Level 3 occur when observable inputs are no longer available. Transfers out of Level 3 occur when observable inputs become available.
Other-Than-Temporary Impairments:
During the first quarter of 2013, Torchmark wrote down investment real estate in the amount of $2.7 million pretax ($1.7 million after tax) because of other-than-temporary impairment. There were no additional other-than-temporary impairments during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2014 or 2013.
Unrealized Loss Analysis:
The following table discloses unrealized investment losses by class of investment at March 31, 2014 for the period of time in a loss position. Torchmark considers these investments not to be other-than-temporarily impaired.
Analysis of Gross Unrealized Investment Losses
At March 31, 2014
		Less than						Twelve Months						Total
		Twelve Months						or Longer
Description of Securities		Fair			Unrealized			Fair			Unrealized			Fair			Unrealized
		Value			Loss			Value			Loss			Value			Loss
Fixed maturities available for sale:
Bonds:
U.S. Government direct, guaranteed, and government-sponsored enterprises		$	63,633		$	(6,031	)	$	293,591		$	(45,019	)	$	357,224		$	(51,050	)
States, municipalities and political subdivisions			80,424			(3,167	)		10,960			(696	)		91,384			(3,863	)
Foreign governments			895			(1	)		6,092			(16	)		6,987			(17	)
Corporates			1,485,588			(72,557	)		718,802			(74,730	)		2,204,390			(147,287	)
Collateralized debt obligations			0			0			14,715			(6,634	)		14,715			(6,634	)
Other asset-backed securities			0			0			2,951			(36	)		2,951			(36	)
Redeemable preferred stocks			47,953			(926	)		76,162			(6,002	)		124,115			(6,928	)
Total fixed maturities			1,678,493			(82,682	)		1,123,273			(133,133	)		2,801,766			(215,815	)
Equity securities			0			0			0			0			0			0
Total fixed maturities and equity securities		$	1,678,493		$	(82,682	)	$	1,123,273		$	(133,133	)	$	2,801,766		$	(215,815	)
Additional information about investments in an unrealized loss position is as follows.
		Less than			Twelve			Total
		Twelve			Months
		Months			or Longer
Number of issues (Cusip numbers) held:
As of March 31, 2014			272			207			479
As of December 31, 2013			462			130			592
Torchmark’s entire fixed-maturity and equity portfolio consisted of 1,612 issues at March 31, 2014 and 1,619 issues at December 31, 2013. The weighted average quality rating of all unrealized loss positions as of March 31, 2014 was A-. Although Torchmark’s fixed-maturity investments are available for sale, Torchmark’s management generally does not intend to sell and does not believe it will be required to sell any securities which are temporarily impaired before they recover due to the strong and stable cash flows generated by its insurance products.

Supplemental_Information_about

Supplemental Information about Changes to Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Equity [Abstract]	'
Supplemental Information about Changes to Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income	'
	Note E—Supplemental Information about Changes to Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
	An analysis in the change in balance by component of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income is as follows for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013.
	Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
		For the three months ended March 31, 2014
		Available			Deferred			Foreign			Pension			Total
		for Sale			Acquisition			Exchange			Adjustments
		Assets			Costs
	Balance at January 1, 2014	$	256,196		$	(6,728	)	$	24,866		$	(63,353	)	$	210,981
	Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax		409,139			(2,748	)		(738	)		0			405,653
	Reclassifications, net of tax		(12,249	)		0			0			1,673			(10,576	)
	Other comprehensive income (loss)		396,890			(2,748	)		(738	)		1,673			395,077
	Balance at March 31, 2014	$	653,086		$	(9,476	)	$	24,128		$	(61,680	)	$	606,058
		For the three months ended March 31, 2013
		Available			Deferred			Foreign			Pension			Total
		for Sale			Acquisition			Exchange			Adjustments
		Assets			Costs
	Balance at January 1, 2013	$	1,024,367		$	(16,417	)	$	26,608		$	(109,283	)	$	925,275
	Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax		(81,040	)		1,922			(749	)		0			(79,867	)
	Reclassifications, net of tax		1,670			0			0			2,952			4,622
	Other comprehensive income (loss)		(79,370	)		1,922			(749	)		2,952			(75,245	)
	Balance at March 31, 2013	$	944,997		$	(14,495	)	$	25,859		$	(106,331	)	$	850,030
	Reclassifications out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income are presented below for the three months March 31, 2014 and 2013.
	Reclassification Adjustments
		Three months ended March 31,						Affected line items in the
	Component Line Item	2014			2013			Statement of Operations
	Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale assets:
	Realized (gains) losses	$	(16,619	)	$	2,561		Realized investment gains (losses)
	Amortization of (discount) premium		(2,227	)		(1,882	)	Net investment income
	Total before tax		(18,846	)		679
	Tax		6,597			991		Income Taxes
	Total after tax		(12,249	)		1,670
	Pension adjustments:
	Amortization of prior service cost		528			571		Other operating expenses
	Amortization of actuarial gain (loss)		2,046			3,972		Other operating expenses
	Total before tax		2,574			4,543
	Tax		(901	)		(1,591	)	Income Taxes
	Total after tax		1,673			2,952
	Total reclassifications (after tax)	$	(10,576	)	$	4,622

Business_Segments

Business Segments	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting [Abstract]	'
Business Segments	'
	NOTE F—Business Segments
	Torchmark is comprised of life insurance companies which primarily market individual life and supplemental health insurance products through niche distribution systems to middle income Americans. Torchmark’s core operations are insurance marketing and underwriting, and management of its investments. Insurance marketing and underwriting is segmented by the types of insurance products offered: life, health, Medicare Part D, and annuity. Effective January 1, 2014, Torchmark reorganized its segment structure to separate its Medicare Part D health insurance business from its other health insurance activities as a stand-alone segment. Management has concluded that Medicare Part D meets the criteria of a distinct segment. Previously, Part D was included in the health segment. Prior periods’ segment results have been retrospectively adjusted for comparability. Premium income for Medicare Part D health insurance is included with the premium for other health products in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Annuity revenue is classified as “Other premium.” Management’s measure of profitability for each insurance segment is insurance underwriting margin, which is underwriting income before other income and insurance administrative expenses. It represents the profit margin on insurance products before administrative expenses, and is calculated by deducting net policy obligations (claims incurred and change in reserves), commissions and other acquisition expenses from premium revenue. Torchmark further views the profitability of each insurance product segment by the marketing groups that distribute the products of that segment: direct response, independent, or captive agencies.
	The investment segment includes the management of the investment portfolio, debt, and cash flow. Management’s measure of profitability for this segment is excess investment income, which is the income earned on the investment portfolio less the required interest on net policy liabilities and financing costs. Financing costs include the interest on Torchmark’s debt. Other income and insurance administrative expense are classified in a separate “Other” segment.
	The majority of the Company’s required interest on net policy liabilities (benefit reserves less the deferred acquisition cost asset) is not credited to policyholder accounts. Instead, it is an actuarial assumption for discounting cash flows in the computation of benefit reserves and the amortization of the deferred acquisition cost asset. Required interest related to the net policy liabilities is not included in the various insurance underwriting segments but is shown in the investment segment as a reduction to net investment income. We believe this presentation facilitates a more meaningful analysis of the Company’s underwriting and investment performance as the underwriting results are based on premiums, claims, and expenses and are not affected by unanticipated fluctuations in investment yields.
	As noted, Torchmark’s “core operations” are insurance and investment management. The insurance segments issue policies for which premiums are collected for the eventual payment of policy benefits. In addition to policy benefits, operating expenses are incurred including acquisition costs, administrative expenses, and taxes. Because life and health contracts can be long term, premium receipts in excess of current expenses are invested. Investment activities, conducted by the investment segment, focus on seeking quality investments with a yield and term appropriate to support the insurance product obligations. These investments generally consist of fixed maturities, and, over the long term, the expected yields are taken into account when setting insurance premium rates and product profitability expectations. As a result, fixed maturities are generally held for long periods to support the liabilities, and Torchmark generally expects to hold investments until maturity. Dispositions of investments occur from time to time, generally as a result of credit concerns, calls by issuers, or other factors usually beyond the control of management.
	Dispositions are sometimes required in order to maintain the Company’s investment policies and objectives. Investments are also occasionally written down as a result of other-than-temporary impairment. Torchmark does not actively trade investments. As a result, realized gains and losses from the disposition and write down of investments are generally incidental to operations and are not considered a material factor in insurance pricing or product profitability. While from time to time these realized gains and losses could be significant to net income in the period in which they occur, they generally have a limited effect on the yield of the total investment portfolio. Further, because the proceeds of the disposals are reinvested in the portfolio, the disposals have little effect on the size of the portfolio and the income from the reinvestments is included in net investment income. Therefore, management removes realized investment gains and losses from results of core operations when evaluating the performance of the Company. For this reason, these gains and losses are excluded from Torchmark’s operating segments.
	Torchmark accounts for its stock options and restricted stock under current accounting guidance requiring stock options and stock grants to be expensed based on fair value at the time of grant. Management considers stock compensation expense to be an expense of the Parent Company. Therefore, stock compensation expense is treated as a corporate expense in Torchmark’s segment analysis.
	Torchmark provides coverage under the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan for Medicare beneficiaries. In accordance with GAAP, Part D premiums are recognized evenly throughout the year when they become due but benefit costs are recognized when the costs are incurred. Due to the design of the Part D product, premiums are evenly distributed throughout the year, but benefit costs are higher earlier in the year. As a result, under GAAP, benefit costs can exceed premiums in the first part of the year, but be less than premiums during the remainder of the year. In order to more closely match the benefit cost with the associated revenue for interim periods, Torchmark defers these excess benefits for segment reporting purposes. In addition, GAAP recognizes in each quarter a government risk-sharing premium adjustment consistent with the contract as if the quarter represented an entire contract period. These quarterly risk-sharing adjustments are removed in the segment analysis because the actual contract payments are based upon the experience of the full contract year, not the experience of interim periods. For the entire year, Torchmark expects its benefit ratio to be in line with pricing and does not expect to receive any government risk-sharing premium. For the full year of 2013, the total premiums and benefits were the same under this alternative method as they were under GAAP and are expected to be essentially the same in 2014. The Company’s presentation results in the underwriting margin percentage of each interim period reflecting the expected margin percentage for the full year.
	An analysis of the adjustments for the difference in the interim results as presented for segment purposes and GAAP for Medicare Part D is as follows.
			Three months ended
			March 31,
			2014			2013
	Benefit costs deferred		$	47,671		$	28,304
	Government risk-sharing premium adjustment			(27,395	)		(15,624	)
	Pre-tax addition to segment interim period income		$	20,276		$	12,680
	After tax amount		$	13,179		$	8,242
	Additionally, management does not view the risk-sharing premium for Medicare Part D as a component of premium income, and accordingly adjusts health premium income in its segment analysis. A reconciliation of health premium included in the segment analysis with health premium as reported in the Consolidated Statements of Operations is presented in the following table.
			Three months ended March 31,
			2014			2013			% Change
	Premium per segment analysis:
	Medicare Part D premium		$	83,033		$	76,720			8
	Other health premium			219,435			221,527			(1	)
	Part D risk sharing adjustment			27,395			15,624			75
	Health premium per Consolidated Statements of Operations		$	329,863		$	313,871			5
	Torchmark has invested in various limited partnerships that provide investment returns through the provision of low-income housing tax credits and other related Federal income tax benefits to the Company. The investment returns from a portion of the interests are guaranteed by unrelated third-parties. Under GAAP, expenses associated with the amortization of the guaranteed interests are required to be reflected in income tax expense. In contrast, GAAP requires the expenses associated with the amortization of non-guaranteed interests to be reflected as a component of “Net investment income.” All of the investment returns from investing in these guaranteed and non-guaranteed limited partnerships interests are in the form of income tax benefits reflected in income tax expense. Management believes including the amortization expense associated with the non-guaranteed as well as the guaranteed interests in income tax expense provides a more appropriate matching of the expense with the related income. For this reason, amortization expense of the non-guaranteed interests is included in “Income taxes” and not “Net investment income” for segment reporting purposes. As noted in Note A—Accounting Policies under the caption “New Unadopted Accounting Guidance,” new accounting guidance related to low-income housing investments will conform more closely with Torchmark’s segment reporting.
	During the first three months of 2014, Torchmark accrued for certain litigation cases in the net amount of $3.7 million ($2.4 million after tax) that were not directly related to its insurance operations. Additionally, Torchmark received $1.2 million ($752 thousand after tax) in settlement of litigation regarding investments. Torchmark removes from its segment analysis amounts such as these that do not relate to its core insurance operations.
	The following tables total the components of Torchmark’s operating segments and reconcile these operating results to its pretax income and each significant line item in its Consolidated Statements of Operations.
	Reconciliation of Segment Operating Information to the Consolidated Statement of Operations
			For the three months ended March 31, 2014
			Life			Health			Medicare			Annuity			Investment			Other &			Adjustments			Consolidated
									Part D									Corporate
	Revenue:
	Premium		$	489,058		$	219,435		$	83,033		$	99								$	27,395	(1)	$	819,020
	Net investment income														$	188,051						(7,051	)(4)		181,000
	Other income																	$	544			(63	)(3)		481
	Total revenue			489,058			219,435			83,033			99			188,051			544			20,281			1,000,501
	Expenses:
	Policy benefits			320,176			141,786			66,261			10,623									47,671	(1)		586,517
	Required interest on:
	Policy reserves			(130,511	)		(15,632	)					(13,791	)		159,934									0
	Deferred acquisition costs			41,690			5,598			175			389			(47,852	)								0
	Amortization of acquisition costs			83,600			18,608			705			1,820												104,733
	Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs			33,484			19,618			6,326			13									(63	)(3)		59,378
	Insurance administrative expense (2)																		44,211			2,493	(5)		46,704
	Parent expense																		1,743						1,743
	Stock compensation expense																		8,509						8,509
	Interest expense															19,049									19,049
	Total expenses			348,439			169,978			73,467			(946	)		131,131			54,463			50,101			826,633
	Subtotal			140,619			49,457			9,566			1,045			56,920			(53,919	)		(29,820	)		173,868
	Nonoperating items																					22,769	(1,5)		22,769
	Amortization of low-income housing																					7,051	(4)		7,051
	Measure of segment profitability (pretax)		$	140,619		$	49,457		$	9,566		$	1,045		$	56,920		$	(53,919	)	$	0			203,688
	Deduct applicable income taxes																								(66,835	)
	Segment profits after tax																								136,853
	Add back income taxes applicable to segment profitability																								66,835
	Add (deduct) realized investment gains (losses)																								16,619
	Deduct Part D adjustment (1)																								(20,276	)
	Deduct amortization of low-income housing (4)																								(7,051	)
	Deduct legal settlement expenses (5)																								(2,493	)
	Pretax income per Consolidated Statement of Operations																							$	190,487
	-1	Medicare Part D items adjusted to GAAP from the segment analysis, which matches expected benefits with policy premium.
	-2	Administrative expense is not allocated to insurance segments.
	-3	Elimination of intersegment commission.
-4	Amortization of low-income housing expense, considered a component of income tax expense in the segment analysis.
-5	Legal settlement expenses.
Reconciliation of Segment Operating Information to the Consolidated Statement of Operations*
		For the three months ended March 31, 2013
		Life			Health			Medicare			Annuity			Investment			Other &			Adjustments			Consolidated
								Part D									Corporate
Revenue:
Premium		$	470,813		$	221,527		$	76,720		$	130								$	15,624	(1)	$	784,814
Net investment income														$	183,040						(6,201	)(4)		176,839
Other income																	$	544			(74	)(3)		470
Total revenue			470,813			221,527			76,720			130			183,040			544			9,349			962,123
Expenses:
Policy benefits			305,141			143,516			64,307			10,735									28,304	(1)		552,003
Required interest on:
Policy reserves			(125,016	)		(14,540	)					(14,459	)		154,015									0
Deferred acquisition costs			41,191			5,599			165			488			(47,443	)								0
Amortization of acquisition costs			81,099			17,687			550			2,378												101,714
Commissions, premium taxes, and
non-deferred acquisition costs			35,288			19,394			3,627			16									(74	)(3)		58,251
Insurance administrative expense (2)																		43,935						43,935
Parent expense																		2,120						2,120
Stock compensation expense																		6,253						6,253
Interest expense															20,877									20,877
Total expenses			337,703			171,656			68,649			(842	)		127,449			52,308			28,230			785,153
Subtotal			133,110			49,871			8,071			972			55,591			(51,764	)		(18,881	)		176,970
Nonoperating items																					12,680	(1)		12,680
Amortization of low-income housing																					6,201	(4)		6,201
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)		$	133,110		$	49,871		$	8,071		$	972		$	55,591		$	(51,764	)	$	0			195,851
Deduct applicable income taxes																								(64,209	)
Segment profits after tax																								131,642
Add back income taxes applicable to segment profitability																								64,209
Add (deduct) realized investment gains (losses)																								(3,907	)
Deduct Part D adjustment (1)																								(12,680	)
Deduct amortization of low-income housing (4)																								(6,201	)
Pretax income per Consolidated Statement of Operations																							$	173,063
-1	Medicare Part D items adjusted to GAAP from the segment analysis, which matches expected benefits with policy premium.
-2	Administrative expense is not allocated to insurance segments.
-3	Elimination of intersegment commission.
-4	Amortization of low-income housing expense, considered a component of income tax expense in the segment analysis.
*	Retrospectively adjusted to give effect to the reorganization of segments described earlier in this Note.
The following table summarizes the measures of segment profitability for comparison. It also reconciles segment profits to net income.
Analysis of Profitability by Segment
		Three months ended						Increase
		March 31,						(Decrease)
		2014			2013*			Amount			%
Life		$	140,619		$	133,110		$	7,509			6
Health			49,457			49,871			(414	)		(1	)
Medicare Part D			9,566			8,071			1,495			19
Annuity			1,045			972			73
Investment			56,920			55,591			1,329			2
Other and corporate:
Other income			544			544			0			0
Administrative expense			(44,211	)		(43,935	)		(276	)		1
Corporate			(10,252	)		(8,373	)		(1,879	)		22
Pretax total			203,688			195,851			7,837			4
Applicable taxes			(66,835	)		(64,209	)		(2,626	)		4
Total			136,853			131,642			5,211			4
Reconciling items, net of tax:
Realized gains (losses)—Investments			10,802			(3,768	)		14,570
Part D adjustment			(13,179	)		(8,242	)		(4,937	)
Legal settlement expense			(1,620	)		0			(1,620	)
Net income		$	132,856		$	119,632		$	13,224			11
*	Retrospectively adjusted to give effect to the reorganization of segments described earlier in this Note.

Accounting_Policies_Policies

Accounting Policies (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Basis of Presentation	'
	The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q. Therefore, they do not include all of the annual disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). However, in the opinion of management, these statements include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated financial position at March 31, 2014, and the consolidated results of operations, comprehensive income, and cash flows for the periods ended March 31, 2014 and 2013. The interim period condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements that are included in the Form 10-K filed on February 28, 2014.
New Unadopted Accounting Guidance	'
	New Unadopted Accounting Guidance: The FASB has issued new accounting guidance, Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures: Accounting for Investments in Qualified Affordable Housing Projects (ASU 2014-01). This accounting guidance replaces the effective yield method of accounting with respect to investments in qualified affordable housing projects and, if certain conditions are present, provides for a new method of accounting. The new method of accounting allows an investor to amortize the cost of its investment based on the proportion of the tax credits/benefits received during the year to the total expected tax credits/benefits to be received over the life of the investment and will be recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as a component of “Income tax expense.” Additional disclosures are required concerning investments in qualified affordable housing.
	The new guidance is effective for Torchmark beginning January 1, 2015, with early adoption permitted. The guidance continues to permit the effective-yield method for investments held as of the date of adoption. Adoption is required on a retrospective basis. Torchmark is currently evaluating the impact of adoption but does not expect that adoption will have a material impact on net income or shareholders’ equity.

Earnings_Per_Share_Tables

Earnings Per Share (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'
Reconciliation of Basic and Diluted Weighted-Average Shares Outstanding	'
	A reconciliation of basic and diluted weighted-average shares outstanding is as follows.
		For the three months ended
		March 31,
		2014		2013
	Basic weighted average shares outstanding		88,775,643		93,580,778
	Weighted average dilutive options outstanding		1,248,050		989,132
	Diluted weighted average shares outstanding		90,023,693		94,569,910
	Antidilutive shares		3,513		0

Postretirement_Benefit_Plans_T

Postretirement Benefit Plans (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Post-Retirement Benefit Costs	'
	The following tables present a summary of post-retirement benefit costs by component.
	Components of Post-Retirement Benefit Costs
		Three Months ended March 31,
		Pension Benefits						Other Benefits
		2014			2013			2014			2013
	Service cost	$	3,232		$	3,765		$	56		$	85
	Interest cost		4,819			4,264			147			260
	Expected return on assets		(4,753	)		(4,356	)		0			0
	Amortization:
	Prior service cost		528			571			0			0
	Actuarial (gain) loss		2,044			4,063			0			0
	Direct recognition of (gain) loss		0			0			(62	)		0
	Net periodic benefit cost	$	5,870		$	8,307		$	141		$	345
Schedule of Defined-Benefit Plans Disclosures	'
	The following chart presents assets at fair value for the defined-benefit pension plans at March 31, 2014 and the prior-year end.
	Pension Assets by Component
		March 31, 2014						December 31, 2013
		Amount			%			Amount			%
	Corporate debt	$	158,546			53		$	147,445			51
	Other fixed maturities		275			0			267			0
	Equity securities		117,176			39			115,287			38
	Short-term investments		1,738			1			13,318			5
	Guaranteed annuity contract		13,723			5			13,769			5
	Other		7,006			2			1,667			1
	Total	$	298,464			100		$	291,753			100

Investments_Tables

Investments (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Investments Schedule [Abstract]	'
Summary of Fixed Maturities and Equity Securities Available for Sale by Component	'
	A summary of fixed maturities and equity securities available for sale by cost or amortized cost and estimated fair value at March 31, 2014 is as follows.
			Amortized			Unrealized			Unrealized			Fair Value			Total Fixed
			Cost			Gains			Losses						Maturities*
	Fixed maturities available for sale:
	Bonds:
	U.S. Government direct, guaranteed, and government-sponsored enterprises		$	430,777		$	329		$	(51,050	)	$	380,056			3	%
	States, municipalities, and political subdivisions			1,278,263			105,064			(3,863	)		1,379,464			10
	Foreign governments			43,642			535			(17	)		44,160			0
	Corporates			10,265,282			1,065,442			(147,287	)		11,183,437			82
	Collateralized debt obligations			65,014			5,950			(6,634	)		64,330			1
	Other asset-backed securities			32,612			2,872			(36	)		35,448			0
	Redeemable preferred stocks			502,778			35,706			(6,928	)		531,556			4
	Total fixed maturities			12,618,368			1,215,898			(215,815	)		13,618,451			100	%
	Equity securities			776			533			0			1,309
	Total fixed maturities and equity securities		$	12,619,144		$	1,216,431		$	(215,815	)	$	13,619,760
	*	At fair value
Schedule of Fixed Maturities by Contractual Maturity	'
	A schedule of fixed maturities by contractual maturity date at March 31, 2014 is shown below on an amortized cost basis and on a fair value basis. Actual maturity dates could differ from contractual maturities due to call or prepayment provisions.
			Amortized			Fair
			Cost			Value
	Fixed maturities available for sale:
	Due in one year or less		$	192,438		$	196,987
	Due from one to five years			410,166			452,731
	Due from five to ten years			948,053			1,039,939
	Due from ten to twenty years			3,170,200			3,507,188
	Due after twenty years			7,796,872			8,318,545
	Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities			100,639			103,061
			$	12,618,368		$	13,618,451
Schedule of Selected Information about Sales of Fixed Maturities	'
	Selected information about sales of fixed maturities is as follows.
	For the three months ended March 31,
			2014			2013
	Proceeds from sales		$	16,050		$	46,361
	Gross realized gains			15,925			991
	Gross realized losses			0			(776	)
Assets Measured at Fair Value on Recurring Basis	'
	The following table represents assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis.
	Fair Value Measurements at March 31, 2014 Using:
	Description		Quoted Prices			Significant			Significant			Total Fair
			in Active			Other			Unobservable			Value
			Markets for			Observable			Inputs (Level 3)
			Identical Assets			Inputs (Level 2)
			(Level 1)
	Fixed maturities available for sale:
	Bonds:
	U.S. Government direct, guaranteed, and government-sponsored enterprises		$	0		$	380,056		$	0		$	380,056
	States, municipalities, and political subdivisions			0			1,379,464			0			1,379,464
	Foreign governments			0			44,160			0			44,160
	Corporates			56,745			10,780,662			346,030			11,183,437
	Collateralized debt obligations			0			0			64,330			64,330
	Other asset-backed securities			0			35,448			0			35,448
	Redeemable preferred stocks			22,922			508,634			0			531,556
	Total fixed maturities			79,667			13,128,424			410,360			13,618,451
	Equity securities			533			0			776			1,309
	Total fixed maturities and equity securities		$	80,200		$	13,128,424		$	411,136		$	13,619,760
	Percent of total			0.6	%		96.4	%		3	%		100	%
Schedule of Changes in Assets Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis Using Significant Unobservable Inputs	'
	Analysis of Changes in Fair Value Measurements Using
	Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
			For the three months ended March 31, 2014
			Asset-			Collateralized			Corporates (1)			Equities			Total
			backed			debt
			securities			obligations
	Balance at January 1, 2014		$	0		$	58,205		$	300,300		$	776		$	359,281
	Total gains or losses:
	Included in realized gains/losses			0			15,924			1			0			15,925
	Included in other comprehensive income			0			7,283			12,772			0			20,055
	Acquisitions			0			0			33,791			0			33,791
	Sales			0			(16,049	)		(1	)		0			(16,050	)
	Amortization			0			1,307			3			0			1,310
	Other (2)			0			(2,340	)		(836	)		0			(3,176	)
	Transfers in and/or out of Level 3 (3)			0			0			0			0			0
	Balance at March 31, 2014		$	0		$	64,330		$	346,030		$	776		$	411,136
	Percent of total fixed maturity and equity securities			0	%		0.5	%		2.5	%		0	%		3	%
			For the three months ended March 31, 2013
			Asset-			Collateralized			Corporates (1)			Equities			Total
			backed			debt
			securities			obligations
	Balance at January 1, 2013		$	7,981		$	46,571		$	231,072		$	739		$	286,363
	Total gains or losses:
	Included in realized gains/losses			0			0			0			0			0
	Included in other comprehensive income			426			2,852			(863	)		0			2,415
	Acquisitions			0			0			62,310			0			62,310
	Sales			0			0			0			0			0
	Amortization			(57	)		691			(3	)		0			631
	Other (2)			0			0			0			0			0
	Transfers in and/or out of Level 3 (3)			(8,350	)		0			(8,181	)		0			(16,531	)
	Balance at March 31, 2013		$	0		$	50,114		$	284,335		$	739		$	335,188
	Percent of total fixed maturity and equity securities			0	%		0.4	%		2.1	%		0	%		2.5	%
	-1	Includes redeemable preferred stocks.
	-2	Includes capitalized interest, foreign exchange adjustments, and principal repayments.
	-3	Considered to be transferred at the end of the period. Transfers into Level 3 occur when observable inputs are no longer available. Transfers out of Level 3 occur when observable inputs become available.
Schedule of Unrealized Investment Losses by Class of Investment	'
	The following table discloses unrealized investment losses by class of investment at March 31, 2014 for the period of time in a loss position. Torchmark considers these investments not to be other-than-temporarily impaired.
	Analysis of Gross Unrealized Investment Losses
	At March 31, 2014
			Less than						Twelve Months						Total
			Twelve Months						or Longer
	Description of Securities		Fair			Unrealized			Fair			Unrealized			Fair			Unrealized
			Value			Loss			Value			Loss			Value			Loss
	Fixed maturities available for sale:
	Bonds:
	U.S. Government direct, guaranteed, and government-sponsored enterprises		$	63,633		$	(6,031	)	$	293,591		$	(45,019	)	$	357,224		$	(51,050	)
	States, municipalities and political subdivisions			80,424			(3,167	)		10,960			(696	)		91,384			(3,863	)
	Foreign governments			895			(1	)		6,092			(16	)		6,987			(17	)
	Corporates			1,485,588			(72,557	)		718,802			(74,730	)		2,204,390			(147,287	)
	Collateralized debt obligations			0			0			14,715			(6,634	)		14,715			(6,634	)
	Other asset-backed securities			0			0			2,951			(36	)		2,951			(36	)
	Redeemable preferred stocks			47,953			(926	)		76,162			(6,002	)		124,115			(6,928	)
	Total fixed maturities			1,678,493			(82,682	)		1,123,273			(133,133	)		2,801,766			(215,815	)
	Equity securities			0			0			0			0			0			0
	Total fixed maturities and equity securities		$	1,678,493		$	(82,682	)	$	1,123,273		$	(133,133	)	$	2,801,766		$	(215,815	)
Schedule of Additional Information About Investments in Unrealized Loss Position	'
	Additional information about investments in an unrealized loss position is as follows.
			Less than			Twelve			Total
			Twelve			Months
			Months			or Longer
	Number of issues (Cusip numbers) held:
	As of March 31, 2014			272			207			479
	As of December 31, 2013			462			130			592

Supplemental_Information_about1

Supplemental Information about Changes to Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Equity [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Change in Balance by Component of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income	'
	An analysis in the change in balance by component of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income is as follows for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013.
	Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
		For the three months ended March 31, 2014
		Available			Deferred			Foreign			Pension			Total
		for Sale			Acquisition			Exchange			Adjustments
		Assets			Costs
	Balance at January 1, 2014	$	256,196		$	(6,728	)	$	24,866		$	(63,353	)	$	210,981
	Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax		409,139			(2,748	)		(738	)		0			405,653
	Reclassifications, net of tax		(12,249	)		0			0			1,673			(10,576	)
	Other comprehensive income (loss)		396,890			(2,748	)		(738	)		1,673			395,077
	Balance at March 31, 2014	$	653,086		$	(9,476	)	$	24,128		$	(61,680	)	$	606,058
		For the three months ended March 31, 2013
		Available			Deferred			Foreign			Pension			Total
		for Sale			Acquisition			Exchange			Adjustments
		Assets			Costs
	Balance at January 1, 2013	$	1,024,367		$	(16,417	)	$	26,608		$	(109,283	)	$	925,275
	Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax		(81,040	)		1,922			(749	)		0			(79,867	)
	Reclassifications, net of tax		1,670			0			0			2,952			4,622
	Other comprehensive income (loss)		(79,370	)		1,922			(749	)		2,952			(75,245	)
	Balance at March 31, 2013	$	944,997		$	(14,495	)	$	25,859		$	(106,331	)	$	850,030
Summary of Reclassifications Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income	'
	Reclassifications out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income are presented below for the three months March 31, 2014 and 2013.
	Reclassification Adjustments
		Three months ended March 31,						Affected line items in the
	Component Line Item	2014			2013			Statement of Operations
	Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale assets:
	Realized (gains) losses	$	(16,619	)	$	2,561		Realized investment gains (losses)
	Amortization of (discount) premium		(2,227	)		(1,882	)	Net investment income
	Total before tax		(18,846	)		679
	Tax		6,597			991		Income Taxes
	Total after tax		(12,249	)		1,670
	Pension adjustments:
	Amortization of prior service cost		528			571		Other operating expenses
	Amortization of actuarial gain (loss)		2,046			3,972		Other operating expenses
	Total before tax		2,574			4,543
	Tax		(901	)		(1,591	)	Income Taxes
	Total after tax		1,673			2,952
	Total reclassifications (after tax)	$	(10,576	)	$	4,622

Business_Segments_Tables

Business Segments (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting [Abstract]	'
Schedule of Adjustments for Difference in Interim Medicare Part D Results for Segment Purposes and Gaap Table	'
	An analysis of the adjustments for the difference in the interim results as presented for segment purposes and GAAP for Medicare Part D is as follows.
			Three months ended
			March 31,
			2014			2013
	Benefit costs deferred		$	47,671		$	28,304
	Government risk-sharing premium adjustment			(27,395	)		(15,624	)
	Pre-tax addition to segment interim period income		$	20,276		$	12,680
	After tax amount		$	13,179		$	8,242
Reconciliation of Health Premium Included in the Segment Analysis	'
	A reconciliation of health premium included in the segment analysis with health premium as reported in the Consolidated Statements of Operations is presented in the following table.
			Three months ended March 31,
			2014			2013			% Change
	Premium per segment analysis:
	Medicare Part D premium		$	83,033		$	76,720			8
	Other health premium			219,435			221,527			(1	)
	Part D risk sharing adjustment			27,395			15,624			75
	Health premium per Consolidated Statements of Operations		$	329,863		$	313,871			5
Reconciliation of Segment Operating Information to Consolidated Statement of Operations	'
	The following tables total the components of Torchmark’s operating segments and reconcile these operating results to its pretax income and each significant line item in its Consolidated Statements of Operations.
	Reconciliation of Segment Operating Information to the Consolidated Statement of Operations
			For the three months ended March 31, 2014
			Life			Health			Medicare			Annuity			Investment			Other &			Adjustments			Consolidated
									Part D									Corporate
	Revenue:
	Premium		$	489,058		$	219,435		$	83,033		$	99								$	27,395	(1)	$	819,020
	Net investment income														$	188,051						(7,051	)(4)		181,000
	Other income																	$	544			(63	)(3)		481
	Total revenue			489,058			219,435			83,033			99			188,051			544			20,281			1,000,501
	Expenses:
	Policy benefits			320,176			141,786			66,261			10,623									47,671	(1)		586,517
	Required interest on:
	Policy reserves			(130,511	)		(15,632	)					(13,791	)		159,934									0
	Deferred acquisition costs			41,690			5,598			175			389			(47,852	)								0
	Amortization of acquisition costs			83,600			18,608			705			1,820												104,733
	Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs			33,484			19,618			6,326			13									(63	)(3)		59,378
	Insurance administrative expense (2)																		44,211			2,493	(5)		46,704
	Parent expense																		1,743						1,743
	Stock compensation expense																		8,509						8,509
	Interest expense															19,049									19,049
	Total expenses			348,439			169,978			73,467			(946	)		131,131			54,463			50,101			826,633
	Subtotal			140,619			49,457			9,566			1,045			56,920			(53,919	)		(29,820	)		173,868
	Nonoperating items																					22,769	(1,5)		22,769
	Amortization of low-income housing																					7,051	(4)		7,051
	Measure of segment profitability (pretax)		$	140,619		$	49,457		$	9,566		$	1,045		$	56,920		$	(53,919	)	$	0			203,688
	Deduct applicable income taxes																								(66,835	)
	Segment profits after tax																								136,853
	Add back income taxes applicable to segment profitability																								66,835
	Add (deduct) realized investment gains (losses)																								16,619
	Deduct Part D adjustment (1)																								(20,276	)
	Deduct amortization of low-income housing (4)																								(7,051	)
	Deduct legal settlement expenses (5)																								(2,493	)
	Pretax income per Consolidated Statement of Operations																							$	190,487
	-1	Medicare Part D items adjusted to GAAP from the segment analysis, which matches expected benefits with policy premium.
	-2	Administrative expense is not allocated to insurance segments.
	-3	Elimination of intersegment commission.
	-4	Amortization of low-income housing expense, considered a component of income tax expense in the segment analysis.
	-5	Legal settlement expenses.
	Reconciliation of Segment Operating Information to the Consolidated Statement of Operations*
			For the three months ended March 31, 2013
			Life			Health			Medicare			Annuity			Investment			Other &			Adjustments			Consolidated
									Part D									Corporate
	Revenue:
	Premium		$	470,813		$	221,527		$	76,720		$	130								$	15,624	(1)	$	784,814
	Net investment income														$	183,040						(6,201	)(4)		176,839
	Other income																	$	544			(74	)(3)		470
	Total revenue			470,813			221,527			76,720			130			183,040			544			9,349			962,123
	Expenses:
	Policy benefits			305,141			143,516			64,307			10,735									28,304	(1)		552,003
	Required interest on:
	Policy reserves			(125,016	)		(14,540	)					(14,459	)		154,015									0
	Deferred acquisition costs			41,191			5,599			165			488			(47,443	)								0
	Amortization of acquisition costs			81,099			17,687			550			2,378												101,714
	Commissions, premium taxes, and
	non-deferred acquisition costs			35,288			19,394			3,627			16									(74	)(3)		58,251
	Insurance administrative expense (2)																		43,935						43,935
	Parent expense																		2,120						2,120
	Stock compensation expense																		6,253						6,253
	Interest expense															20,877									20,877
	Total expenses			337,703			171,656			68,649			(842	)		127,449			52,308			28,230			785,153
	Subtotal			133,110			49,871			8,071			972			55,591			(51,764	)		(18,881	)		176,970
	Nonoperating items																					12,680	(1)		12,680
Amortization of low-income housing																					6,201	(4)		6,201
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)		$	133,110		$	49,871		$	8,071		$	972		$	55,591		$	(51,764	)	$	0			195,851
Deduct applicable income taxes																								(64,209	)
Segment profits after tax																								131,642
Add back income taxes applicable to segment profitability																								64,209
Add (deduct) realized investment gains (losses)																								(3,907	)
Deduct Part D adjustment (1)																								(12,680	)
Deduct amortization of low-income housing (4)																								(6,201	)
Pretax income per Consolidated Statement of Operations																							$	173,063
-1	Medicare Part D items adjusted to GAAP from the segment analysis, which matches expected benefits with policy premium.
-2	Administrative expense is not allocated to insurance segments.
-3	Elimination of intersegment commission.
-4	Amortization of low-income housing expense, considered a component of income tax expense in the segment analysis.
*	Retrospectively adjusted to give effect to the reorganization of segments described earlier in this Note.
Analysis of Profitability By Segment	'
	The following table summarizes the measures of segment profitability for comparison. It also reconciles segment profits to net income.
	Analysis of Profitability by Segment
			Three months ended						Increase
			March 31,						(Decrease)
			2014			2013*			Amount			%
	Life		$	140,619		$	133,110		$	7,509			6
	Health			49,457			49,871			(414	)		(1	)
	Medicare Part D			9,566			8,071			1,495			19
	Annuity			1,045			972			73
	Investment			56,920			55,591			1,329			2
	Other and corporate:
	Other income			544			544			0			0
	Administrative expense			(44,211	)		(43,935	)		(276	)		1
	Corporate			(10,252	)		(8,373	)		(1,879	)		22
	Pretax total			203,688			195,851			7,837			4
	Applicable taxes			(66,835	)		(64,209	)		(2,626	)		4
	Total			136,853			131,642			5,211			4
	Reconciling items, net of tax:
	Realized gains (losses)—Investments			10,802			(3,768	)		14,570
	Part D adjustment			(13,179	)		(8,242	)		(4,937	)
	Legal settlement expense			(1,620	)		0			(1,620	)
	Net income		$	132,856		$	119,632		$	13,224			11
	*	Retrospectively adjusted to give effect to the reorganization of segments described earlier in this Note.

Earnings_Per_Share_Reconciliat

Earnings Per Share - Reconciliation of Basic and Diluted Weighted - Average Shares Outstanding (Detail)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'	'
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	88,775,643	93,580,778
Weighted average dilutive options outstanding	1,248,050	989,132
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	90,023,693	94,569,910
Antidilutive shares	3,513	0

Earnings_Per_Share_Additional_

Earnings Per Share - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'
Stock split, description	'a three for two stock split
Percentage of stock dividend payable	50.00%
Record date for three for two stock split	2-Jun-14
Stock split, payment date	1-Jul-14

Postretirement_Benefits_Schedu

Postretirement Benefits - Schedule of Post-Retirement Benefit Costs (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Pension Benefits [Member]	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Service cost	$3,232	$3,765
Interest cost	4,819	4,264
Expected return on assets	-4,753	-4,356
Amortization:	'	'
Prior service cost	528	571
Actuarial (gain) loss	2,044	4,063
Direct recognition of (gain) loss	0	0
Net periodic benefit cost	5,870	8,307
Other Benefits [Member]	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Service cost	56	85
Interest cost	147	260
Expected return on assets	0	0
Amortization:	'	'
Prior service cost	0	0
Actuarial (gain) loss	0	0
Direct recognition of (gain) loss	-62	0
Net periodic benefit cost	$141	$345

Postretirement_Benefit_Plans_S

Postretirement Benefit Plans - Schedule of Defined-Benefit Plans Disclosures (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Defined benefit pension plans-fair value of plan assets	$298,464	$291,753
Percent of total pension assets	100.00%	100.00%
Other Fixed Maturities [Member]	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Defined benefit pension plans-fair value of plan assets	275	267
Percent of total pension assets	0.00%	0.00%
Equity Securities [Member]	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Defined benefit pension plans-fair value of plan assets	117,176	115,287
Percent of total pension assets	39.00%	38.00%
Guaranteed Annuity Contract [Member]	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Defined benefit pension plans-fair value of plan assets	13,723	13,769
Percent of total pension assets	5.00%	5.00%
Other [Member]	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Defined benefit pension plans-fair value of plan assets	7,006	1,667
Percent of total pension assets	2.00%	1.00%
Corporate Bonds [Member]	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Defined benefit pension plans-fair value of plan assets	158,546	147,445
Percent of total pension assets	53.00%	51.00%
Short-term Investments [Member]	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Defined benefit pension plans-fair value of plan assets	$1,738	$13,318
Percent of total pension assets	1.00%	5.00%

Postretirement_Benefit_Plans_A

Postretirement Benefit Plans - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Liability related to funded defined-benefit pension plans	$331	$322
Contributions to benefit plans	0	'
Insurance cash value and Rabbi Trust investments supporting supplemental pension plan liability	67	66
Non-qualified supplemental retirement pension plan liability	59	58
Maximum [Member]	'	'
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Contributions to benefit plans	$20	'

Investments_Summary_of_Fixed_M

Investments - Summary of Fixed Maturities and Equity Securities Available for Sale by Component (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Debt Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	$12,618,368	$12,488,875	[1]
Total Available for Sale Securities Cost	12,619,144	'
Unrealized Gains	1,216,431	'
Unrealized Losses	-215,815	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	13,618,451	12,879,133	[1]
Total Available for Sale Securities Fair Value	13,619,760	'
Equity Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	776	875	[1]
Equity Securities [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Equity Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	776	'
Unrealized Gains	533	'
Unrealized Losses	0	'
Equity Securities Fair Value	1,309	'
Fixed Maturities [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Debt Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	12,618,368	'
Unrealized Gains	1,215,898	'
Unrealized Losses	-215,815	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	13,618,451	'
Total Fixed Maturities At Fair Value	100.00%	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | U.S. Government Direct, Guaranteed, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Debt Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	430,777	'
Unrealized Gains	329	'
Unrealized Losses	-51,050	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	380,056	'
Total Fixed Maturities At Fair Value	3.00%	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | States, Municipalities, and Political Subdivisions [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Debt Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	1,278,263	'
Unrealized Gains	105,064	'
Unrealized Losses	-3,863	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	1,379,464	'
Total Fixed Maturities At Fair Value	10.00%	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Foreign Governments [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Debt Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	43,642	'
Unrealized Gains	535	'
Unrealized Losses	-17	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	44,160	'
Total Fixed Maturities At Fair Value	0.00%	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Corporates [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Debt Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	10,265,282	'
Unrealized Gains	1,065,442	'
Unrealized Losses	-147,287	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	11,183,437	'
Total Fixed Maturities At Fair Value	82.00%	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Collateralized Debt Obligations [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Debt Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	65,014	'
Unrealized Gains	5,950	'
Unrealized Losses	-6,634	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	64,330	'
Total Fixed Maturities At Fair Value	1.00%	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Other Asset-backed Securities [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Debt Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	32,612	'
Unrealized Gains	2,872	'
Unrealized Losses	-36	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	35,448	'
Total Fixed Maturities At Fair Value	0.00%	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Redeemable Preferred Stocks [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Debt Securities Cost or Amortized Cost	502,778	'
Unrealized Gains	35,706	'
Unrealized Losses	-6,928	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	$531,556	'
Total Fixed Maturities At Fair Value	4.00%	'
[1]	Derived from audited financial statements

Investments_Schedule_of_Fixed_

Investments - Schedule of Fixed Maturities by Contractual Maturity (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Investments Debt And Equity Securities [Abstract]	'	'
Fixed maturities available for sale, Amortized Cost - Due in one year or less	$192,438	'
Fixed maturities available for sale, Amortized Cost - Due from one to five years	410,166	'
Fixed maturities available for sale, Amortized Cost - Due from five to ten years	948,053	'
Fixed maturities available for sale, Amortized Cost - Due from ten to twenty years	3,170,200	'
Fixed maturities available for sale, Amortized Cost - Due after twenty years	7,796,872	'
Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, Amortized Cost	100,639	'
Total fixed maturities available for sale, Amortized Cost	12,618,368	12,488,875	[1]
Fixed maturities available for sale, Fair Value - Due in one year or less	196,987	'
Fixed maturities available for sale, Fair Value - Due from one to five years	452,731	'
Fixed maturities available for sale, Fair Value - Due from five to ten years	1,039,939	'
Fixed maturities available for sale, Fair Value - Due from ten to twenty years	3,507,188	'
Fixed maturities available for sale, Fair Value - Due after twenty years	8,318,545	'
Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, Fair Value	103,061	'
Debt Securities Fair Value	$13,618,451	$12,879,133	[1]
[1]	Derived from audited financial statements

Investments_Schedule_of_Select

Investments - Schedule of Selected Information about Sales of Fixed Maturities (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Proceeds from sales	$16,049	$46,361
Fixed Maturities [Member]	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Proceeds from sales	16,050	46,361
Gross realized gains	15,925	991
Gross realized losses	$0	($776)

Investments_Assets_Measured_at

Investments - Assets Measured at Fair Value on Recurring Basis (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	$13,618,451	$12,879,133	[1]
Equity securities	1,309	1,884	[1]
Total fixed maturities and equity securities	13,619,760	'
Percent of total	100.00%	'
Fixed Maturities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	13,618,451	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | U.S. Government Direct, Guaranteed, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	380,056	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | States, Municipalities, and Political Subdivisions [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	1,379,464	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Foreign Governments [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	44,160	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Corporates [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	11,183,437	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Collateralized Debt Obligations [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	64,330	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Other Asset-backed Securities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	35,448	'
Fixed Maturities [Member] | Redeemable Preferred Stocks [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	531,556	'
Equity Securities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Equity securities	1,309	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Total fixed maturities and equity securities	80,200	'
Percent of total	0.60%	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	79,667	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | U.S. Government Direct, Guaranteed, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | States, Municipalities, and Political Subdivisions [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Foreign Governments [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Corporates [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	56,745	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Collateralized Debt Obligations [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Other Asset-backed Securities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Redeemable Preferred Stocks [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	22,922	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Equity Securities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Equity securities	533	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Total fixed maturities and equity securities	13,128,424	'
Percent of total	96.40%	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	13,128,424	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | U.S. Government Direct, Guaranteed, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	380,056	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | States, Municipalities, and Political Subdivisions [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	1,379,464	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Foreign Governments [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	44,160	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Corporates [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	10,780,662	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Collateralized Debt Obligations [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Other Asset-backed Securities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	35,448	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Redeemable Preferred Stocks [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	508,634	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Equity Securities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Equity securities	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Total fixed maturities and equity securities	411,136	'
Percent of total	3.00%	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	410,360	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | U.S. Government Direct, Guaranteed, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | States, Municipalities, and Political Subdivisions [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Foreign Governments [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Corporates [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	346,030	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Collateralized Debt Obligations [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	64,330	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Other Asset-backed Securities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member] | Redeemable Preferred Stocks [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Fair value fixed maturities measured on recurring basis	0	'
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Equity Securities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value Assets Measured On Recurring Basis [Line Items]	'	'
Equity securities	$776	'
[1]	Derived from audited financial statements

Investments_Schedule_of_Change

Investments - Schedule of Changes in Assets Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Investment [Line Items]	'	'
Beginning Balance	$359,281	$286,363
Included in realized gains/losses	15,925	0
Included in other comprehensive income	20,055	2,415
Acquisitions	33,791	62,310
Sales	-16,050	0
Amortization	1,310	631
Other	-3,176	0
Transfers in and/or out of Level 3	0	-16,531
Ending Balance	411,136	335,188
Percent of total fixed maturity and equity securities	3.00%	2.50%
Asset-backed Securities [Member]	'	'
Investment [Line Items]	'	'
Beginning Balance	0	7,981
Included in realized gains/losses	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	0	426
Acquisitions	0	0
Sales	0	0
Amortization	0	-57
Other	0	0
Transfers in and/or out of Level 3	0	-8,350
Ending Balance	0	0
Percent of total fixed maturity and equity securities	0.00%	0.00%
Collateralized Debt Obligations [Member]	'	'
Investment [Line Items]	'	'
Beginning Balance	58,205	46,571
Included in realized gains/losses	15,924	0
Included in other comprehensive income	7,283	2,852
Acquisitions	0	0
Sales	-16,049	0
Amortization	1,307	691
Other	-2,340	0
Transfers in and/or out of Level 3	0	0
Ending Balance	64,330	50,114
Percent of total fixed maturity and equity securities	0.50%	0.40%
Corporates [Member]	'	'
Investment [Line Items]	'	'
Beginning Balance	300,300	231,072
Included in realized gains/losses	1	0
Included in other comprehensive income	12,772	-863
Acquisitions	33,791	62,310
Sales	-1	0
Amortization	3	-3
Other	-836	0
Transfers in and/or out of Level 3	0	-8,181
Ending Balance	346,030	284,335
Percent of total fixed maturity and equity securities	2.50%	2.10%
Equity Securities [Member]	'	'
Investment [Line Items]	'	'
Beginning Balance	776	739
Included in realized gains/losses	0	0
Included in other comprehensive income	0	0
Acquisitions	0	0
Sales	0	0
Amortization	0	0
Other	0	0
Transfers in and/or out of Level 3	0	0
Ending Balance	$776	$739
Percent of total fixed maturity and equity securities	0.00%	0.00%

Investments_Schedule_of_Unreal

Investments - Schedule of Unrealized Investment Losses by Class of Investment (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	$1,678,493
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	1,123,273
Fair Value, Total	2,801,766
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	-82,682
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	-133,133
Unrealized Loss Total	-215,815
Fixed Maturities [Member]	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	1,678,493
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	1,123,273
Fair Value, Total	2,801,766
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	-82,682
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	-133,133
Unrealized Loss Total	-215,815
Equity Securities [Member]	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	0
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	0
Fair Value, Total	0
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	0
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	0
Unrealized Loss Total	0
U.S. Government Direct, Guaranteed, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	63,633
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	293,591
Fair Value, Total	357,224
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	-6,031
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	-45,019
Unrealized Loss Total	-51,050
States, Municipalities, and Political Subdivisions [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	80,424
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	10,960
Fair Value, Total	91,384
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	-3,167
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	-696
Unrealized Loss Total	-3,863
Foreign Governments [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	895
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	6,092
Fair Value, Total	6,987
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	-1
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	-16
Unrealized Loss Total	-17
Corporates [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	1,485,588
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	718,802
Fair Value, Total	2,204,390
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	-72,557
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	-74,730
Unrealized Loss Total	-147,287
Collateralized Debt Obligations [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	0
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	14,715
Fair Value, Total	14,715
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	0
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	-6,634
Unrealized Loss Total	-6,634
Other Asset-backed Securities [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	0
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	2,951
Fair Value, Total	2,951
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	0
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	-36
Unrealized Loss Total	-36
Redeemable Preferred Stocks [Member] | Fixed Maturities [Member]	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'
Fair Value, Less than Twelve Months	47,953
Fair Value, Twelve Months or Longer	76,162
Fair Value, Total	124,115
Unrealized Loss Less Than Twelve Months	-926
Unrealized Loss Twelve Months or Longer	-6,002
Unrealized Loss Total	($6,928)

Investments_Schedule_of_Additi

Investments - Schedule of Additional Information about Investments in Unrealized Loss Position (Detail)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
	Issues	Issues
Investments Debt And Equity Securities [Abstract]	'	'
Number of issues (Cusip numbers) held, Less than Twelve Months	272	462
Number of issues (Cusip numbers) held, Twelve Months or Longer	207	130
Number of issues (Cusip numbers) held, Total	479	592

Investments_Additional_Informa

Investments - Additional Information (Detail)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
	Issues	Issues
Investments Debt And Equity Securities [Abstract]	'	'
Total issues of fixed-maturities and equities	1,612	1,619

Supplemental_Information_about2

Supplemental Information about Changes to Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income - Schedule of Change in Balance by Component of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014		Mar. 31, 2013
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]	'		'
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Beginning Balance	$210,981	[1]	$925,275
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax	405,653		-79,867
Reclassifications, net of tax	-10,576		4,622
Other comprehensive income (loss)	395,077		-75,245
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Ending Balance	606,058		850,030
Pension Adjustments [Member]	'		'
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]	'		'
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Beginning Balance	-63,353		-109,283
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax	0		0
Reclassifications, net of tax	1,673		2,952
Other comprehensive income (loss)	1,673		2,952
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Ending Balance	-61,680		-106,331
Foreign Exchange [Member]	'		'
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]	'		'
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Beginning Balance	24,866		26,608
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax	-738		-749
Reclassifications, net of tax	0		0
Other comprehensive income (loss)	-738		-749
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Ending Balance	24,128		25,859
Deferred Acquisition Costs [Member]	'		'
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]	'		'
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Beginning Balance	-6,728		-16,417
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax	-2,748		1,922
Reclassifications, net of tax	0		0
Other comprehensive income (loss)	-2,748		1,922
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Ending Balance	-9,476		-14,495
Available for Sale Assets [Member]	'		'
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]	'		'
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Beginning Balance	256,196		1,024,367
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, net of tax	409,139		-81,040
Reclassifications, net of tax	-12,249		1,670
Other comprehensive income (loss)	396,890		-79,370
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), Ending Balance	$653,086		$944,997
[1]	Derived from audited financial statements

Supplemental_Information_about3

Supplemental Information about Changes to Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income - Summary of Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Other Comprehensive Income Loss Reclassification Adjustments [Line Items]	'	'
Tax	($901)	($1,591)
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member]	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income Loss Reclassification Adjustments [Line Items]	'	'
Total after tax	-10,576	4,622
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member] | Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale assets [Member]	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income Loss Reclassification Adjustments [Line Items]	'	'
Realized (gains) losses	-16,619	2,561
Amortization of (discount) premium	-2,227	-1,882
Total before tax	-18,846	679
Tax	6,597	991
Total after tax	-12,249	1,670
Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Member] | Pension adjustments [Member]	'	'
Other Comprehensive Income Loss Reclassification Adjustments [Line Items]	'	'
Amortization of prior service cost	528	571
Amortization of actuarial gain (loss)	2,046	3,972
Total before tax	2,574	4,543
Tax	-901	-1,591
Total after tax	$1,673	$2,952

Business_Segments_Adjustments_

Business Segments - Adjustments for Difference in Interim Medicare Part D Results for Segment Purposes and GAAP (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Benefit costs deferred	$586,517	$552,003
Government risk-sharing premium adjustment	-819,020	-784,814
Pre-tax addition to segment interim period income	20,276	12,680
After tax amount	13,179	8,242
Adjustments [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Benefit costs deferred	47,671	28,304
Government risk-sharing premium adjustment	-27,395	-15,624
Pre-tax addition to segment interim period income	$20,276	$12,680

Business_Segments_Reconciliati

Business Segments - Reconciliation of Health Premium Included in the segment Analysis (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Health premium	$329,863	$313,871
Health premium earned per segment, Change %	5.00%	'
Medicare Part D [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Health premium	83,033	76,720
Health premium earned per segment, Change %	8.00%	'
Other Health [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Health premium	219,435	221,527
Health premium earned per segment, Change %	-1.00%	'
Part D risk sharing adjustments [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Health premium	$27,395	$15,624
Health premium earned per segment, Change %	75.00%	'

Business_Segments_Additional_I

Business Segments - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Settled Litigation [Member]	'
Segment Reporting Disclosure [Line Items]	'
Litigation settlement amount	($3,700,000)
Litigation settlement amount (after tax)	-2,400,000
Settled Litigation Regarding Investments [Member]	'
Segment Reporting Disclosure [Line Items]	'
Litigation settlement amount	1,200,000
Litigation settlement amount (after tax)	$752,000

Business_Segments_Reconciliati1

Business Segments - Reconciliation of Segment Operating Information to Consolidated Statement of Operations (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Premium	$819,020	$784,814
Net investment income	181,000	176,839
Other income	481	470
Total revenue	1,000,501	962,123
Policy benefits	586,517	552,003
Policy reserves	0	0
Deferred acquisition costs	0	0
Amortization of acquisition costs	104,733	101,714
Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs	59,378	58,251
Insurance administrative expense	46,704	43,935
Parent expense	1,743	2,120
Stock compensation expense	8,509	6,253
Interest expense	19,049	20,877
Total benefits and expenses	826,633	785,153
Subtotal	173,868	176,970
Nonoperating items	22,769	12,680
Amortization of low-income housing	7,051	6,201
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)	203,688	195,851
Deduct applicable income taxes	-66,835	-64,209
Segment profits after tax	136,853	131,642
Add back income taxes applicable to segment profitability	66,835	64,209
Add (deduct) realized investment gains (losses)	16,619	-3,907
Deduct Part D adjustment	-20,276	-12,680
Deduct amortization of low-income housing	-7,051	-6,201
Deduct legal settlement expenses	-2,493	'
Income before income taxes	190,487	173,063
Operating Segments [Member] | Life Insurance [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Premium	489,058	470,813
Total revenue	489,058	470,813
Policy benefits	320,176	305,141
Policy reserves	-130,511	-125,016
Deferred acquisition costs	41,690	41,191
Amortization of acquisition costs	83,600	81,099
Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs	33,484	35,288
Total benefits and expenses	348,439	337,703
Subtotal	140,619	133,110
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)	140,619	133,110
Operating Segments [Member] | Health Insurance [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Premium	219,435	221,527
Total revenue	219,435	221,527
Policy benefits	141,786	143,516
Policy reserves	-15,632	-14,540
Deferred acquisition costs	5,598	5,599
Amortization of acquisition costs	18,608	17,687
Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs	19,618	19,394
Total benefits and expenses	169,978	171,656
Subtotal	49,457	49,871
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)	49,457	49,871
Operating Segments [Member] | Medicare Part D [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Premium	83,033	76,720
Total revenue	83,033	76,720
Policy benefits	66,261	64,307
Deferred acquisition costs	175	165
Amortization of acquisition costs	705	550
Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs	6,326	3,627
Total benefits and expenses	73,467	68,649
Subtotal	9,566	8,071
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)	9,566	8,071
Operating Segments [Member] | Annuity [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Premium	99	130
Total revenue	99	130
Policy benefits	10,623	10,735
Policy reserves	-13,791	-14,459
Deferred acquisition costs	389	488
Amortization of acquisition costs	1,820	2,378
Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs	13	16
Total benefits and expenses	-946	-842
Subtotal	1,045	972
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)	1,045	972
Operating Segments [Member] | Investment [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Net investment income	188,051	183,040
Total revenue	188,051	183,040
Policy reserves	159,934	154,015
Deferred acquisition costs	-47,852	-47,443
Interest expense	19,049	20,877
Total benefits and expenses	131,131	127,449
Subtotal	56,920	55,591
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)	56,920	55,591
Operating Segments [Member] | Other and Corporate [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Other income	544	544
Total revenue	544	544
Insurance administrative expense	44,211	43,935
Parent expense	1,743	2,120
Stock compensation expense	8,509	6,253
Total benefits and expenses	54,463	52,308
Subtotal	-53,919	-51,764
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)	-53,919	-51,764
Adjustments [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Premium	27,395	15,624
Net investment income	-7,051	-6,201
Other income	-63	-74
Total revenue	20,281	9,349
Policy benefits	47,671	28,304
Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs	-63	-74
Insurance administrative expense	2,493	'
Total benefits and expenses	50,101	28,230
Subtotal	-29,820	-18,881
Nonoperating items	22,769	12,680
Amortization of low-income housing	7,051	6,201
Measure of segment profitability (pretax)	0	0
Deduct Part D adjustment	-20,276	-12,680
Deduct amortization of low-income housing	($7,051)	($6,201)

Business_Segments_Analysis_of_

Business Segments - Analysis of Profitability by Segment (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	$203,688	$195,851
Applicable taxes	-66,835	-64,209
Net operating income	136,853	131,642
Realized gains (losses)-Investments	10,802	-3,768
Part D adjustment	-13,179	-8,242
Legal settlement expense	-1,620	0
Net income	132,856	119,632
Applicable taxes, Increase (Decrease)	-2,626	'
Net operating income, Increase (Decrease)	5,211	'
Realized gains (losses) - Investments net of tax, Increase (Decrease)	14,570	'
Part D adjustment net of tax, Increase (Decrease)	-4,937	'
Legal settlement expenses net of tax, Increase (Decrease)	-1,620	'
Net income, Increase (Decrease)	13,224	'
Pretax operating income, Increase (Decrease) %	4.00%	'
Applicable taxes, Change %	4.00%	'
Net operating income, Change %	4.00%	'
Net income, Change %	11.00%	'
Operating Segments [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income, Change	7,837	'
Operating Segments [Member] | Life Insurance [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	140,619	133,110
Pretax operating income, Change	7,509	'
Pretax operating income, Increase (Decrease) %	6.00%	'
Operating Segments [Member] | Health Insurance [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	49,457	49,871
Pretax operating income, Change	-414	'
Pretax operating income, Increase (Decrease) %	-1.00%	'
Operating Segments [Member] | Medicare Part D [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	9,566	8,071
Pretax operating income, Change	1,495	'
Pretax operating income, Increase (Decrease) %	19.00%	'
Operating Segments [Member] | Annuity [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	1,045	972
Pretax operating income, Change	73	'
Operating Segments [Member] | Investment [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	56,920	55,591
Pretax operating income, Change	1,329	'
Pretax operating income, Increase (Decrease) %	2.00%	'
Operating Segments [Member] | Other and Corporate [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	-53,919	-51,764
Operating Segments [Member] | Other and Corporate [Member] | Other Income [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	544	544
Pretax operating income, Change	0	'
Pretax operating income, Increase (Decrease) %	0.00%	'
Operating Segments [Member] | Other and Corporate [Member] | Administrative Expense [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	-44,211	-43,935
Pretax operating income, Change	-276	'
Pretax operating income, Increase (Decrease) %	1.00%	'
Operating Segments [Member] | Other and Corporate [Member] | Corporate [Member]	'	'
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]	'	'
Pretax operating income	-10,252	-8,373
Pretax operating income, Change	($1,879)	'
Pretax operating income, Increase (Decrease) %	22.00%	'