Quarterly financial information (unaudited) - Revenues Financial Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 497,403	$ 555,704	$ 531,906	$ 448,872	$ 522,319	$ 508,097	$ 446,838	$ 393,576	$ 2,033,885	$ 1,870,830	$ 1,927,980
Net (loss) earnings attributable to Stewart	$ 2,605	$ (13,467)	$ 17,106	$ (12,448)	$ 11,863	$ 23,717	$ 6,279	$ (12,106)	$ (6,204)	$ 29,753	$ 63,026
Diluted (loss) earnings per share attributable to Stewart (usd per share)	$ 0.11	$ (0.58)	$ 0.72	$ (0.52)	$ 0.49	$ 0.97	$ 0.27	$ (0.54)	$ (0.26)	$ 1.24	$ 2.60