Earnings per share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Numerator:
Net loss attributable to Stewart	$ (11,194)	$ (12,448)
Denominator (000):
Basic and diluted average shares outstanding	23,348	23,990
Basic and diluted loss per share attributable to Stewart (usd per share)	$ (0.48)	$ (0.52)