Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Feb. 25, 2014 Common Stock	Feb. 25, 2014 Class B Common Stock
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	STC
Entity Registrant Name	STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000094344
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			21,451,588	1,050,012
Entity Public Float		$ 560,226,000