Catastrophe & Restoration

Tropical Storm Emily brushed past Puerto Rico and headed Wednesday toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where more than 630,000 people are still without shelter after last year's earthquake.

While claim settlement is the largest driver of customer satisfaction during a property claim experience, first notice of loss drives a significant 21 percent of the experience and often sets the tone for the remainder of the claims process, a new J.D. Power and Associates study says.

Two regional insurers took earnings hits in the 2011 second quarter due to catastrophe losses.

Although Tropical Storm Don's path is south of the main oil and gas producing regions in the Gulf, about 500 operating oil and gas rigs are in the storm's path and could face damage.

Before-and-after images of Joplin, Mo. illustrate the amount of debris that had to be removed, and show the slow but steady progress the town is making towards digging out and rebuilding.

Hail that struck parts of Colorado and southeastern Wyoming is expected to cause about $164.8 million in insured losses, according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.