Catastrophe & Restoration

A 5.3 magnitude earthquake has struck Spain about 218 miles south-southeast of Madrid, causing several deaths and toppling buildings, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

FEMA is asking thousands of Americans who were victims of natural disasters to return more than $22 million in government aid, acknowledging it mistakenly made payments to many people who were ineligible.

A property and casualty industry official says he hopes the recent heavy Mississippi River flooding will reinforce the need for prompt congressional action for a long-term National Flood Insurance Program extension.

Catastrophe risk modeler EQECAT has dramatically changed its estimate of insured losses from the Tohoku, Japan earthquake to between $22 billion and $39 billion.

AIR Worldwide says insured losses from the severe weather outbreak from April 22-28 will be between $3.7 billion and $5.5 billion.

A Hillsborough County judge's has ruled that homeowners' insurance should cover the damage caused by Chinese drywall.