Kaikōura quake insurance claims top $1.8b

5:22 pm on 21 June 2017

More than $1.8 billion worth of insurance claims have been lodged for the Kaikōura earthquake last November.

An earthquake damaged home near Lyell Creek, Kaikoura

An earthquake damaged home near Lyell Creek, Kaikōura. Photo: RNZ / Joelle Dally

At the end of May, private insurers had received nearly 43,000 claims, of which over 30,000 are for residential properties, the Insurance Council said.

Council chief executive Tim Grafton said the residential claims amounted to $460 million - compared to $1.36b worth of commercial claims.

He said the figures did not include claims made directly with offshore insurers, or land and house and contents claims that the Earthquake Commission was directly managing.

The Minister Responsible for the EQC, Gerry Brownlee, said the settlement of claims was progressing well, with the majority on track to be settled by the end of the year.

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