UK covid business interruption settlement payments have reached £1.05 billion ($1.86 billion) for 31,478 claims, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says in the last of its monthly updates following a legal test case completed in January last year.

FCA says interim or initial payments of £303 million ($536 million) have also been made in relation to 2798 unsettled claims.

This latest data shows that 34,276 business interruption policyholders, out of the 42,340 who have had claims accepted, have received at least an interim payment.

FCA says it will stop collecting and publishing monthly data, but it will again request submissions for publication in September and next March.

“We remind firms of the need to handle claims promptly and fairly and to provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder to make a claim,” the regulator says.