Death claim settlements from the Christchurch earthquake have now surpassed the $NZ1.1 billion ($874 million) mark, according to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).

The ACC has also paid out $NZ609,000 ($484,000) in funeral grants and $NZ509,000 ($404,000) in survivor grants.

The NZ industry has settled 84 life insurance claims with a total payout of $NZ16.5 million ($13.1 million). This represented an average payment of $NZ196,429 per claim ($156,070).

It also paid out $NZ395,000 ($313,815) for redundancy claims and $NZ104,000 ($82,624) in income protection claims as a direct result of the earthquake.

The ACC has also processed 296 accidental injury claims that resulted in lost income with a value of $NZ1.05 million ($834,276) at an average of $NZ3547 ($2818) per claim.

Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI) CEO Peter Neilson says the higher ACC income protection claims are due to its universal coverage.

But he says the figures have shown almost half of the 181 people who lost their lives had no life insurance cover.

“While there were victims who were either too old or young to need cover, the simple fact is there were a large number of people who would have benefitted from having cover but didn’t,” he said.

“The average life insurance claim paid – $NZ196,429 ($156,000) – was about four times the average annual income, and may not have even covered the outstanding mortgage in many instances.”