Insurers are now settling $NZ4.7 million ($4.13 million) a day in Canterbury residential claims, according to the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ).

It is the highest rate since the series of devastating quakes that rocked the region in 2010 and 2011, CEO Tim Grafton says.

Insurers have put $NZ8.33 billion ($7.33 billion) into the recovery: $NZ5.41 billion ($4.76 billion) in commercial claims and $NZ2.92 billion ($2.57 billion) in residential.

The sum is past the halfway mark, Mr Grafton says, although it is impossible to be precise while more claims emerge and costs are revised.

He says criticism of settlement times is “understandable but not fair”.

“It is not as simple as just writing out a cheque,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “We are progressing things as quickly as we can.

“We’d like it to be quicker, and insurers are doing their very best to speed things along.”

Mr Grafton says the Canterbury quakes were unlike any other disaster. The ground kept shaking for some time, hampering recovery, and the damage to land through liquefaction had not been seen before.

The country’s unique insurance system, involving the publicly owned Earthquake Commission, adds complexity, he says.

“Earlier this year settlements were running at about $NZ3 million ($2.64 million) a day for residential customers, so the latest figures are an indicator that the recovery program continues to ramp up,” Mr Grafton said.

ICNZ hopes residential settlements will be complete by the end of 2016.