Insurers have paid more than $NZ6.7 billion ($5.4 billion) on Canterbury earthquake claims, with the task of apportioning damage between the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and private insurers due to be completed in May.

The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) says insurers have so far paid $NZ4.7 billion ($3.8 billion) in commercial claims and $NZ2 billion ($1.6 billion) in residential claims.

“Of the 171,000 residential properties with a claim either to EQC or insurers, 95% have been sorted into what the EQC will take care of and what insurers will take care of,” ICNZ CEO Tim Grafton said.

The EQC pays the first $NZ100,000 ($82,000) of any claim, so insurers will take care of the more complex and substantial ones.

Insurers have received 64,000 claims that fall outside the EQC’s coverage, such as for damage to driveways, fences and swimming pools. ICNZ says about a third of these have been settled.

Of the 18,500 homes needing major repairs or a total rebuild by insurers, 20% have been fixed or received a cash settlement and another 12% are in the design and construction phase.

Christchurch last week marked the second anniversary of the February 2011 quake that caused 185 deaths and destroyed large parts of the city.

Mr Grafton says insurers are working as hard as they can to process claims.

“Beyond wanting to look after their customers and be here for the long haul, they have every commercial incentive to progress the recovery as quickly as possible.

“Apart from constant ground shaking – 11,000 quakes in two years – technical land damage assessments were only available nine months ago, all floodplain data was only available last week and geotechnical tests are still under way in parts of Christchurch.”

The area has experienced more than 11,000 tremors since the seismic series began in September 2010. The last major quake to cause damage was 14 months ago.