Insurers have paid more than $NZ500 million ($463 million) in claims following last year’s Kaikoura earthquake.

The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) says 51% of residential buildings had been assessed by the end of last month, compared with 39% a month earlier.

“Progress is moving at a rapid pace and we have a high level of confidence that the majority of people will have received settlement offers by the end of this year,” ICNZ CEO Tim Grafton said.

Insurers have received more than 43,000 claims, including more than 31,000 for residential properties.

By the end of last month 36% of residential claims and 67% of commercial claims were fully or partially settled.

Insurers are acting as agents for the Earthquake Commission and are managing most of the building and contents claims.

The figures do not include claims the commission is handling, nor claims against policies bought offshore.

The total value of Kaikoura claims was $NZ1.88 billion ($1.74 billion) at the end of last month, with commercial policies accounting for $NZ1.39 billion ($1.29 billion) and residential claims nearly $NZ474 million ($439 million).

ICNZ says the time between assessment and a settlement offer for residential properties is typically 4-12 weeks.