Reinsurance claims from the Kaikoura earthquake have reached $NZ694 million ($631 million), according to provisional estimates by insurance companies, Statistics New Zealand says.

The claims gave New Zealand a capital account surplus of $NZ683 million ($622 million) for the December quarter, the second surplus since the March 2005 quarter, international trade data shows.

“The value of reinsurance claims will be updated as new information is collected,” Statistics New Zealand said.

The 7.8-magnitude quake struck the Kaikoura region on November 14, causing damage on both the South and North islands.

GNS Science geologist Kate Clark told Radio New Zealand last week that 21 faults ruptured during the quake, around the record for a single event.

“Most of them were known and had been previously mapped, some of them are faults that we had not previously recognised,” she said.

“When you put all these faults together it is about 180km of surface rupture, so that distance of rupture does account for the really long duration of shaking that was felt.”