The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has placed conditions on the capital or solvency requirements of four insurers due to risks associated with their Canterbury earthquake claims.

The bank’s latest financial stability report does not name the insurers.

It has issued 96 full insurance licences and allowed three groups to continue with provisional licences because they are in run-off. This includes ACS, which is handling the Ansvar New Zealand claims.

About half of all Canterbury quake claims had been paid at September 30, with the Earthquake Commission having paid out $NZ5.3 billion ($4.7 billion) and private insurers $NZ10.9 billion ($9.66 billion).

The final cost is uncertain, with significant issues still to be resolved through the courts or by negotiation, the bank says.

The size of insurance and reinsurance payouts is also affecting the country’s balance sheet.

The report says households started to save more after the global financial crisis, and quake payouts are also contributing to higher national savings.

Reinsurance payouts are helping lower New Zealand’s overseas debt as a proportion of gross domestic product, even though government debt is rising.

The bank says the reinsurance will flow into insurance payments and this, plus pressure on domestic resources for rebuilding, will lead to a widening in the current account deficit and higher international debt.