Payouts for New Zealand’s Canterbury earthquake more than $11 billion to date

The payouts by insurance companies in New Zealand in the wake of the 2011 Canterbury earthquake crossed the $11 billion mark as of the end of February.

Insurance companies have paid out $11.103 billion in commercial and residential Canterbury earthquake settlements, the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) noted in a statement Tuesday. That amount is made up of $7.359 billion in commercial payouts and $3.743 billion in settling residential claims.

“This demonstrates the very real progress that is being made to settle claims and enable the residents and businesses of Canterbury to get back on their feet,” Tim Grafton, chief executive of ICNZ, notes in the statement.

Of the $7.3 billion of commercial claims settled to date, $642 million was paid out in 2014. “That means over three-quarters of all commercial claims have now been settled and reinforces the value of insurance in helping the business sector to quickly recover from what was one of the biggest-ever insurance disaster events globally,” Grafton says.

In residential claims, $226 million was paid out to date in 2014, the statement adds.