Private insurers are on track to settle the vast majority of Canterbury earthquake claims by the end of this year, the Insurance Council announced today.  Nearly 5,400 major repairs and rebuilds were settled in 2015 which reflected a 21% rise in the settlement rate last year compared with 2014.   “Insurers are continuing to make a major contribution to Canterbury and the New Zealand economy and are committed to settling the remaining claims as quickly as possible.  The rate of progress in 2015 was impressive for one of the biggest events this country has ever known in terms of damage” says Tim Grafton, Chief Executive of the Insurance Council (ICNZ).  Grafton says “insurers have now fully settled $16.7 billion, 75% of over cap residential Canterbury earthquake claims and 89% of all residential property claims.  Over 90% of Commercial claims have been settled and this figure will be much higher when the $635m Christchurch City Council settlement is included.”  At the end of December 2015, there were 25,350 over cap residential claims with 1425 transferred from the Earthquake Commission (EQC) in the last year. Based on data jointly collected by ICNZ and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), 82% (20,726) of all over cap residential claims are resolved or have been fully settled.  Resolved means the repair/rebuild is under construction, in consenting or a building contract has been signed.  A further 13% (3,414) of the 25,350 over cap claims are in resolution, meaning the rebuild/repair is in the pricing and design process or cash settlement is pending.   For further details please see the attachment “Canterbury Earthquake Progress Stats Q4 2015”.