Private insurers have paid out more than $18 billion to settle commercial and residential claims since the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, the Insurance Council of New Zealand announced.

Insurers say they have now fully settled 93 per cent of all Canterbury earthquake residential properties, and hope to have "the vast majority"  of claims settled by the end of the year.  

Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) chief executive Tim Grafton accepted it's been a long wait for some homeowners.

"It is extremely frustrating for homeowners and insurers to be receiving so many new property claims nearly six years after the events which stresses the need for changes in the future," Grafton said.

"Insurers should do all assessments for future natural disasters so that the most damaged properties can be rebuilt or repaired much sooner."

The number of customers who are still to receive offers from their private insurer is down to 340 and there are 453 properties where people have yet to make decisions on the offers they’ve received, Grafton said.

The pay-outs cover 21,005 over cap and 63,545 out-of-scope properties. As as June this year, 94 per cent of commercial claims worth $9.75 billion have also been settled, while more than $8.6 billion was for domestic claims.

Based on data jointly collected by ICNZ and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), 85 per cent (22,317) 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 11 per cent (2,712) of the 26,147 over cap properties are in resolution, meaning the rebuild/repair is in the pricing and design process or cash settlement is pending.

Insurers have completed 6,114 major repairs and rebuilds and cash settled 14,891 properties to the end of June 2016.

Insurers have had an additional 394 properties transferred from the Earthquake Commission (EQC) in the last quarter taking the total to 1,620 for the last 12 months.

Customers who have queries or concerns should seek help from the Residential Advisory Service (RAS), ICNZ says. RAS is cost-free, totally independent and can help provide advice and assistance that may help people progress their claim.  

"The service won’t be around forever and so we are urging people to make contact with the RAS or their insurer if they are unsure about the offer they’ve received," Grafton added.