Following the earthquake, the largest recorded in the world this year, and the series of aftershocks felt as recently as last week, the commission had received more than 4500 claims estimated at $5.8 million.
Of the 2000 claims reviewed by the EQC, half were found not to have been caused by the earthquake, EQC insurance manager Lance Dixon said "When there is an earthquake, people see damage and they think the earthquake caused it," he said.
Many of the declined claims were the result of normal movement, and a field team of trained staff was able to assess if damage was caused by the earthquake, he said.
Damage from the Fiordland quake was similar to that caused by previous quakes, with the majority of damage affecting external/internal walls, ceilings and windows.
To date, $2.4 million in claims had been paid.
Computer projections by the commission in the wake of the quake estimated damage to 3000 residential properties, resulting in an estimated $6 million of damage.
As of yesterday, the estimated damage from the quake stood at at $5.8 million, but the number of claims - 4584 - was far higher than originally projected, he said.
In Dunedin, 550 claims had been filed for an estimated $400,000 of damage, Clutha 73 claims ($150,000), Waitaki 40 claims ($40,000), Invercargill 1516 claims ($2,111,434), Southland 783 claims ($1,239,206), and Queenstown Lakes 678 claims ($861,774).
