A total of $6.5 billion of international insurance claims related to the Christchurch earthquake have now been settled.

But that still leaves more than $11b in claims outstanding, according to Statistics New Zealand figures out today.

Total international insurance claims from all Canterbury quakes are now estimated at $17.6b, revised down slightly by about $300 million from earlier figures.

The settlements have been going through at about $1.3b for each of the past three quarters. 

Most recent Reserve Bank figures suggest the total cost of the Canterbury quake rebuild will be about $30b, but it would happen over an extended period, peaking in 2016.

That estimate was up from the previous forecast of about $20b.

The Reserve Bank has said that there remains considerable uncertainty about the cost and timing of the rebuilding work.

- © Fairfax NZ News