By the deadline for claims, midnight on Monday, EQC had received 159,318 claims from the February 22 earthquake.
Of that total, 1436 were lodged from the Southern region, including Dunedin (928), Queenstown-Lakes (228) and Central Otago (126).
Of those claims, 329 had been declined, including Dunedin (175), Queenstown-Lakes (71) and Central Otago (38).
More than $1.14 million in claims had been paid to 73 claimants, including Dunedin City ($797,336), Queenstown-Lakes ($241,342) and Central Otago ($41,965).
The average payout in the Southern region was $15,633 and, based on current claim success of 18%, claims could total $1.6 million.
Fieldwork was yet to be completed in 533 Southern homes, with assessment of a further 45 under way.
EQC covers insured residential dwellings to a maximum of $100,000 plus GST, and personal effects up to $20,000 plus GST, and pays the value of damaged land at the time of the earthquake, or the repair cost, whichever is the lower.
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said the earthquakes to have hit Canterbury since September 4 were New Zealand's biggest natural disasters.
In addition to the 159,318 claims from the February 22 earthquake, another 185,046 were received for the September 4 earthquake and following events late last year.
