Johannesburg, Nov 17 (IANS): As a result of the July unrest that caused damage to property in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal provinces, the South African Special Risks Insurance Association (SARISA) has announced that it has paid out over 12.6 billion rand (about $812 million).

During its briefing to the media, SARISA Managing Director Cedric Masondo announced that the entity has received 14,051 claims valued at 32 billion rand.

The state-owned short-term risk insurer said the settlement of claims from the deadly riots that saw thousands of businesses looted in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces would not be finished until next year, and the company aims to pay out 80 percent of claims by March 2022, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"We have also increased our staff complement, and our broker network is helping clients with claims formulation supported by our internal underwriting and legal team that have been hard at work with giving guidance and attending to policy interpretation matters," he said.

In addition, he said SARISA has dealt with fraudulent and inflated claims.