Santiago, Sep 8 (EFE).- Insurance companies have paid claims totaling $640 million to the owners of 105,000 dwellings damaged in the Feb. 27 earthquake that hit central and southern Chile, insurance regulators said.

Insurers had received 190,199 claims related to dwellings damaged by the magnitude-8.8 earthquake as of Aug. 31, the Securities and Insurance Commission, or SVS, said.

Of the total, 186,530 claims, or about 98 percent, have been reviewed and 156,242, or 82 percent, of them paid.

Some 105,694 claims, or 68 percent, were approved for payment, while 46,336 claims did not generate payouts "mainly because they involved damage of less than the agreed upon deductibles," the SVS said.

Insurance companies and adjusters should work quickly and efficiently to complete claims reviews and make payments, SVS chief Fernando Coloma said.

"The SVS is especially focused on ensuring that the insured are informed of the status of their claims and on corresponding payments being made," Coloma said.

The earthquake left some 500 people confirmed dead and 2 million others injured and displaced, and it caused at least $30 billion in property and infrastructure damage.