China's insurance sector had paid 288.6 million yuan (US$41 million) in indemnity for areas battered by the May 12 earthquake as of June 9, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said on Wednesday.

The total included 159.6 million yuan in life insurance and 129 million yuan in property insurance.

As of June 9, the sector had accepted 249,000 claims, involving 16,300 quake victims, 2,092 injured and 145,000 destroyed rooms.

The death toll of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake stood at 69,146 as of Tuesday noon, the State Council Information Office said.

A total of 374,072 people were injured and 17,516 remained missing after the earthquake that jolted the southwest Sichuan Province and neighboring regions.

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2008)