China's insurance sector had paid 306.6 million yuan (US$43.9 million) in indemnity for areas battered by the May 12 earthquake as of June 12, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said Saturday.

The total included 171.6 million yuan in life insurance and 135 million yuan in property insurance.

As of June 12, the sector had accepted 249,000 claims.

The death toll of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake stood at 69,163 as of Friday noon, the State Council Information Office said.

A total of 374,142 people were injured and 17,445 remained missing after the earthquake that jolted the southwest China's Sichuan Province and neighboring regions.

(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2008)