70% of quake claims not yet dealt with

1:13 pm on 20 February 2013

The Insurance Council says insurers are about to ramp up the earthquake recovery process in Christchurch.

About 70% of residential insurance claims from the 2011 February earthquake, requiring major repairs or a rebuild, still need to be dealt with.

Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton said insurers have been able to start dealing with a majority of claims only in the last six months.

He said the hold-up was due to technical land damage assessments being available just nine months ago and ongoing earthquakes.

A progress report issued on Wednesday shows insurers have distributed $6.7 billion in commercial and residential claims in Canterbury.

Some insurers have set deadlines which will see most homes rebuilt or repaired by the end of 2015.