The Earthquake Commission has given Cantabrians one month to come forward with information needed for contents claims as part of a campaign designed to settle them by Christmas.
Since the 2010 September earthquake, the commission has received at least 160,000 claims for quake-damaged household items, but only a third have been completed.
EQC says 80,000 claims cannot be processed because of a lack of documentation. Claims manager Gail Kettle says the more information people provide, the quicker they will be paid.
Mrs Kettle says 90 people will be added to the current staff of 230 who are settling contents claims in order to cope with the expected spike in workload brought on by the campaign.
People who have not provided the right information will be called and encouraged to complete the process by 24 October, she says.
