New Zealand quake claims to take months to process

It will take months to process around 48,000 claims which have been lodged with the Earthquake Commission (EQC) so far after Sept. 4's 7.1-magnitude quake in New Zealand South Island city of Christchurch -- with that number expected to double.

The Earthquake Commission is hoping to increase its inspection team in Christchurch from 60 to 400 by next week to get through the claims.

"It is going to take us some time to get through the claims. We hope to get through about 1000 a day once the full team is on the ground but with 48,000 claims it will take 48 days to get through that number and we are expecting upwards of 100,000 claims," claims manager Lance Dixon told Radio New Zealand on Monday.

There had been around 5000 claims for property reported to be uninhabitable and those would be the Commission's top priority, Dixon said.

Claims were coming in at a good rate and there were 3,500 over the weekend, Dixon said.

Source: Xinhua