The NZ Earthquake Commission (EQC) has confirmed it is on track to complete assessments of all major damage to Christchurch properties by mid-July.

An EQC spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au assessments of properties with minor damage is expected to be completed by mid-September.

“We have had 360,000 claims and some are multiple claims on the same property,” he said. “We have examples of some properties having seven or eight claims from the various events.”

These claims include contents, and again some properties have multiple claims under this category.

“We have 120,000 open content claims but 80,000 claimants haven’t supplied list of contents yet,” the spokesman said. “We are urging people who have made claims to submit details.”

Addressing comments from some claimants that it will take years to settle all claims, the spokesman said all assessments “will be completed by the end of this year”.

Insurance Council of New Zealand CEO Chris Ryan says insurers will also “meet all their obligations” to policyholders.

“There will be some delays in settling claims because of the size of the earthquake, but it is manageable,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

He says many of assessors are now moving across from house and contents claims to deal with commercial property claims.