New Zealand homeowners and businesses could soon be feeling the financial aftershocks of the Christchurch earthquake as tremors continue to shake the South Island city and the clean-up bill continues to rise.

The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) says the disaster is now considered the largest insurance event in the country, with insurers expecting to pay out $NZ1.5 billion ($1.17 billion) in claims. It’s also expected that policyholders across NZ will soon be counting the cost themselves, with predictions of premium rate rises being predicted.

The Earthquake Commission (EQC) says it has so far paid out more than $145 million. It has received more than 110,000 claims, with several hundred more coming in each day “from all over the South Island, and the lower North Island”, according to Radio NZ.

More than 800 houses a day are being assessed for damage.

ICNZ CEO Chris Ryan says premium rises over the next few years will impact the whole country – although the forces driving premiums both up and down make it difficult to predict the size of any increases.

“A large part of the $1.5 billion now estimated to be paid to NZ comes from international companies, and over the next few years there is likely to be some cost to all insured parties as a consequence,” he said.

Mr Ryan expects quake damage costs to rise even further, with the EQC expecting its share of the costs to be around $1.5 billion.

“This could end up being a $3 billion or more injection into the region,” Mr Ryan said.

“This is a very large payment into the community over the next 12 months, and should give residents cause for some optimism that the insurance industry is responding to their needs.”

This week contractors working for the EQC will start work repairing serious damage caused to more than 50,000 homes.

The first project management site will be set up in Halswell, southwest of Christchurch, with other sites to be established across the region.