New Zealand’s Earthquake Commission (EQC) has received 495 claims for storm-related damage in the first four months of the year.

Chief Customer Officer Trish Keith says the commission has resolved more than half the cases, with 35 days the average time for closing storm claims.

“The majority of claims we have reviewed have been for flood and landslip damage,” she said. “They include the storm that brought flooding to the area around Kaiaua in January and ex-cyclones Gita and Fehi.”

The corresponding period last year recorded heavy claim numbers due to severe weather in the Coromandel and Auckland area in March and the Edgecumbe floods in April. But this year’s storm numbers are ahead of the same period in 2015 and 2016, a spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Some 263 claims were lodged after Gita hit, particularly affecting the Tasman region, while 133 were lodged after Fehi.

“We certainly expect to receive more claims during the rest of this year, especially with the recent weather that caused flooding in Rotorua and South Canterbury and winter still ahead of us,” Ms Keith said.