New Zealand’s Earthquake Commission (EQC) has received 2101 claims arising from the series of quakes that shook Wellington a week ago.

A 6.5-magnitude quake in Cook Strait on July 21 caused damage to CBD buildings and injured four people.

There have been more than 1500 aftershocks since, including a 5.4 tremor last night, but no further damage has been reported.

The EQC says its claims figure covers the period from July 19 to 21, with 75% of claims from the North Island.

Customer Services GM Bruce Emson says people have until October 21 to lodge claims.

“We are mobilising assessors to inspect earthquake damage, including damaged contents. This means customers will need to hold onto damaged items until we can inspect them.

“Claims are still coming in, so it is difficult to say when the EQC will get to people, but we will keep them up to date through advertising and our website.”

He says there is sufficient cover from levies, reinsurance and the Crown guarantee to meet all valid claims.

Extra staff will be brought in if necessary, and there is unlikely to be any impact on the processing of Canterbury claims.

Credit Suisse estimates insured losses from the Cook Strait quakes to be below $US1 billion ($1.08 billion).

Insurance Council of New Zealand CEO Tim Grafton says damage is still being assessed. “Our expectation is that it would be well, well below that [$US1 billion], but it is too early to put a figure on it,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Mr Grafton says the number of EQC claims reflects the event’s significance; the Christchurch quakes led to more than 450,000 claims.

“This has been a wake-up call more than anything else,” he said. “It was very different to Christchurch.

“This earthquake was out in Cook Strait, not directly underneath the city, and there was a different level of ground acceleration and intensity.”

Mr Grafton says insurers are still imposing a “stand-down” period, during which they will not issue new cover. This was due to be reviewed today.

It was feared the stand-down could cause hold-ups in the real estate market, but Mr Grafton says arrangements can often be made with insurers to get around the issue.