Drive through assessment stations have been set up and specialists brought in from Australia to help with repairs after thousands of vehicles and other property in the South Island city of Timaru were pummelled by oversized hailstones on November 20.

Damage of this scale could take many months to repair, ICNZ CEO Tim Grafton says.

"While we won’t have full details about the extent of claims until early January, we know there are thousands of vehicles that will need to have repairs managed by insurers, as well as damage to conservatories, skylights, roofing and guttering,” he said.

The response from the industry so far has focused helping those with vehicles that aren’t driveable – usually because of severely damaged windscreens.

ICNZ is urging owners to contact their insurers so arrangements can be made to assess damage or losses, progress claims and schedule repairs.