New Zealand’s loss adjusters face being overwhelmed by the number of claims stemming from the Christchurch earthquake.

Lumley NZ CEO John Lyon says his company is “on top” of its claims, but the next phase – where loss adjusters are essential – will put pressure on resources.

“We are up-to-date on claims, but we are waiting for the loss adjuster reports to come in,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “There will be major pressure on the loss adjusters.”

Mr Lyon says claims on his company have fallen from 500 on the first day to 140 by Friday, but he says it is too early to put a value on Lumley NZ’s exposure to the earthquake.

Christchurch is still suffering from aftershocks, with a 4.1 shock recorded today.

Mr Lyon says the large aftershock on Wednesday caused further damage, and insurers are working out whether to treat this as a new claim or roll all damage into a single claim.

“This has caused some complications,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings has said the impact of catastrophe losses for Australian insurers will be limited due to their reinsurance cover.

Suncorp and IAG are expected to bear the brunt of claims from NZ, which continue to be revised upwards.

Fitch estimates Suncorp’s net exposure will be about $NZ60 million ($47 million) while IAG’s is negligible.

The majority of IAG reinsurers are rated A+ or higher and 83% of Suncorp’s short-tail reinsurers are rated A+ or higher.

The ratings agency believes IAG might possibly require further levels of catastrophe cover as the number of disasters continues to grow.

Also see ANALYSIS