Insurance claims from New Zealand’s Christchurch earthquake could take years to be finalised, with recovery efforts not expected to be finished until August 2013.

But the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) says that’s a reasonable timeframe considering the number of houses and buildings that need to be rebuilt.

An Earthquake Commission (EQC) report on the recovery says some home claims could take up to a two-and-a-half years to complete.

ICNZ CEO Chris Ryan says although 2013 was the final completion date, the vast majority of repairs would be finished before then.

He told insuranceNEWS.com.au more than 1000 homes already have had the green light to start reconstruction.

“And when you look at the deadlines it’s remarkable how efficiently everything is being rebuilt,” Mr Ryan said.

He says it’s amazing to see how much has been achieved in the three months since the earthquake.

“Some people may have forgotten when mum and dad built their house it took six to 12 months to build, and here we are rebuilding an entire region and the second largest city in NZ.”

“Once people realise that they will see what a remarkable job we are doing.”

A Radio NZ report last week also revealed the EQC was looking as far as America for help to process all the claims.

New Zealanders rushed to file their claims on Saturday before the midnight deadline, boosting claims to more than 151,000.