Complaints concerning Canterbury earthquake damage could continue for another five years, New Zealand’s Insurance and Savings Ombudsman warns.

Some 270 grievances were raised with the watchdog in the financial year just ended, all of which were resolved. Sum-insured homes and fraudulent claims were among the key issues.

The service also handled 3000 enquiries that did not require full investigation.

In the previous year 242 complaints were received, with 219 resolved.

“It has been 1000 days since the first quake but I think there are a lot of complaints still to come through,” Ombudsman Karen Stevens told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“It could be another five years before we see the end of them.”

She says 68 complaints and 1000 enquiries relating to the Canterbury quakes have been received since 2010, but this does not necessarily indicate insurance industry failures.

It is a “continuing catastrophe”, complicated by Earthquake Commission involvement and a lack of rebuild resources.

The switch from full-replacement to sum-insured home insurance – with customers responsible for setting maximum amounts payable – has also driven complaints.

One Christchurch homeowner changed to a sum-insured policy worth $NZ350,000 ($293,802) because the premiums were cheaper. His property was destroyed in the quakes and the rebuild cost was set at $NZ1.2 million ($1.01 million).

Ms Stevens says consumers should not “think about the value of the house now, but the total cost of a rebuild, including things like architects’ fees and demolition costs”.