Insurers are prioritising help for those left homeless or in a vulnerable place following Auckland’s storm.
The City Council has yellow-stickered 141 properties, meaning residents can only enter to gather valuables, and 30 other homes are red-stickered, meaning no entry at all.
The NZ Insurance Council is urging people to lodge claims as soon as they can, with assessors brought in from outside the city to survey the damage.
NZ Insurance Council CEO Tim Grafton spoke to Tova O'Brien on Monday morning, saying there are still a lot of claims coming through.
"The numbers are less than 10,000 at the moment," he said.
"But certainly… They're still coming in and will be coming in for some time to come."
When asked if insurers are equipped to deal with this many claims over a short period of time, Grafton said it isn't a process that will be completed overnight.
"It's going to be challenging," Grafton said.
"Careful assessment is needed in terms of structural damage to a house to assess just what needs to be done and what the cost will be.
"There's also the red and yellow stickering of properties around the city… Red stickering limits any access for insurers and we need the homeowner's permission to go into the property as well, to be able to do the assessment.
"So everybody's stretched and everybody's trying to do their level best, but it's not something that's going to happen really, really quickly.
"It may well be that insurers can deal with some of the more straightforward stuff pretty quickly."
Grafton added that all Kiwis need to put their safety first during this unsettling time and take plenty of photos of everything that was ruined due to the storm.
"If people are coming back to their homes for the first time and seeing the water's been right through the place… You'll have food that may well be contaminated, there'll be sodden fabric and the like, go mouldy.
"We're currently looking to see how we can coordinate the collection of that kind of material."
Grafton said Kiwis should also be cautious about driving their vehicles.
"If you've had a motor vehicle that's been submerged, it's not at all advisable to drive it. You've got to get that checked out.
"It may be a write-off, it may be very dangerous to drive - braking systems… Electrics may all be compromised.
"Just get in touch with your insurer, advise your insurer if you're experiencing any vulnerability or any special needs that you may have, you can get prioritised in that way."
Listen to the full interview between Tim Grafton and Tova above.
You can also download the full interview on the Tova podcast, and listen on the go.
