The Earthquake Commission says it has received about 12,000 claims over damage from earthquakes on 23 December and 2 January in Christchurch.
A series of earthquakes rocked the city on 23 December - the strongest of 6.0 magnitude - closing shopping malls and public buildings that afternoon.
On 2 January the city had more than 40 aftershocks, the largest of which was a violent 5.5.
An EQC spokesperson says it has already paid out $133,000 from claims for those quakes.
Most of those are partial settlements; paying for, or reimbursing customers, for urgent repairs.
Canterbury residents have until the Thursday to lodge a claim for any damages caused by the earthquake on 9 October.
