Hundreds of insurance claims filed after Canterbury floods

FMG is expecting to receive around 1000 claims.
FMG is expecting to receive around 1000 claims. Photo credit: RNZ

Rural insurance provider FMG says it's received about 300 claims to do with the floods in Canterbury.

Heavy rain on Sunday and Monday caused rivers in the region to flood - submerging farms, ripping out fences and causing some stock losses.

FMG spokesperson Nathan Barrett said it's too early to put estimates on how much overall repairs will cost.

"It's early days and, as you can imagine, we are moving from that response phase to recovery and at this stage we've had 300 claims for damage to farm buildings, vehicles and fencing.

Barrett said they're expecting about a thousand claims should be made - but a lot of farmers are still assessing damage.

"Our advice is firstly safety, make the safety of yourself, your family and your staff a priority. Take photos; the more you take the easier it is to support your claim. Get your claim in early; we'll assess it and prioritise it and then get back in touch with you and any doubts call your insurer.

"From our perspective we just want to acknowledge what the people of wider Canterbury are going through and the challenges that this event has brought from an FMG perspective we are looking to respond as quickly as we can and we've already got assessors on the ground," Barrett said.

RNZ