The Earthquake Commission said it had already received more than 151,000 claims for damage across Canterbury and urged any homeowners still intending to make claims to do so before the cut off time at midnight.
The commission said that anyone failing to lodge a claim by the deadline would not be covered.
By yesterday the commission had received 119,228 claims for houses and property in Christchurch, 11,236 for the Selwyn district, 11,191 for Waimakariri, 3861 for Timaru, 3350 for Ashburton and 3036 for other areas.
The commission said its aim was to settle all claims below $10,000 by Christmas and inspect all claims over $10,000 by March next year.
By the close of business yesterday the commission had made 29,087 payments totalling $332.8 million on damaged properties. It had also paid $41.2m for damage to contents.
