New figures show the owners of 5000 severely damaged properties in Canterbury are still waiting to settle their insurance claims.
A report for the Insurance Council shows how the industry is dealing with 24,000 properties with earthquake damage costing more than $100,000.
Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton says most of the 5000 unsettled claims have insurance offers, but the property owners have not decided whether to take them.
Some 600 property owners have not had offers at all.
Mr Grafton says those are reasonable figures given insurers are dealing with thousands of claims, some of which are extremely technical, as well as aftershocks causing new damage.
"Little wonder that when your starting point starts to move into 2012 and you've got several months around consenting, design and then build after that, it's no surprise that everything pushes out," he says.
About 8,200 claims of more than $100,000 have been resolved. The majority were cash settlements.
A total of 700 properties have been completely repaired or rebuilt.
A chair of advocacy group Insurance Watch David Stringer says that number should be far higher three years on from the September 2010 earthquake.
Mr Stringer says more than 11,000 properties are in the process of being repaired, rebuilt or settled with cash but that figure does not show how far along progress is.
He told Morning Report there is a huge level of dissatisfaction in Christchurch with the rate of progress.
Cancern spokesperson Leanne Curtis says claim settlements could be sped up if insurers provided more advice to people who are confused by their offers.
Mr Grafton says all claims should be resolved by the end of 2016, with the bulk of the repair and rebuild work being done in 2014 and 2015.
Homeowners' stories
Kendra Street from Hoon Hay says her house is so badly damaged she can't use her master bedroom or garage and it is almost impossible to keep it warm.
Her house is due to be rebuilt but she says the insurance company keeps changing the rules and requiring new information before an agreement can be reached.
Chris from Avonside, who didn't want his surname used, has had an offer from his insurer, but won't accept it as he says it's not enough for a complete replacement - which is what he paid insurance for.
Margaret from Brookhaven says her insurer agrees the house is a rebuild, but they can't get the process finalised because the rules keep changing. She says dealing with the delays is incredibly stressful.
"We signed to replicate, just to rebuild exactly what we had. That was on the understanding that we'd have lightweight materials - cladding instead of the brick - and then they said oh no the rules have changed, now you have to sign build to budget. Every step we go, they change the rules."
PM satisfied with pace
Prime Minister John Key says the delays aren't the fault of insurers, who have been fighting their own battles with large overseas re-insurers.
Mr Key says insurers are providing one of the largest payouts ever seen following a natural disaster and are for the most part doing a good job.
"I'm not totally defending the insurance companies. Some companies have performed better than others but overall this has been a massive payout. It's one of the most highly insured natural disasters in the world and for the most part the insurance companies have performed OK."
Mr Key says other complicating factors include difficulties in rebuilding on land prone to liquefaction and settling claims on cross-lease sections.
