File photo. A house in Swanson, West Auckland damaged in the January floods. Photo: Supplied: Derek Judge
The Insurance Council is urging Auckland homeowners who are eligible for a buyout to work with their insurer to settle claims.
Owners of up to 50 storm-damaged homes are being advised by the council each week that they fall into category 3.
Any buyout offer will be less insurance paid out, and less the 5 percent homeowner contribution.
Insurance Council acting chief executive Sarah Knox said homeowners needed to advise their insurers of which category they were in.
"We're encouraging homeowners in Auckland to contact their insurer and let them know because we don't have a line of sight to the category 3 homes in Auckland at the moment," she said.
"They're not going to be financially advantaged or disadvantaged by waiting so they just need to contact their insurance company and let them know that they're a category 3 and continue with settling their claims."
Knox said insurers had committed to prioritising category 3 homes and so far have settled 80 percent of dwelling claims related to the Auckland Anniversary weekend flooding.
She said the process for category 3 homes was the same - insurers need to assess the damage and provide a scope of work for repairs, even though the repairs will not be carried out for homes deemed unliveable.