An Insurance Council of New Zealand spokesman said, while there was no firm idea of total costs, "claims numbers in total for the Otago rain event are estimated to be around the 1000 mark".
Claim numbers were rising from the low hundreds recorded last week, as people got a chance to assess the impact on homes, contents and cars, he said.
Following the 2015 floods, almost 2000 domestic claims — costing almost $20 million — were made.
Clutha District Council deputy chief executive Jules Witt said repairs on the area’s transport network alone could take months and might cost more than $1m.
"We don’t have a final estimate of the repairs cost as yet. However, the repairs identified to date on the transportation network are already estimated to be over a million dollars," he said.
The repairs, particularly to slips in coastal areas, were likely to take months.
The scale of the event met the threshold for emergency transport repair funding — the council would fund a 33% share.
Several towns in the district remained on boil- or conserve-water notices and, while water services were returning normally, major repairs were likely at the Stirling water treatment plant.
He expected some water and wastewater costs to be covered by insurance and other costs to be funded from "non-routine maintenance budgets", Mr Witt said.
"Council also has an emergency fund for this type of event and that may be considered for some civil defence costs."
In the Waitaki, post-flood costs have hit half a million dollars and are expected to climb.
Waitaki District Council roading operations lead engineer Mark Renalson said repair and cleanup costs totalled at least $500,000.
"However, with damage to Goodwood Rd awaiting geotechnical investigation to determine a stabilising fix, we expect this figure to rise."
The first $100,000 would be funded entirely from the council’s operations budget — above that, costs would be split 43:57 between the council and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
A 200m section of Danseys Pass had washed out on the Central Otago District Council side and the Waitaki District Council would be making minor repairs on its side.
Waitaki District Council water services manager Marty Pacey said, so far, Three Waters repair costs were about $20,000.
"In part this is due to past water upgrades to our network, and we’ve needed to clear contaminated floodwater debris from places that experienced surging."
The Dunedin City Council was unable to respond to questions before deadline.
