Ashburton's only category one historic building would cost $6.5 million to rebuild if it fell down in an earthquake, but there would be no insurance. Parishioners at the Church of the Holy Name and other Mid Canterbury Catholic churches are only just learning their buildings are not covered for earthquakes.
Christchurch diocesan financial administrator Paddy Beban said all parishes in the diocese, which covered the central South Island including the West Coast, no longer had cover.
Parish buildings had been insured with Ansvar, which pulled out of the New Zealand market, and policies were transferred to Ansvar Australia.
Cover would continue through the latter group through to November 30 this year, but did not include earthquake cover.
"We are not comfortable we haven't got it. But you can only agonise over things that you can control," Mr Beban said.
"We are working all the time through our brokers on trying to get insurance for earthquake."
Father Jeff Gray at the Church of the Holy Name said the church had a replacement value of $6.5 million.
He understood the church was covered until the end of the year, and seemed surprised to learn that excluded earthquake cover.
He was philosophical about losing cover.
"If it falls down it falls down, it just means we won't have the money to rebuild. We have been paying premiums for years and years and years, when they (insurers) have to pay out they run for cover."
The Church of the Holy Name is the town's only New Zealand Historic Places Trust building listed as category one, meaning it has "special or outstanding" heritage significance.
It was opened in 1931, and its external walls have six layers of brick.
In addition to rising insurance costs and the loss of earthquake cover, Mid Canterbury public and commercial building owners face the prospect of having to increase the earthquake strengthening of their buildings within the next 10 years.
The Ashburton District Council's draft policy specifies strengthening to 67 per cent of the new code, compared to just 33 per cent in the current policy.
Father Gray said the church was earthquake strengthened some years ago to well above the code at the time, and he expected if there was any further strengthening required it would be minimal. It was a solid structure which had sustained just minor damage in the first earthquake in 2010.
At Methven's Church of the Holy Family in Methven, parishioner Viv Barrett is similarly concerned about a lack of earthquake cover.
He did not realise the church was not covered.
"I suppose it's disappointing to know we haven't got earthquake cover, when it's been covered for so many years. But it's just the way things are going," Mr Barrett said.
He believed the church, built of concrete blocks in 1963, was a solid structure and had earthquake strengthening above current regulations, so would require only minimal strengthening in the future, if any.