My experience with a LAN refund for a no-penalty full fare business class ticket has been the worst and lengthier I have ever seen; LAN is known to have a less than stellar ground service.

My case: Initially LAN insisted on charging an 'administrative fee' to reimburse for costs associated with their admin work, which they decided that imposing a 25 usd with be fair. Either their way or they could not assess when my refund might be processed, well documented by e-mails back and forth.

It evolved up to a point where I simply passed it over to the credit card admin who gladly took it over, reversed the charge and negotiated with LAN a no-penalty refund, by the rules.

With or without earthquake, that's standard service for LAN; If possible have your credit card negotiate on your behalf.