loss

Loss generally refers to a decrease in a person’s physical, emotional, legal, or pecuniary circumstances. See also: damages.

Some federal statutes divide loss into economic and noneconomic loss.

Economic loss is any pecuniary loss resulting from harm.
Noneconomic loss means loss for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society or companionship, loss of consortium, hedonic damages, injury to reputation, or any other nonpecuniary loss of any kind or nature.

Some examples of the ways in which a party can experience loss include, but but are not limited to:

Serious bodily injury resulting from a car accident, see: Oberly v. Bangs Ambulance Inc., 96 N.Y.2d 295 (2001).
Paying more than the actual value of property, see: Benson v. Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc., 944 F.3d 639 (7th Cir. 2019).
An invasion of the exclusive use of tangible property, see: Olwell v. Nye & Nissen Co., 26 Wash. 2d 282 (1946).
Receiving goods of a lesser quality than represented, see: MayHall v. A.H. Pond Co., 129 Mich. App. 178 (1983).

Loss may also refer to one of the following kinds of loss:

Actual loss: A method of measuring loss in the context of a breach of contract. Actual loss is the difference between the market value of the goods had they been delivered according to agreed upon contractual specifications, and the market value of the goods as they were actually delivered. See: Philips Consumer Electronics Co. v. Arrow Carrier Corp., 785 F. Supp. 436 (S.D.N.Y. 1992).
Actual total loss: In the context of marine insurance, actual total loss is when the vessel no longer exists or is irretrievably capsized. See: American Marine Ins. Group v. Neptunia Ins. Co., 775 F. Supp. 703 (S.D.N.Y. 1991).
Constructive loss: In the context of marine insurance, constructive loss is when the vessel is retrieved, but the cost of repairs exceeds the repaired value of the vessel. See: American Marine Ins. Group v. Neptunia Ins. Co., 775 F. Supp. 703 (S.D.N.Y. 1991).
Direct loss: In the context of automobile insurance, a direct loss proceeds immediately or proximately from the insured peril, as opposed to proceeding remotely from the peril. See: Farmers Ins. Exchange v. Wallace, 275 S.W.2d 864 (1955).
Economic loss doctrine: This doctrine is applied by many jurisdictions providing that no cause of action can be maintained in tort for breach of contract claims with no corresponding injury or damage to property. See: Hoseline, Inc. v. U.S.A. Diversified Products, 40 F.3d 1198 (11th Cir. 1994).
Proof of loss is a technical term in an insurance policy, meaning formal documentation on prescribed forms. See: Standard Acc. Ins. Co. v. Bennett, 16 F.2d 721 (1926).
Total loss occurs when the cost to repair exceeds the value of the property. See: Bradley v. Allstate Ins. Co., 19 N.W.3d 883 (2025).

[Last reviewed in August of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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