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📅 '''Date of loss''' is the specific date on which a covered event — such as a fire, auto accident, bodily injury, or property damage — is deemed to have occurred, establishing the temporal anchor point around which an insurance [[Definition:Claims management | claim]] is evaluated. In insurance, this date determines which [[Definition:Policy period | policy period]] responds to the loss, which [[Definition:Policy form | policy terms]] and [[Definition:Deductible | deductibles]] apply, and whether the claim falls within the applicable [[Definition:Statute of limitations | statute of limitations]] for reporting and legal action.

🔍 Pinpointing the date of loss is straightforward for sudden events — a car collision on a Tuesday afternoon or a building struck by lightning on a known date — but becomes considerably more complex in long-tail lines. In [[Definition:General liability insurance | general liability]], [[Definition:Workers' compensation insurance | workers' compensation]], and [[Definition:Environmental liability insurance | environmental liability]], injuries or damages may develop over months or years, raising difficult questions about whether the relevant date is when exposure began, when injury manifested, or when the [[Definition:Policyholder | insured]] first became aware of the condition. The distinction carries enormous financial consequences: under an [[Definition:Occurrence-based policy | occurrence-based policy]], the date of loss ties coverage to the policy in effect when the occurrence took place, while under a [[Definition:Claims-made policy | claims-made policy]], the reporting date and [[Definition:Retroactive date | retroactive date]] interact with the date of loss to determine coverage availability. [[Definition:Claims management | Claims adjusters]] and coverage counsel invest significant effort in establishing this date, particularly when multiple policy years or [[Definition:Reinsurance | reinsurance]] treaties may be implicated.

⚖️ Beyond claims handling, the date of loss ripples through reserving, financial reporting, and [[Definition:Reinsurance | reinsurance]] recoveries. [[Definition:Actuarial science | Actuaries]] organize loss data by accident year or occurrence year, making the accuracy of recorded loss dates foundational to [[Definition:Loss reserves | reserve]] adequacy and [[Definition:Loss development | loss development]] analysis. Reinsurance contracts — whether [[Definition:Excess of loss reinsurance | excess of loss]] or [[Definition:Quota share reinsurance | quota share]] — attach based on the loss date, so disputes over this determination can shift millions of dollars between [[Definition:Ceding company | ceding companies]] and reinsurers. For all these reasons, establishing a clear and defensible date of loss is one of the most consequential early steps in any claim.

'''Related concepts'''
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Definition:Claims-made policy]]
* [[Definition:Occurrence-based policy]]
* [[Definition:Policy period]]
* [[Definition:Loss reserves]]
* [[Definition:First notice of loss (FNOL)]]
* [[Definition:Claims management]]
{{Div col end}}

Definition:Date of loss - Revision history

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