loss ratio

American

noun

Insurance.

the ratio of the losses paid or accrued by an insurer to premiums earned, usually for a period of one year.

loss ratio British

noun

the ratio of the annual losses sustained to the premiums received by an insurance company

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of loss ratio

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

loss ratio

The solution requires acknowledging that the medical loss ratio rules were designed for an era when insurers and providers operated independently.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 10, 2025

The loss ratio related to claims didn’t change much.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025

The Medicaid result left the company’s overall medical loss ratio at 92.7%, better than the 92.9% consensus estimate.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2025

The medical loss ratio tracks the proportion of premiums paid out to cover medical expenses.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025

Business conditions were uncertain, overhead charges extraordinarily increased, the loss ratio large and bidding fair to cut their bonus down to nothing.

From Broken to the Plow by Dobie, Charles Caldwell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023