Loss Adjustment Expense

All expenditures of an insurer associated with its adjustment, recording, and settlement of claims, other than the claim payment itself. The term encompasses both allocated loss adjustment expenses (ALAE) which are loss adjustment expenses identified by a claim file in the insurer’s records, such as attorney’s fees; and unallocated loss adjustment expenses (ULAE), which are operating expenses not identified by claim file, but functionally associated with settling losses, such as salaries of claims department.


The sum insurers pay for investigating and settling insurance claims, including the cost of defending a lawsuit in court.