Compensation Glossary

Claim Reserve

A claim department's estimate of the amount of money needed to pay a claim. The estimate is made with the help of information that the claim department gathers in the course of handling the claim. This information may involve, for example, the extent to which the claim is covered by the policy, the effect of previously paid claims on the amount of coverage available to pay a current claim, and the effect of any applicable reinsurance coverage on the claim.