Meaning & use
constructive total loss
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablebusinesslegal
In insurance, a situation where a damaged ship, car or property is not fully destroyed but costs more to repair than it is worth.
Grammar: Often abbreviated CTL; usually used with an or the.
Patterns
- declare something a constructive total loss
The insurer declared the flooded car a constructive total loss.
The yacht was treated as a constructive total loss after the fire.
A constructive total loss claim may pay the full insured value.
Word forms
| plural | constructive total losses |
|---|
Common combinations
- declare a constructive total loss
- The insurer declared a constructive total loss.
- constructive total loss claim
- He filed a constructive total loss claim.
- constructive total loss of a vessel
- The constructive total loss of the vessel was disputed.
- be treated as a constructive total loss
- The car was treated as a constructive total loss.
- avoid a constructive total loss
- Quick repairs may avoid a constructive total loss.
Synonyms and how they differ
- write-off
- Write-off is the everyday British word, and it applies even when the cost is not strictly calculated.
- total loss
- Total loss means complete destruction, whereas constructive means it is treated as lost.
Word family
- constructive adjective
- Treated in law as true even if not literally so.
- loss noun
- The state of no longer having something.
Commonly confused: constructive total loss or actual total loss?
constructive total loss vs actual total loss
An actual total loss means the item is destroyed or cannot be recovered at all.
Practice
A flooded car can still be fixed, but repairs would cost more than its value. The insurer calls it a ___.
Choose one answer.
A constructive total loss is treated as total because repair is uneconomic. A partial loss would be repaired.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “constructive total loss”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.