In bankruptcy, a general unsecured claim representing the portion of a secured creditor's claim amount that is not secured by collateral. For example, if a mortgage on a property is made for $1 million and the property is later valued at $700,000 while in bankruptcy, the secured mortgage lender would be considered an undersecured creditor, with a secured claim in the amount of $700,000 and a deficiency claim in the amount of $300,000.

For more information regarding the treatment of a deficiency claim in bankruptcy, see Practice Note, Credit Bidding in Section 363 Bankruptcy Sales: Credit Bids for Less Than the Face Value of the Claim.