Вопреки ожиданиям, урегулирование убытка началось сегодня.

Вопреки requires the dative case. So the base noun ожидание becomes ожиданиям in the plural dative.

• singular: ожидание
• plural: ожидания
• dative plural: ожиданиям

So вопреки ожиданиям means contrary to expectations.

This is something you mostly just have to memorize: вопреки + dative.

In Russian, вопреки ожиданиям is the normal idiomatic way to say contrary to expectations. English often uses expectations in the plural too, and Russian does the same here.

You could theoretically form a singular phrase in another context, but in this expression the plural is the standard choice.

Вопреки is a preposition. It means something like:

• contrary to
• despite
• against

But grammatically it behaves as a preposition and takes the dative case.

Example:

• вопреки правилам — contrary to the rules
• вопреки совету — contrary to the advice
• вопреки ожиданиям — contrary to expectations

Урегулирование is a verbal noun formed from the verb урегулировать (to settle, regulate, resolve).

It is:

• neuter
• singular
• here in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence

This kind of noun is common in formal, business, legal, and administrative Russian.

Compare:

• урегулировать спор — to settle a dispute
• урегулирование спора — settlement of a dispute

So in your sentence, урегулирование убытка is the thing that began.

Because урегулирование is a noun, and Russian often links one noun to another using the genitive.

So:

• урегулирование — settlement / resolution
• убытка — of the loss / of the claim

This is a very common pattern:

• решение проблемы — solution of the problem
• обсуждение вопроса — discussion of the issue
• урегулирование убытка — settlement of the loss / claim

So убытка is genitive singular of убыток.

Because the subject is урегулирование, and урегулирование is a neuter singular noun.

Russian past tense agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• masculine: начался
• feminine: началась
• neuter: началось
• plural: начались

So:

• урегулирование началось
• not начался
• not началась

Началось is the perfective past of начаться, so it presents the beginning as a completed event: it began / it started.

In this sentence, that fits naturally, because the sentence reports the fact that the process started today.

If you used начиналось instead, that would be imperfective, and it would usually suggest:

• repeated beginnings,
• a process viewed from the inside,
• background description,
• or a more gradual/ongoing sense in context.

For example:

• Урегулирование убытка началось сегодня. — The settlement process began today.
• Урегулирование убытка начиналось медленно. — The settlement process was getting started slowly.

So началось is the normal choice here.

It is definitely formal and especially common in:

• insurance
• legal language
• business communication
• official documents

A native speaker would understand it, but in everyday casual conversation people might choose a simpler wording depending on context.

In insurance language, урегулирование убытка is quite standard and can refer to the handling or settlement of a claim/loss.

Because вопреки ожиданиям is an introductory prepositional phrase placed at the beginning of the sentence. Russian often separates such fronted adverbial phrases with a comma, especially when they set the scene or add a contrast.

So the comma helps signal:

• Contrary to expectations,
• the settlement process began today.

In shorter sentences, punctuation can sometimes vary depending on style, but here the comma is very natural.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, though the emphasis changes.

Original:

• Вопреки ожиданиям, урегулирование убытка началось сегодня.

Other possible orders:

• Урегулирование убытка началось сегодня вопреки ожиданиям.
• Сегодня началось урегулирование убытка, вопреки ожиданиям.

The original version is good if you want to highlight the contrast right away: contrary to expectations.

So the word order is not random; it affects focus and emphasis.

Not exactly. They overlap, but they are not always interchangeable.

• убыток often refers to loss, especially financial or insurance-related loss
• ущерб often means damage or harm

In insurance and business contexts, урегулирование убытка is a standard phrase. You would not automatically replace it with урегулирование ущерба without changing the nuance or sounding less idiomatic in that specific field.

So for this sentence, убытка is the expected word.

The main stresses are:

• вопреки́
• ожида́ниям
• урегули́рование
• убы́тка
• начало́сь
• сего́дня

A rough pronunciation guide:

• вопреки́ — va-pree-KEE
• ожида́ниям — a-zhi-DA-nee-yam
• урегули́рование — oo-ri-goo-LEE-va-ni-ye
• убы́тка — oo-BIT-ka
• начало́сь — na-cha-LOS’
• сего́дня — si-VOD-nya

Stress matters a lot in Russian, so it is worth learning each word together with its stress.

Grammatically you can break it down that way, but that would sound unnatural in English. The Russian noun урегулирование often covers ideas like:

• settlement
• resolution
• handling
• adjustment

So although the grammar is straightforward, the best English translation depends on context, especially in insurance language.

That is a good reminder that Russian noun phrases often map to more idiomatic English expressions rather than strict word-for-word equivalents.