Skip to main content
Long Term Disability

Own Occupation Insurance Policies

Own Occupancy Insurance is a policy that is sold that covers someone if he or she is unable to perform his/her normal duties in his/her own occupation. The technical definition of disability with an Own Occupation policy is you’re unable to perform your substantial and material duties in a usual and customary manner with reasonable continuity which is a long-winded way of saying that you can no longer complete your job duties they way that you used to before the accident/injury/illness. You may be able to work somewhat, you may be able to work on a part time basis, you may be able to do some of your duties but you’re not performing your job at the level you could prior to the cause of your current disability.

For example, a microsurgeon, a neurosurgeon or a cancer surgeon might have some kind of an accident or an injury. A typical injury would be arthritis in the hands enough to slows the surgeon down or he /she are not able to perform surgical duties without being in pain and without the technical performance of the surgical duty being impacted negatively.

Causes of a disability can be varied: injury, accident, disease, illness, a medical condition of one kind or another can all cause a disability. Back injuries, fibromyalgia, arthritis, cardiovascular related issues, psychiatric based problems such as bipolar disorder or clinical depression can all cause a disability sufficient to trigger the need to file claim. There are all kinds of things that happen to people that prevent them from being able to work normally.

These policies were sold often when people still were in dental school or medical school. The basis of these policies is the notion that having reached education and professional goals and achieved a comfortable lifestyle, what would happen if the ability to earn a living were taken away? What if something happens and you can’t do your job anymore?