Disability - what's in a word?
February 29, 2012
Disability does not mean the same things to different people. For some it means TPD (such as AMP) for others it means income protection insurance. But even within those categories, there are some wildly differing definitions of disablement. The first crucial distinction is whether there is a requirement for the disability to be permanent. If this isn't present the definition can then be broken down into four categories
1. Unable to follow your OWN occupation - with subsets of definition based on whether this is measured by one or more of the following criteria:
- Inability to perform income-producing tasks
- Percentage loss in earning
- Time-based definitions ('more than 10 hours per week')
2. Unable to follow ANY occupation - in effect this is the class four definition for income protection. With all the above criteria
3. Confined under medical supervision (hospitalisation or homecare)
4. Unable to perform a number of activities of daily living (one or two out of a common set of five)
For permanent disablement the definitions are broken down:
1. Permanently unable to follow your OWN occupation
2. Permanently unable to follow ANY occupation
3. Unable to live independently / unable to perform certain activities of daily living.
Mainly the qualifications are by test (unlikely ever to recover) but also by exclusion. Of particular note is the definition which excludes any pre-existing condition.