Own Occupation and Any Occupation in LTD Policies

Own occupation and any occupation are the two definitions of disability inside a standard long-term disability policy, and the one in force on any given day decides whether you are paid. The medical facts can stay identical while the answer changes, because the question changes. This chapter states what each definition asks, and where each one tends to appear in a claim.

What Own Occupation Means

Under an own occupation definition, you are disabled if your condition prevents you from performing the essential duties of the job you actually held. A trial lawyer who can no longer speak for long periods can meet it while still able to do desk work. Most group policies apply this definition for an initial period only, commonly the first 24 months of benefits, though the number is set by each policy’s own wording. The disability denials guide states how the guide follows a claim through both stages.

What Any Occupation Means

After the initial period, most group policies switch to an any occupation definition. You remain disabled only if you cannot perform any occupation for which you are reasonably suited by education, training or experience. Courts have not read this as any job at all; a surgeon is not undisabled because a parking booth exists. The wording of the specific policy controls, and many versions add an earnings threshold to the test. The switch itself, and why cut-offs cluster around it, is the subject of the change of definition chapter.

Why the Definition Decides the Claim

Every denial letter applies one of these definitions to your file, and the medical evidence only matters insofar as it answers the definition in force. A file built to prove you cannot do your old job may say nothing about retraining, transferable skills or the wider labour market, which is what the second test asks about. The evidence that answers each test is set out in the medical evidence chapter.

Where the Wording Comes From

The definitions are contractual, not statutory, so the starting point is always the policy booklet and the master policy behind it. The decided cases interpreting these clauses are searchable on CanLII. The firm reads the actual policy wording before giving any opinion on a denial, as described on the long-term disability lawyer page.