Accident policies

Disability

Personal accident policies provide coverage where the assured is unable to carry on his or her previous occupation or activities. There is often ambiguity in the wording, although the general approach taken by the courts is that if the assured’s disability is one which precludes a particular form of employment but allows him to carry on equivalent employment then he is not entitled to policy benefits. By contrast, if the degree of disability is such that the assured is able only to carry on menial or part-time work, then he is to be regarded as having been deprived of his occupation and recovery is possible. The Court of Appeal in McGeown v Direct Travel Insurance [2003] EWCA Civ 1606, forthcoming in [2004] Lloyd’s Rep IR, was asked to construe the terms of a travel policy which conferred cover upon the assured who was unable to carry on ‘any paid work’ or ‘all … usual activities’. The decision illustrates that there has to be something more than the loss of a particular type of work or activity before the cover attaches.