Gammill v. Provident Life & Accident Insurance

Tom Glaze, Justice.

This case presents us with the opportunity to clarify the law as it pertains to “total disability” clauses in insurance policies. At issue is whether or not a cardiologist was totally disabled following an accident which left him unable to perform many of the duties of his occupation.

In 1994, Dr. Todd Gammill purchased two disability insurance policies — an individual disability income policy and business overhead expense policy — with Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company, listing his occupation on the application as “invasive cardiologist.”1 Under the terms of the…