Total and permanent loss of autonomy

Total and permanent loss of autonomy is the twin of death cover in protection and borrower insurance policies. It applies when three conditions are met: the insured can no longer do any activity providing income or profit, the condition is permanent, and they need another person's assistance to perform ordinary daily activities, generally washing, dressing, eating and moving about. The benefit provided on death is then paid early, and the contract ends. The definition is deliberately strict, and many severe disability cases do not meet it, because the insured retains partial autonomy. Policies also set an age limit, often sixty-five or seventy, beyond which the cover ends. The gap between what the insured believes is covered and the contractual definition is a frequent source of complaints, which equivalence of cover in borrower insurance requires comparing criterion by criterion.