Which of these would not be considered a presumptive disability?

• A. Total blindness
• B. Loss of hearing
• C. Loss of leg or arm
• D. Paralysis

Answer: (C)

Presumptive disability means certain catastrophic losses automatically qualify someone as totally disabled for benefit purposes, so the insurer pays benefits without needing ongoing proof of the person’s inability to work. In common exam definitions, these automatic, presumptive events include total loss of sight in both eyes, total loss of hearing, and paralysis (often of both legs or arms or loss of use of two limbs). These events are viewed as almost always resulting in total, permanent impairment.

Losing a single leg or a single arm does not meet that automatic, all-encompassing standard, so it’s not considered presumptive. It may be a serious disability, but it usually requires further evaluation rather than triggering automatic total-disability benefits.