Brigham v. Sun Life of Canada

**Brigham v. Sun Life of Canada: Disability Benefits Case** This case involved a dispute over long-term disability benefits. Brigham was receiving disability payments from Sun Life of Canada under a policy that initially covered him if he couldn't perform his own job. After five years, the policy terms changed to require that he be unable to perform any sedentary (desk) work to continue receiving benefits. Sun Life determined that Brigham could handle sedentary work and stopped his disability payments. Brigham sued, claiming the insurance company wrongfully terminated his benefits. The court ruled in favor of Sun Life of Canada. The appeals court upheld a lower court's decision, finding that Sun Life had substantial evidence to support its conclusion that Brigham was capable of performing sedentary work. Therefore, the company was justified in ending his disability benefits after the five-year period. This ruling is important for workers because it shows how disability insurance policies can have different standards over time. Many long-term disability policies start by covering you if you can't do your specific job, but later switch to covering you only if you can't do any type of work. Workers should carefully review their disability insurance terms to understand when and how coverage might change.