Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease

Definition

Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, means a definite diagnosis of dementia, which must be characterized by a progressive deterioration of memory and at least one of the following areas of cognitive function:

aphasia (a disorder of speech)
apraxia (difficulty performing familiar tasks)
agnosia (difficulty recognizing objects), or
disturbance in executive functioning (e.g. inability to think abstractly and to plan, initiate, sequence, monitor and stop complex behaviour), which is affecting daily life.

The insured person must exhibit:

dementia of at least moderate severity, which must be evidenced by a mini mental State Exam of 20/30 or less, or equivalent score on another generally medically accepted test or tests of cognitive function, and
evidence of progressive worsening in cognitive and daily functioning either by serial cognitive tests or by history over at least a 6 month period.

The diagnosis of dementia must be made by a specialist.