About 800,000 MLC Life Insurance customers will soon be able to access the Best Doctors service, which provides free medical advice and second opinions.

The service is currently offered to nearly 600,000 MLC customers, but in October it will extend to customers who hold an MLC Insurance, MLC Insurance (Super), MLC ProtectionFirst, MLC Personal Protection Portfolio or MLC Life Cover Super product.

“With 10% of cases in Australia being misdiagnosed and increasing levels of unnecessary and ineffective treatment, having easy access to a second opinion from a top international expert is incredibly important,” Best Doctors CEO Peter McClennen said.

Nearly 27% of MLC customers accessing the service for second opinions have been recommended a change in treatment, saving patients an average of $6930 in medical fees and reducing average recovery times by more than seven weeks.

Customers can also use Best Doctors to find a specialist in their area or ask questions online to a panel of leading Australian GPs.