Canada Life Group Insurance has introduced an additional service from Best Doctors as part of its Group Income Protection (GIP) and Group Critical Illness (GCI) products.

The new service, AskTheExpert, will provide policy members with access to the opinions of over 50,000 medical experts.

AskTheExpert will be offered alongside Best Doctors’ InterConsultation service but without the need to conduct a full case review. In cases where there is no diagnostic uncertainty and where there is no requirement to collect medical records, patients have access to an in-depth assessment of their complete medical history by specialists, all of whom have been nominated and voted for by their peers as the best in their fields. Expert report findings are shared with the member within five days of the initial call.

The AskTheExpert report will be written by a Best Doctors expert consultant and take into account other conditions the member may have, current medications, lifestyle issues and relevant family history. This can then be followed up with the treating doctor or with Best Doctors’ InterConsultation, FindBestDoc or FindBestCare support services.

“The service empowers employees and their families with the very best medical information, helping them to make appropriate healthcare decisions at a time when they are most important,” said Paul Avis, sales and marketing director of Canada Life Group Insurance.

“This is an opportunity for intermediaries to highlight the policy’s value to their client. Add-on services mean that not only are employers able to offer employees core products, but a number of additional benefits that prove invaluable as well.

“A policy that offers this level of clinical expertise and support to all UK based company employees, irrespective of their inclusion in a Group Income Protection policy, is a unique benefit of this value proposition.”