Why are MRIs for Pets so Expensive?
MRIs for dogs and cars are expensive for a few reasons. First, MRI machines can cost £1 million or more. Then a special room must be constructed for the MRI, with technology such as RF Shielding to keep disruptive signals out of the scanning room and Passive Magnetic Shielding to diminish the reach of the magnetic field beyond the MRI scanning room.
Once up and running, specialist technicians are needed to operate the MRI. As a result, MRI centres need to charge a significant amount of money to provide scans in order to recoup the costs of buying, setting up and operating an MRI machine.
In addition, dogs and cats need to be anesthetized during an MRI making an MRI for your pet potentially more expensive than for a human. To get a clean MRI picture the patient must lay perfectly still during the scan, which lasts anywhere from 10 minutes up to 1.5 hours. No pet would lay still during an MRI amid the banging noises that occur as large bursts of electricity hit the coils—no matter how good their “stay” is. As a result, the total cost of an MRI for a dog or cat includes anesthesia, which alone can top £200.
Does Pet Insurance Cover MRI Scans?
MRI coverage by a pet insurance policy will depend on the reason for the MRI (does your pet need the MRI due to an accident or an illness?), the type of pet insurance plan (accident only or accident & illness) and the coverage limits of your plan. And keep in mind youll pay the excess, if you havent already done so for the condition that year.
Reason for MRI and type of insurance plan: An accident only plan may cover an MRI when the underlying injury was caused by an accident. For instance, if your dog suffers from back problems after being hit by a car, and accident only plan would typically cover an MRI if advised by your vet. However, an MRI to diagnose a tumor (an “illness” in insurance lingo) would only by covered by an accident & illness plan (i.e., time limited, maximum benefit and lifetime cover).
Plan limits: Whether or not an MRI is covered in part or in full by pet insurance (excluding the excess) will also depend on your plan limits. For example, on a policy with a £1,000 per condition or annual limit, only £1,000 of the MRI cost would be covered (assuming youve made no other claims for the condition), leaving you to pay the remaining £800 or so and pay for any follow up treatments which may cost thousands of pounds more if surgery is required. To protect against situations like this, its useful to have at least £4,000 of vet health insurance, if not more, depending on your budget.
Additionally, some pet insurance providers impose inner limits on MRIs, which may be less than your entire vet fee limit for a condition or the year. PDSA and Debenhams are two pet insurance companies that impose lower limits on MRIs. As you can see in the table below, on all PDSA and Debenhams plans the maximum payout for an MRI is significantly less than the £1,860 average cost of an MRI. As a result, a dog or cat owner with either of these insurers would need to pay the remainder of the bill beyond what was covered by insurance.
| Insurance Provider | Plan Names and MRI Inner Limits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDSA | Classic | Advance | Advance Plus | Ultimate | Ultimate Plus |
| £1,000 | £1,500 | £1,500 | £1,500 | £1,500 | |
| Debenhams | Accident Only | Essential | Basic | Extra | Elite |
| £1,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 | £1,250 | £1,500 | |
What is a veterinary MRI scan?
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning is a type of advanced imaging that allows us to look at certain parts of the body. It uses magnetic fields and radio waves in order to build a high-quality of the scanned area, from which we can identify any issues.
We have one of the most advanced veterinary MRI scanners in the country. Our 1.5 tesla whole body scanner provides exceptionally high quality s with minimal scanning time.