MRI cost & insurance

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Mel1

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Hi

my horse has been refered for a MRI, the vet thinks she's got a pelvic problem, do you know how much it will cost? she is insured with NFU but it says in the small print that they might not cover MRI scan. has anybody made a claim with NFU for an MRI?
 
I know that many insurance companies have issues with scanning of horses. The problem seems to be that as vets have invested loads in scanning machines they want to start recovering some of their outlay. As a result, the insurance companies feel that vets are using the scanners excessively when other & less costly means are available to examine the horse.

Before your vet uses the scanner you must contact your insurance company about it & check if they will cover the cost. If you don't & just present them with the bill they will be unlikely to pay it. Be bvery careful or you could be saddled with a massive bill.
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My mare had an MRI scan but it was done on her front legs so not sure whether there'd be a huge price difference? Anyway, it cost over 1k (I think it was 1,200 or something like that) and NFU paid half of it. I think you have to let them know that you are having it done but I didn't have any problems with them paying out.
 
Horse I know has recently had an MRI scan, not sure if they just scanned front legs or front legs and pelvis. The bill was in the region of £1600 plus VAT just for the scan, that did not include any of the investigative work to locate the problem areas or hospitalisation costs.

As Toby_Zaphod says do not just assume that your insurer will pay because the vet says it is needed, you will need to keep the insurer informed at every stage and get their authorisation/agreement to the MRI costs before going ahead (unless of course you are prepared/able to meet the whole cost).

The horse I am thinking of was insured with the NFU and I believe I am correct in saying that NFU will cover half the cost of the MRI and the owner has to cover the remainder.
 
I'm with NFU and was under the impression that they will only pay out the first £500 and after that your on your own. Best to ring them and find out for definite before making any decisions.
 
im with nfu, i just made a claim for an mri scan in feb, they paid for half mri and half overnight stabling, it was just under £1000 for both front legs to be done.
i just rang up nfu and told them the vet wanted to mri as xrays hadnt been conclusive, they were fine and even offered to send out a confo letter to say they had agreed
 
Just to confirm what has already been said, when my horse had MRI 3 years ago on her front feet it was just over £1000; I don't know what a pelvic scan would cost.

NFU at that point in time would pay 50% of an MRI scan. Fortunately I was with Petplan who paid all of it. The advantage of NFU over Petplan though would have been that they would pay for transport which Petplan don't. (This could be significant if it's a long way to your nearest MRI centre.)
 
I'm with NFU and was quoted around £1200 for MRI of front legs, and NFU would pay half - I had to phone them and they confirmed that they would pay the half.
 
i am with nfu and touch wood and not had a claim but with the mri scanning if you let them no they will agree to pay half of the costs!
 
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