We have a 12 year old Airedale Terrier who has very recently been diagnosed as having, and I quote, 'mild' arthritis. The vet recommended metacam to manage pain by which she meant make movement freer for our dog, and nutraquin+ which is a joint supplement. We have had one claim in the past ( about 6 years ago) for a minor dental / oral issue but other than that nothing. As the most recent issue will be an ongoing treatment to end of life, I contacted Sainsburys to see how it will work out going forward. In short, they 'believe' that our dog 'should' be covered for ongoing treatment.

Our excess is £125 and then 20% of all other costs. Our monthly premiums have recently risen to £135. We are now seriously considering scrapping all pet insurance (we have another dog also and our combined expenditure on the two is £200+ pcm) and simply putting money into a separate account to cover any vets bills that arise.

Clearly this is a risky strategy given how expensive vets bills can be, and the age of our oldest dog (and the clumsiness of the younger one lol) so we are still considering our options. However, I do believe that Sainsburys are particularly expensive, and that pet owners may do better shopping around.