Sainsburys Pet Insurance - Any excuse not to pay out

stator

dacouch wrote: »

A Lifetime Cover provider would not (Normally) exclude the two conditions, that's the whole point of a lifetime policy

They would if he/she switches now. They exclude pre-existing conditions at the start of the policy, but don't add any new ones as long as you keep paying.

Aretnap

stator wrote: »

And switch to a decent insurer who offer lifetime cover and don't add on exclusions every year!

It's not necessarily a cased of finding a "decent" insurer. Most insurers (including Sainsbury's, who are actually Allianz) offer both basic policies which exclude existing conditions at each renewal, and more expensive "lifetime" policies which will cover long term conditions year after year. That doesn't make them bad insurers - just insurers who offer a range of both cheap and premium products.

That said, one thing to be aware of with Sainsbury's lifetime cover is that the cover limit applies per illness rather than per year. So if your pet gets an expensive long term condition, once you've spent £7000 (or whatever) on it, that's your lot, even if it takes several years to spend that much. A policy where the cover limit applies per year should provide better peace of mind against that sort of condition.

pinkteapot

Sainsbury's do offer both annual and lifetime cover, though they don't make it very clear as they don't refer to their upper two cover levels as "lifetime". Most pet insurers offer annual or lifetime.

Yes, lifetime cover is a sensible thing to get with pet insurance. Yes, OP only had annual cover. BUT, her complaint is entirely valid in this case as the vet has made clear that the second illness was in no way related to the first.

OP - dacouch's post above has good advice about the complaint procedure.

sallyj17

pinkteapot wrote: »

Sainsbury's do offer both annual and lifetime cover, though they don't make it very clear as they don't refer to their upper two cover levels as "lifetime". Most pet insurers offer annual or lifetime.

Yes, lifetime cover is a sensible thing to get with pet insurance. Yes, OP only had annual cover. BUT, her complaint is entirely valid in this case as the vet has made clear that the second illness was in no way related to the first.

OP - dacouch's post above has good advice about the complaint procedure.

This really depends on how you define a lifetime policy. Often lifetime policies are taken to mean policies which renew the benefit each year. Both the Sainsburys policies are Maximum Benefit policies which means they pay up to a maximum for each condition (although there is no time limit). Semantics really... but see the definitions at the bottom of this page..http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cut-pet-insurance-costs