Our Verdict
We gave Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance an average rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. In this guide, we will elaborate on how we arrived at this rating. The explanations should help you judge the service on your own.
Summary
| Policies | 3/4 |
| Benefits and Small Print | 3/3 |
| Renewal Premiums | 2/3 |
| Customer Satisfaction | 0.5/3 |
| Excess and Contribution | 2/2 |
| Total out of 15 | 10.5 |
| Star Rating out of 5 | 3.5 |
Policies
Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance has three choices of policy. These are the standard, premier, and premier plus coverage options. The standard coverage is the cheapest, and it covers up to £3000 per condition for 12 months. The premier coverage is the most popular from this company, and it will cover up to £7,500 per condition. If you want more coverage, you can go for the premier plus policy. It will cover up to £13,000 per condition. Unfortunately, the company does not have a lifetime policy.
Benefits and Small Print
The maximum coverage you can get from this company is £13,000 per month, and it will cover overseas vet treatment, physiotherapy, behavioural issues, among others. Dental illness and accidents are also covered in these policies. Other extras can be purchased, but they are not compulsory. You should note that they do not cover the costs of euthanasia. If your dog is aged 9 years (or 5 years for some breeds), the company will not cover the death due to illness costs.
The death and loss benefit in this company is calculated based on the purchase price of your pet and not its market value. Also, a sliding scale is not used.
This company does not have a Vetfone.
Generally, this company has a clean small print section, meaning there are very few non-standard exclusions.
Renewal of Premiums
With this company, the premiums will increase regularly, especially if you make many claims. Some customers experienced slow increases even though they had made only one claim in a few years. The increases in the premiums are similar to the average insurance company, and that is why very few customers have complained about the increases.
Customer Service
Customer reviews from this company have been mostly negative. On one of the review sites, they received an average rating of 1.8 out of 5 stars. Their customer service has been criticised for being slow to respond to customer queries. A few customers also mentioned that they had not received payouts because the company claimed the pet had a pre-existing condition. The basis for these claims was dubious.
Excess and Contribution
The fixed excess in this company is £75 per condition. This is around the industry average of £77. For older pets of 9 years and above, you will have to pay 20% of all remaining vet fees, on top of the £75 excess. For some breeds, five years is the point at which you will have to pay the 20% fee.