Sainsburys PetCare Pet Insurance www.sainsburysbank.co.uk

My cat is now 18 years old and it is virtually impossible to change insurers when your pet is this age and has preexisting conditions.

This year Sainsbury's has increased my premium from £1,742.76 to £2,582.76 which is an annual increase of £840. This has resulted in my monthly payment increasing by £70 from £145 per month to £215 per month.

When you call them to complain about this increase they say they are not trying to trap you as insuring your pet is a choice - as a responsible pet owner this rings alarm bells.

On top of the £215 per month I am also expected to pay 20% excess of vet bills.

I think it is safe to say that Sainsbury's push people out of continuing with their insurance due to affordability which in turn puts animals lives at risk as some owners may decide to put animals to sleep because they can't afford premiums to continue with care.

Also, Sainsbury's state that they can do direct payments to your vet. Apart from the Queen Mother's Hospital for Animals I have yet to meet a vet practice that will accept this - I have always needed to pay myself and then claim back from Sainsbury's.

Another thing to watch out for is the comprehensive cover which covers up to £7,500 per condition. This seems like a good idea, however the cover does not reset each financial year. Once it is used it is gone. Other insurers give an annual overall limit of say £15,000 per year - this means your insurance limit refreshes each year.

Sainsbury's should be investigated by the ombudsman as they are clearly in the wrong business.

I'd be happy to coordinate a group complaint should any other customers have experienced the same increase in premium.

My premium increase this year is approx. 150%.

awful company they find any excuse not to pay out i will be cancelling because i will not be giving anymore money to u. DO NOT INSURE YOUR PET WITH THIS COMPANY

BEWARE

SAINSBURYS PET INSURANCE underwritten by PINNACLE

ADDED ON EXCLUSIONS

This has just happened to me am trying to fight it. My dog's condition is totally unrelated to previous issues. They make it up as they go along to avoid paying out unbelievable immoral and downright despicable by any standards

The portal is pure shambles, I need to be able to to contact somebody via email.

Should be able to have a joint ownership of a pet on the system, as it's near impossible to get any information from them if your the other person, and if you did what did by accident and have an animal under each person's name the system seems to break and they are as helpful as a chocolate shoe on a hot running course.

Gonna cancel as soon as I can and find somewhere else!!!

Sainsbury's pet insurance, they don't mind taking your money, but never want to pay out, when your pet gets to an old age they cut back most of the benifits so the policy is worthless,but they don't tell you this untill you want to claim, they say we sent you a letter explaining this and you agreed to it, but the did not send any letter. They know they are taking your money and they will not pay out, but they don't think this is wrong. Just pray on people how love and care about their beloved pets.

I just happened to notice an unusual withdrawal on my online banking account, which had been taken by Sainsbury’s Bank. Investigating I found it was my pet insurance premium, but the premium seemed somewhat higher than it should have been. Asking Sainsbury’s for an explanation, the following was given:

In the significant changes document enclosed within your renewal policy documents, we informed you that the company underwriting your policy has changed from Allianz Insurance to Pinnacle insurance. Pinnacle has calculated your premium using automated decision-making to provide you with the insurance service under the contract. In order to provide you with an efficient service, the pricing process is automated and your premiums have been calculated using the information supplied by your previous underwriter.

The passage above must be Sainsbury’s definition for treating customers with contempt, explaining away their exploitation by claiming they had informed me of the policy changes, yet, I was neither told about the shift in underwriter nor that my premiums had increased from £659.64 to £1022.64 per year. Of course, the new underwriter unconcerned and without my knowledge was quietly dipping into my account to extract the money. Just what are Sainsbury's playing at, installing a new underwriter whose intention was to be underhanded and exploit their customers? I would have thought Sainsbury’s obligation to their customers was to use an underwriter that would have provided better value not instead install Pinnacle Insurance who financially has run amok. Pet insurance companies have become renowned for operating unethical practices since, without concern to even long-standing customers, they will increase premiums to an extent whereby the customer no longer can afford to pay them. Of course, it is transparent that some pet insurance companies use underhanded methods in an attempt to get rid of the bad investment of providing insurance for older pets. The pet, in this case, is a 10-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel called Millie. Millie shares our home alone with two other Cavalier King Charles spaniels Maddie and Amber. Maddie is the eldest and is now a wobbly 13-year-old and Amber the youngest is a boisterous 6-years-old. Looking at the insurance situation with Maddie her last yearly premiums increase was a far more reasonable £90 and this despite Maddie making several claims over the years. Millie, due to her age, has cynically been shown the finger of contempt by Sainsbury’s, who is now exploiting a trapped policyholder.

Dreadful people will add exclusions after you put a claim in.

Had sainsburys pet insurance since 2001. During the last 3 years, suddenly have to pay (yearly)excess for a cat with the same heart condition. Nothing what so ever in the conditions booklet about paying yearly excess. Never payed every year before and sainsburys helpline try to wriggle out of this. The rules clearly state this excess should not be paid as it is the same illness condition every year. We are trying to claim our money back, which is looking hopeless as staff on helpline are totatally disinterested and talk over you and don't listen to what you are saying. We will be taking our custom elsewhere.

This lot lure you in with a competitive premium and then when you want to make a claim they wriggle out of it with spurious superstition about pre existing conditions and tenuous links to declared conditions. My claim was a small one not as if I was claiming for a lifetime supply of expensive meds or anything like that its actually less than a hundred pounds. All the correspondence Ive had is polite but patronising with the aim of not answering the reason why the claim has actually been denied so as to make busy people just give up I guess. Ive now been referred to an appeals handler and ive got a good idea how that's gonna go! its just disgusting that a company such as Sainsburys treat customers in this way really. AVOID THIS POLICY

I've been paying out hundreds for our cat in insurance over the years for our cat. he got sick this year - once - and I made a claim on the vets bills.

Sainsbury,s did everything thy could to get out of covering the amount and then refused. If you want some advice just go somewhere else as they are an unfriendly bunch.

They just want to take your money and laugh in your face.

Appalling, just absolutely appalling.

Can I give zero stars as one seems abundantly generous for these idiots.