Lifetime pet insurance
Our pet insurance offers cover for life. This means your pet has support when they need it, so you can focus on spoiling them.
Pet insurance provided by Pinnacle Insurance Ltd.
Why choose Sainsbury's Lifetime Pet insurance?
Our lifetime cover means you don’t need to keep taking out new policies each year and helps you relax, knowing your beloved pet is taken care of.
- Unlimited treatment period with annual cover up to £10,000
Flexible insurance to cover your pets at home and abroad - Vet Assistance, day or night
Our lifetime pet insurance comes with 24/7 access to qualified, UK-based vet nurses online or over the phone - Multi-pet cover – cut costs when you insure more
Get a £1 discount per pet, per month on our multi-pet policies † - Extra discount for Nectar members
As a Nectar member, you’ll get a further discount on your lifetime pet insurance * - A policy that’s easy to manage
Manage your pet insurance policy easily with our handy online portal
Already the proud owner of a pet pooch or feline friend? Or thinking about getting a puppy, kitten or rabbit? We can help you protect your pet.
Please note that we won't cover any pre-existing conditions and that terms, conditions, excesses, exclusions and limitations apply. You can find out more about the terms of our cover in our policy documents.
What does our lifetime pet insurance cover?
If you need to make a claim for your cat or dog, you get access to £2,500, £5,000, £7,500 or £10,000 towards vet costs each year – depending on the level of cover you choose. For rabbits, it’s up to £2,000.
Compare our five lifetime pet insurance cover levels, so you can find the best fit for you and your pets.
| Benefit | Lifetime £2,000 (Rabbit) | Lifetime £2,500 (Cats & Dogs) | Lifetime £5,000 (Cats & Dogs) | Lifetime £7,500 (Cats & Dogs) | Lifetime £10,000 (Cats & Dogs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Treatment period | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited |
Treatment basis | per year | per year | per year | per year | per year |
Veterinary fees | |||||
Veterinary helpline | |||||
Additional benefits | |||||
Holiday cover |
Veterinary fees can include:
| Benefit | Lifetime £2,000 (Rabbit) | Lifetime £2,500 (Cats & Dogs) | Lifetime £5,000 (Cats & Dogs) | Lifetime £7,500 (Cats & Dogs) | Lifetime £10,000 (Cats & Dogs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dental Cover | up to £2,000 | up to £2,500 | up to £5,000 | up to £7,500 | up to £10,000 |
Complementary Treatment | up to £750 | up to £750 |
up to £1,500 |
up to £1,500 |
up to £1,500 |
Physiotherapy | up to £750 | up to £750 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 |
Behavioural illnesses | up to £2,500 | up to £5,000 | up to £7,500 | up to £10,000 | |
Overseas veterinary treatment | up to £2,500 | up to £5,000 | up to £7,500 | up to £10,000 |
Additional benefits and limits:
| Benefit | Lifetime £2,000 (Rabbit) | Lifetime £2,500 (Cats & Dogs) | Lifetime £5,000 (Cats & Dogs) | Lifetime £7,500 (Cats & Dogs) | Lifetime £10,000 (Cats & Dogs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Death from accident/injury | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £2,000 | |
Death from illness | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £2,000 | |
Cremation | up to £200 | up to £200 | up to £200 | up to £200 | up to £200 |
Advertising & reward (dogs must be microchipped) | up to £250 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £2,000 |
Theft or straying (dogs must be microchipped) | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £2,000 | |
Emergency boarding kennel fees (if you're ill/injured for over 48hrs) | up to £250 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 |
3rd party liability (dogs only) |
up to £2 million |
up to £2 million |
up to £2 million |
up to £2 million |
Holiday travel cover:
Please note Rabbits are not covered under holiday travel cover.
| Benefit | Lifetime £2,500 | Lifetime £5,000 | Lifetime £7,500 | Lifetime £10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Holiday cancellation | up to £1,500 | up to £3,000 | up to £3,000 | up to £3,000 |
Quarantine costs | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 |
Loss of healthcare cert | up to £250 | up to £250 | up to £250 | up to £250 |
Emergency expenses abroad | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 | up to £1,500 |
We’re sorry, but there are some breeds that we won’t cover under our Lifetime cover £10,000 limit – you can find more details in our FAQ section.
What is pet insurance lifetime cover?
Owning a pet is a big responsibility, as is taking care of their health and wellbeing. Cats, dogs and rabbits can suffer recurring illnesses or conditions throughout their lives, which can be costly to treat.
That's where lifetime cover comes in.
What does lifetime pet insurance cover mean?
Our lifetime pet insurance is our most comprehensive cover. It helps with the cost of one-off illnesses and recurring conditions over an unlimited amount of time. And the cover limit resets each year.
If your pet developed the condition after you took out the lifetime policy, you’ll be covered for as long as your pet needs help. This means you can claim up to £10,000 each year towards vet costs for the same condition or illness – and you can do this every year for the entire duration of the policy.
This is different to both our maximum benefit and time limited policies (available for cats and dogs only). These will help with some vet costs for new illnesses and conditions, but only until your cover limit (which does not reset annually) or time limit (12 months per treatment) is reached.
With our maximum and time limited policies, if your cat or dog is affected by the same illness or condition in the future, treatment fees won’t be covered. So, if you’re looking for pet insurance for ongoing conditions, lifetime cover might be your best option.
Why buy lifetime pet insurance?
With so many options available, you might be wondering “what is lifetime pet insurance and is it right for me and my pet?” We’ve broken it down so you can decide how to protect your pets with a policy.
- Designed to last from the moment your policy starts to the end of your pet’s life, lifetime pet insurance is a long-term investment into your pet’s well-being.
- Our unlimited treatment period means you can keep your vet bills down, no matter when an emergency strikes.
- Our 24/7 Vet Assistance service is there for when you need expert advice or just general support.
- If you have more than one pet, our multi-pet cover can provide a discount on every pet you decide to cover.
- As long as you keep renewing your policy, your insurance can continue to pay out, potentially saving you money in the long run.
What does lifetime pet insurance cover?
Pets can be expensive to look after, especially when they’re unwell. Our lifetime pet insurance covers a wide range of treatments and therapies to help you and your pets when you need it most.
Our cover includes:
- Veterinary fees
Aside from the medical work that’s necessary to keep your pets happy and healthy, the veterinary fees we cover can include dental cover, complementary treatment, physiotherapy, behavioural illnesses and any overseas treatment that may be required.
- 24/7 Veterinary helpline
When your pet falls ill or has an unfortunate accident, you can’t always get to a vet. With the Vet Assistance helpline, you can speak to a qualified veterinary nurse for advice at any time.
- Cover for death from an accident or illness
It’s always difficult when a pet dies, but with our lifetime cover, you don’t have to worry about the costs of cremation.
- Lost pets
If your pet strays or is stolen, we can help with the costs of advertising and rewards.
- Holiday cover
If you need to cancel a holiday to care for a poorly pet or need vet treatment while you and your pet are abroad, we could help with the costs.
What isn’t covered by lifetime pet insurance?
Unfortunately, we can’t cover every eventuality and there are some exclusions to our policies, as there are with all pet insurance products out there. This includes:
- Selected breeds that we don’t cover under any of our policies.
- Rabbits, who are excluded from some treatments depending on your policy limit.
- We can’t cover all pets unfortunately, but we can cover cats, dogs and rabbits.
- As with all our pet insurance policies, we are unable to cover pre-existing conditions, i.e. illnesses or conditions you were aware of before you bought insurance from us.
What to consider when buying lifetime pet insurance
When you’re considering purchasing lifetime pet insurance there are a few things to think about before you make your final decision.
- Age of your pets
At Sainsbury’s Money we’re happy to insure pets from as young as eight weeks old.
- Pre-existing conditions
We aren’t able to cover illnesses or conditions you were aware of before you bought insurance from us. It’s important that you’re honest about any pre-existing conditions when you purchase lifetime pet insurance to avoid voiding any future claims you may make.
- How much you can afford each month
Consider your own financial situation when you get your quote. Think about what you can realistically put towards paying a premium and work this out in your budget . It might be useful to think of lifetime insurance as an investment of sorts. Putting in now can help to make sure that when you need financial support for your pet, you’re covered.
Handy guides for pet owners
Cats, dogs and rabbits come in all shapes, sizes and personalities. We all want our pets to be happy and healthy. Our guides cover everything from fun facts to lifelong care essentials and insurance information, to help you get the best out of each other.
Help protect your pet with a lifetime pet insurance policy
If you’re all set to get lifetime pet insurance, you can buy a policy online today. It’s quick, easy and means your pets will get the cover they deserve.
Need to talk to us?
You should find what you need on our help and support page . But if you’d prefer to talk to us, our friendly, UK-based team will be happy to help with any queries you have about our lifetime pet insurance.
Frequently asked questions
Any more questions?
We understand how important it is to make the right decision on lifetime pet insurance. To help you get all the information you need, our FAQs list the most popular questions that pet owners ask – as well as others that aren’t so common.