Would you cancel your pets insurance at a certain age?

[TanaFrench]

My dog is 13 and has insurance. I was always going to just keep her insured until the day she passes (and I still might). But recently I have heard quite a few people say that they cancelled theirs once their pet got to a certain age because at that point if anything major happened they wouldn’t put them through it. I thought that was a good point, but I’m worried and still feel like I would keep it just in case. I wouldn’t cancel at 13 anyway. Maybe at about 16, if she made it to that age.

So I am just curious about what other people do. Do you keep your pet insurance forever or is it pointless once they are elderly? And if so, at what age would you cancel it?

@Judystilldreamsofhorses it's always difficult to know the 'right' time. I work on the basis I'd rather do it a few days too early rather than a few days too late. It's such a hard decision but at least we are able to prevent them suffering.

@bowling47 If the insurance is still really cheap (surprising!) then absolutely keep the policy. I've always found when they get to about 10yo the premiums really start to climb.

Not a dog but my old cat died at 15 last year. He had chronic kidney disease for about 18 months. It was manageable for much of that time. We ended things when his health declined further and his quality of life was not going to be good enough/it was no longer fair on him.

Pet insurance kept him healthier for longer. For most of that time he was still living his life happily. He just needed regular tests. His special food wasn't available within health insurance, but his health needs meant we were at the vets every few months for hundreds £ of tests at a time. We paid excess once a year and 20% copayment so it wasn't all covered. But I was glad I had it.

Don't assume your pets health needs post 13 will be enough to say goodbye. There are lots of manageable illnesses that cost a lot of money. If you can afford it, that's fine. Most cannot.