We started paying £34 pm in 2004 for our Staffie pup.
We paid this until 2011 (dog was 7yo) as we were struggling financially and this was a good way to save money, especially as we had never claimed. We'd spent around £2,800 over the years and never claimed.
Dear old thing needed an emergency, life-saving operation last year (aged 10yo) which cost £650. That seems a lot to stump-up in one go, but when we figured it out, it was only a small percentage of pet insurance (more so if we'd paid up to 2014).
I'm not sure what I think of pet insurance anymore. On the one hand, it provides security, and if we had a dog prone to certain conditions, or if our own dog needed medicine in the long-term, it would certainly be worth it. However, my inclination for my Staffie, is that I'd rather have a lot of savings which I dip into when necessary. There are so may caveats with pet insurance; you're at their whim of approval. I don't know if they cover euthanasia and burial/cremation. Obviously, our dog had a significant health scare, she's old and in her twilight years so these things are important too, to me now. I just don't know how I feel.