Absolutely outrageous insurance costs for elderly dog - time to self insure?

[SUPsUP]

We have a large, fairly elderly (13yo) dog. When we joined our vets practice they recommended we sign up to a particular insurance company, which meant we opted for full lifetime cover.
Over the years the premiums have gone up… and up… and up… and I’m pretty sure you could insure a Ferrari for less. A really wow Ferrari.
Added to the whopping premiums once he got over 8yo an older dog ‘co-pay’ kicked in which means we only have 85% cover AND the excess has shot up as well.
it’s now quite ridiculous, but DDog is on quite a few arthritis treatments which we do claim back what we can for.
We’ve long said we’d never put him through any kind of major treatment, but if we plan to
cover the costs of arthritis etc ourselves are there any other costs (bar the final call-out 😥) we’d need to factor in for an older dog?

You can get third party public liability by becoming a member of the Dog's Trust for £25 per year (plus your money goes to help the charity - win-win!).

It's £1,000,000 cover, with £200 excess. You also get access to a 24-h vet-line where you can speak to a veterinary nurse. With these in place, plus being a member of my vet's Health Club, that gives a 10% discount on all veterinary fees and prescriptions, we've always self-insured, and so far (20 years in) it's been the right decision for us.

Frequently asked questions | Dogs Trust

My dog at 14 was on meds for arthritis costing £240 and his insurance was £210 but at least he was covered for anything else. It did not cover euthanasia though.

We self insure our older dog as the premium compared to the max benefit was stupid once he hit 8. He had had a few issues in previous years, and a vet who needed to investigate everything.
For about 3.5 years he cost nothing. Now, at almost 13, he is on Librela and Metacam. He also has physio. I pay around £100 per month for the drugs, and the physio is my choice as he enjoys it. His insurance policy as was , would have paid for up to 12 weeks, and we are way past that.
I had to pay about £700 for X-rays and tests last year. I have become much better at asking Why? what are we looking for ? What difference does this procedure make ? What does it change about treatment ? And I have had the conversation with current vet , that her need to know does not trump his need to a good old age. He is happy, and clearly still enjoys life, so I am happy.

Sorry, that was an essay! But that’s how I think of it.