When is 'for life' not for life. It is when the insurance company decide to close your policy.

Background... My C.Spaniel had lifetime cover with Axa taken out years ago. She has never claimed and all my monthly payments to them have been on time and regular.
Then Axa decided to stop Pet Insurance but by this time my CS was too old to insure elsewhere and had reached a time in her life when she may need ongoing meds ( although this has not happened yet, but I felt safe in the knowledge that she would be covered for life)

Axa wrote to me to say that they were transferring my policy to NCI, however my monthly costs would increase from £34 to just on £70 - more than double. I wrote to Financial Ombudsman to complain that I couldn't afford this increase and surely Axa should have some part to play in my dogs future as I entered into a 'For Life' contract with them when I first signed up. Axa didn't want to know.

I suggested that they refund my last years payments so that I could bank this and use it should I need to claim for her, also I felt that they had taken these payments fraudulently knowing that they intended to leave my dog high and dry.
Of course Axa refused to return just over £400

I had already moved all my other dogs years ago to PP but because she was getting older I felt it was safer to leave her with Axa ( WRONG)

The FO has come back today after months of silence to say that they don't feel Axa have done anything wrong and they have a right to discontinue Pet Insurance should they wish, and also that they had found an alternative insurance company willing to take her on, even though the costs are ridiculous. They also said that if I can't afford to insure her perhaps a dog charity would be willing to help me - what about all the premiums I have been silly enough to pay thinking that she was covered for life.....

She is now 13 years old and to be quite honest should she need major surgery I doubt I would put her through it but this is not the point. I felt confident that I had FOR LIFE cover but it seems that doesn't mean a dicky bird to insurance companies.

I think the only insurance I will trust in the future is PP as they are the least likely to close up shop, all the rest M&S, Tesco etc could realise that vets fees are not worth insuring and like me, many people could be dropped in the whatsit

Sorry Rant Over - just letting off steam. Please be careful if you have an oldie, just stop and think what could happen if your policy is not worth the paper it is written on and you cannot insure elsewhere.

Don't blame you for feeling thoroughly miffed over this, there was another insurance company that did the same thing a few years back, can't remember which one.
When I was looking to insure Isla two years ago, she had the puppy insurance with PP when I got her, I looked into AXA as it had been recommended by several people and they had a lifetime cover. I got a quote and was just mulling it over with a number of other quotes, when I found out that they were stopping pet insurance. So there they were giving me a quote in the full knowledge they were stopping pet insurance within a few days.
Decided to continue with PP, as you say they are less likely to suddenly stop.

Agria who do the kennel Clubs Insurance are equally likely to stay in the game so worth considering.

Lloyds and Halifax did it before, and the FO came down on them - that is why Axa have offered to move the policies on to a different company, so they couldn't be got the same way as L & H.

Frankly, I think £70 as a new quote from them is fantastic - they quoted me £191 a month, up from £38, and I've heard higher than that!

I swapped to NCI when Axa stopped, the first quote was for over £700 for the year so I had a looong phone conversation with them, they then rang me back a day or two later and Zuma is now running on a new life policy which was £479 a year - about £40 a month, the only exclusion is for a repeat of the pseudomonas infection on his nose!!!
I realise that this probably would not be an option from what you have said before about the health of some of your bunch
He was 8 today and renewal is in Oct so we shall see what that brings.

I'd suggest having a look at the Facebook groups: https://www.facebook.com/groups/houndoutHalifaxandlloyds/ and https://www.facebook.com/petinsuranceguideUK?fref=ts

I've come to the conclusion the insurance companies can do as they like with no comeback...

Which is why, to be honest, I have only ever had insurance with our first hound years and years ago.   Apart from the fact that with the numbers we had, insurance was out of the question, what finished me was the fact that the excess was usually about what my average bills came to - so I'd end up paying the vet + the monthly premiums.   How that does work for ME!!    Luckily I suppose over the years our vet bills had been minimal plus we usually had vets who, if we did hit a bad patch, let us 'stage pay', knowing we weren't going anywhere, and that they'd be paid before food on our table!!

When, a few years ago now, we were down to just the two, I did take some quotes (bearing in mind one of mine is a breed not prone to loads of health problems, even if the other can be) but nearly died.   Heck I just wanted insurance, not to buy the company!!!   Having moved some years back now, and down to two, the local vets are les likely to do stage payments it's true, but happily for us, c/o an inheritance, we have a far more healthy Bank balance and can weather storms more easily (may live to regret writing that )

It's true that insurance companies are not there for us, and can do what they see fit, it appears.