Name: Animal Friends
Rating: 1.65

“I've been with animal friends since I first had my cat. I have never made a claim. Now that my cat is 10, the new annual policy is £300. I have to pay the first £200 of any insurance claim, plus an extra £20 percent. I thought they were loyal like I was, but they just want to get rid of me, now that my cat is 19. It has all been a waste of my time and money.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Worst pet insurance I've ever had. My vet refused to work with them as they took so long to pay. Also, they did not get in touch if they weren't going to pay. This happened a lot as they have so many things they won't pay out for.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“Pet Insurance Having been very good reviews online for Animal Friends I took out a policy for my dog. All was well for a few months. However, unfortunately, she was hospitalized with a very serious, life threatening gastric issue. After 4 nights in hospital thankfully she recovered fully, many thanks to Goddards amazing team! After weeks of waiting for Animal Friends to decide on the claim. I received an email advising as she had diarrhea a few years ago, which dogs are prone to, they declined the case. They even went as far as to say they will not cover any further gastric issues regardless of root cause! I find this appalling and cancelled my policy immediately. I would not recommend Animal Friends to anyone that is looking for insurance.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Never claimed for this particular cat before. Vet bill for £304, only paid out £136...wouldn't cover blood tests ( which were needed to establish what problem was) then obviously deducted the excess and further 20%.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“Do not use them at all. I have spoken to a crazy lady which should find another job as soon as possible. She can not tell me what my policy covers. Why she is there ? Unfortunately there is no 0 star to give them .”

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Posted 1 year ago

“My experience is that they make huge increases to annual premiums as dogs get older, regardless of whether you make any claims or not. My dog went from £32 to £51 a month - just because he was a year older and despite the fact nothing else had changed and we have never made a claim for him from them. I think they are unethical and only interested in profit at the expense of the animals and premium payers.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“I'm going through a similar issue just now Mat. My lovely dog passed away in June this year of chronic heart failure. Because her vet record from when she was a puppy stated she had a heart murmur, Animal Friends are saying the claim has been declined. Our vets have contested it on our behalf saying chronic heart failure is very different to a heart murmur as humans and animals can live with a heart murmur for years. The only signs of heart failure came in June. It's currently going back and forth between the insurers and our vets. I intend to take it to the ombudsman if not resolved.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“Should be called Animal Enemies! I have held a policy with them for nearly 12 years for my GSD and in that time, have never claimed! They recently contacted me about stopping the policy I had as it was no longer relevant to the market, leaving me to find new cover for an ageing dog, when he needs it the most. As you can imagine, instead of paying £16 month as I have for the last 12 years, other insurers now want nearly £100 a month due to his age!!! To cap that, he recently had a check over at the vets before the policy finished and they noted he was starting to struggle with Arthritis (a common issue for GSD, especially at his age), but they declined the claim as it was first noted by the vet in 2020 when we were told to keep exercise light, which is hardly "treatment". I think they have an agenda and policy here, and it would be interesting to hear of similar situations. I will be reporting to the ombudsman accordingly.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“My small dog has been insured with Animal Friends for 12 years and only had one small claim. As she has got older, the premiums have significantly increased and this year they have doubled the premium. This has made it unaffordable at the time she is likely to need it most. Shocking discrimination against older pets.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“So bad they have to be dishonest, stupid reasons for refusing claims or paying much lower expenses than vets bills - put you money in a savings account for your pets - no excesses or lame excuses”

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Posted 1 year ago

“READ YOUR POLICY!!!! Unfortunately my Partners 17 year old Staffy had to be put to sleep because he collapsed several times and could not get up. We rang our local Veterinary Practice where Jack was registered but they did not do weekend call outs, but they gave us a phone number for an emergency Veterinary Practice letter "Dignipets" we called them and they came out to see him at our home. The Vet who attended was very Professional and Sympathetic and explained that it would be best if Jack was put to rest, he talked us through the process and Jack passed away very peacefully in his favourite place on the settee. The Total cost for their services was £420 ( Home Visit £155 + Out of hours Fee £160 + Consultation Euthanasia £40 + Euthanasia £65), the Veterinary Practice were very good and sent the invoice to Animal Friends on our behalf. We received a letter from Animal Friends stating that they had accepted our claim and that we had Claimable Costs of £265 (Maximum of £200 for Emergency costs and £65 Euthanasia) From the £265 they then deducted £99 Policy Excess and a 20% Co-Payment fee, so the total payable would only be £132.80. My Partner had taken out the "Superior Plus" cover and was now paying £81.11 per month (Last years monthly premium £52.98) she had never claimed on the Policy and was not really sure what costs she was covered for, "MAKE SURE YOU READ THE POLICY BOOKLET AND THE ADDITIONAL SHEETS YOU RECEIVE". I will be making a complaint to Animal Friends and the Financial Ombudsman regarding the reductions they have made to the total claim costs and the fact that they set maximum category pay outs. I enquired with our local Veterinary practice where Jack was registered, how much they would have charged for the treatment, they informed me for a Week day call out (Not weekend) the cost would have been in the region of £680. This means that we would have been even further out of pocket, I will be asking why there is such a disparity between the Veterinary charges and why the insurance provider manipulates the costs down with various caveats to their policy, and who sets the maximum treatment pay outs, are they saying that the Vets are over charging, surely the Insurance pay out should be in line with what the Vets charges.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“They will not help and only make this worse being paying 50+ for months only to be messed over never use them !!!”

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Posted 1 year ago

“I had to click on 1 star as that’s the minimum and if I could help it I wouldn’t even have given them that. Appalling service and attitude. Wouldn’t pay out for my dog’s procedure.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“Absolute disgrace, dog had tumours on rear, 13 years old had to be castrated; did everything not to pay out, disgrace; dont use these, obviously dont give a hoot about your pets”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Should be called Animal Enemies! I have held a policy with them for nearly 12 years for my GSD and in that time, have never claimed! They recently contacted me about stopping the policy I had as it was no longer relevant to the market, leaving me to find new cover for an ageing dog, when he needs it the most. As you can imagine, instead of paying £16 month as I have for the last 12 years, other insurers now want nearly £100 a month due to his age!!! To cap that, he recently had a check over at the vets before the policy finished and they noted he was starting to struggle with Arthritis (a common issue for GSD, especially at his age), but they declined the claim as it was first noted by the vet in 2020 when we were told to keep exercise light, which is hardly "treatment". I think they have an agenda and policy here, and it would be interesting to hear of similar situations. I will be reporting to the ombudsman accordingly.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Absolute charlatans don’t let you know what’s happening with claims, drag their feet and don’t pay. Quibble over every detail of the vets notes and generally make it impossible to claim. They are quick enough to take your payments each year but have no empathy animal friends should be called animal enemies as they take peoples money then don’t pay out people can’t afford to pay all the policy money out to get nothing back but huge rising premiums for less and less of a service. Avoid unless you want a headache and huge bills. They are slow to respond to emails stake at least an hour to answer the phone and they lie on the phone so not worth the hustle and lining their pockets”

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Posted 1 year ago

“I wanted to purchase monthly insurance but 139 was taken from my account that I was promised back within 2 days. 3 days later I am still waiting. Dont bother if it starts like this its not worth the risk”

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Posted 1 year ago

“My mums dog had a mass in her mouth and this got bigger until we had her PTS, our vet put in claim for treatment and cremation and they refused to pay because they exclude dental, teeth and gums and won't cover cremation. This wasn't having teeth out or gum disease, this was we believe cancer because of the speed it grew. The amount was about £740, less excess and 20% of the bill because of her age so didn't amount to much. They were quick to take their monthly money after we had lost Coco and are going to refund that.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“I would give -5 stars, after 13 years of being with Animal Friends and only one small claim was made they decided to cancel my insurance. In an email, they stated that the insurance will be canceled in April 2024, and when I rang them to renew they explained that it was a system and my insurance has been canceled in April 2023 :-( Due to I missed 28 days of renewal day, they are not able to assist me anymore. I received an email on Friday afternoon and tried to contact them the following Monday. Not recommending”

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Posted 1 year ago

“been with animal friends 10yrs put in a claim for my pet dog who had a cancerous tumor removed from her jaw, my claim was rejected as they dont cover any type of dental treatment?? TUMOR DENTAL?? REALLY!! please please look elswhere to protect your loved ones. just added nearly £900 to my credit card thanks to animal so called friends.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Live Chat, Email
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.2 out of 5

Animal Friends Reviews