written by Brettu219 on 24/08/2023
Had an issue with left leg but because my dog bumbed it with no harm 6 months before we got policy out they are refusing to help at all with both legs 6000 pound later I have to find no idea what I being paying for each month !
written by Pbones70 on 06/04/2023
Disgusting sham company. Had insurance with them for over 12 years for 2 dogs. Tried to claim for 1st time and wouldn't cover the first dog as dont cover investigations in the mouth. 2nd dog had a seizure and due to.poor experience thought better get a pre authorisation before any treatment. Now find out they won't cover 2nd dog either as apparently they now don't cover alapaha bulldogs. Didnt have a dropdown in May 2020 for alapaha only bulldog as they weren't common. Obviously auto renewed over the last 3 years and never informed me or asked what type of bulldog they were supposed to be insuring??? Even JOII knew he was an alapaha.Happy to take my money over the 3 years in which I have now never been insured. Joke of a company and you should not be allowed to trade. AVOID AT ALL COSTS
written by TeamCoates on 04/02/2023
DO NOT insure your pet with Animal Friends if you plan to keep it for any length of time. When they get to 8 years old you start to "Co-Pay". Whilst this sounds reasonable enough, let me just provide you with a little illustration. Let's say your pet needs an operation followed by hospitalisation or recuperation, the bill could easily amount to £4000. Any guess as to what you will be paying? You will be paying £2499 if you take the Superior Policy. So over half the Vet's fees. So, not quite as reasonable as you thought is it? My advice would be to find a provider who does not have such conditions in its Policy - unless you plan to get rid of your pet at age 8 for Dogs and 10 for Cats.
written by Raibeart on 07/01/2023
Constant run-around and endless searching for more information about pet history which is clearly an attempt to find some reason to deny a payout for treatment. All the necessary information relating to the treatment had no previous history,was a stand alone simple skin-tag removal and I was submitted to an cross-examination that was obviously an exercise in creating an 'exclusion'criteria thereby generating a non-payment refund on the policy.. Four months later,still no reply,no refund and no confidence in the integrity of this company.Hmmm!?
written by on 11/09/2022
After insuring my dog with them for over 10 years and only having 1 previous claim for less than £200 they dragged out my final claim when we had to have my dog put to sleep. It took them 5 weeks to pay out less than £160. I clearly explained the situation to them at the very beginning and provided receipts and completed claim forms etc. They were slow to respond to emails, taking several days between them. At a time like this you want the claim to be simple as every time I was having to correspond regarding this was causing distress. So don’t be fooled by the name, I think I was, thinking that Animal Friends was a caring special insurance company, as with my experience they clearly are not. I would neither use them again and would definitely not recommend.
written by SolomonWalker on 23/08/2022
Do everything possible not to pay out, after paying out over a thousand pound in vet bills for our 14 year old dog and having the distress of then having to have him put to sleep we then had to deal with this insurance company. Never made a claim before, did not even claim for repeat medication prescribed for my dogs arthritis, or canine massage therapy for help with the condition but informed them as part of the terms of the policy. My vet had already warned me Animal Friends Pet Insurance make it as difficult as possible to claim and they did, asking for forms they had already received, information they already had received from the vet etc, it went on and on. The added distress caused by this company was disgusting, in the end I gave up on receiving anything from them, years of paying this company and received nothing back. Formed to support animal charities at the expense of causing misery to pet owners. If you want to support animal charities then do it direct and no by taking insurance out with this company.
written by Janine75 on 14/05/2022
I have had insurance with company for nearly 20 years insurance with one dog for 17 years with no claim Tried to claim when my second dog who was insured with them for nearly 6 years and claim not accepted They are happy to take direct debit every month then don’t pay out on claims. If I had saved all the direct debit money I would have easily paid the vets in the first one years payment Save the direct debit money into an account far more reliable than this insurance company
written by HQ17 on 11/11/2021
I have twice tried to claim from my Animal Friends Insurance Policy and both times having spent thousands on treatment for my dog they have refused my claim. At the end of October 2020 whilst my dog was suffering from itchy skin the vet thought my dog had mammary lumps which could be nothing or could be cancerous and needed to be monitored with a view to being removed once my dog was well enough to cope with an operation. We then went into a lockdown and during the next few months I was at the time frequently trying to sort out my dogs skin condition (none of which was covered by my insurance and cost me over £3,000 in a years vets fees). In October of this year my dog's allergies led to her needing to be sedated to have her ears cleared after being on steroids etc and it was agreed we would do the lumps at the same time. I have been told that because the operation was 2 days over the 365 day period I first saw the vet my £1300 claim has been declined. Do not use this company they take your direct debit monthly and refuse all claims - they do not care about your animals.
written by bjSuarez460 on 26/10/2021
I Made a claim which has not yet been processed as company says there is an issue that THEY need to fix on my account. I have contacted them 3 times over the last 2 weeks for an update on my claim. Each time they promise to get back to me but nobody ever does!
written by csMcPherson175 on 02/08/2021
They have a disgusting attitude towards your pet AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS! Shocking customer service and they have absolutely NO interest or sympathy in your pet!!!! I was told on day 13 at 10pm of the 14 day cooling of period when my cat nearly died of a very sudden and new illness that they would would NOT be covering his vet fees which was £1,000! And they wouldn't be covering any future illnesses either!!!! Was then asked "would I like to cancel my policy" absolutely disgusting, all Animal Friends care about is sales targets and NOT your pet!!!!!! I wouldn't recommend them to anyone ever!!!!
written by Aedan258 on 23/06/2021
This company seem to have an army of desk pilots looking for loopholes that allow them to avoid paying out.My story is almost exactly the same as the poster who's dog had a wart. I have paid premiums to this company for two dogs for over ten years and when I needed them they trawled the small print and declined my claim. Someone should set up an independent body to look at companies like this and publish the percentage of rejected claims. Avoid, Avoid, Avoid !
written by Eliezer30 on 08/02/2021
My rating would be no stars however the lowest this allows is 1. My dog was very ill with several issues having to be dealt with at same time....final bill over 5k....my 'Prime' policy had maximum allowable payout of 2k....however they dug thru yearly vet check ups etc and cited an instance several years ago where as a responsible pet owner....when vet asked if i had any thing i wanted to check i mentioned my dog had vomited....i was told just to monitor but like babies these things happen likely passing bug and nothing to worry about. As a result they have refused the claim stating my dog had a stomach issue from several years ago.....they wrote the full claim off even though there were other issues which included Pneumonia and a spinal deformity. Please beware of these people....they care not about your pets welfare or providing the assistance that you would expect. They will find any excuse to refuse a claim. There are far better providers out there who really do want to provide cover that you pay for and woulc expect. Dont say you havnt been warned.....
written by Alessandrop162 on 13/11/2020
Yes, if your pet does more than breathe before you took out your policy it will be “a pre existing condition or clinical sign” don’t be fooled.... I only gave 1 star so I could leave a review, a minor cough, some minor diarrhoea, minor ear infection, common urinary infection, bout of sickness, a limp....they will literally find any excuse to not pay out... apparently they’ve advised me you have to tell them every time you have been to the vets which isn’t part of their annual vaccination? They will then add a clause to your policy that anything! And I mean anything linked to that vet visit isn’t covered.... so a cough, diarrhoea, sickness...you name it, they won’t for example cover ‘digestive’ related problems in the future. Now I’m a reasonable person, I have 4 dogs and have only ever made a claim on pet insurance twice in ten years (obviously NOT with this ridiculous company) my dog who’s nearly ten had a common UTI over 6 months ago which cleared up after 3 days with antibiotics, no issues since, she was rushed in as an emergency 6 months later as she couldn’t urinate, she had surgery which removed 50 tiny stones from her bladder, an overnight stay and a bill of £2500.... very relieved to say she’s doing great! However they are trying to link a common UTI which occurs commonly in older female dogs and is stated in veterinary research that a uti can be a sign but cannot be solely relied upon to diagnose bladder stones... I have undertaken much research and sought advice from numerous vets who confirm a common uti could not be linked to these bladder stones 6 months later without her suffering some sort of urinary issues during the past 6 months, it’s not possible.... my advice is, if you are considering changing your policy to this company do not expect them to pay out if your beloved pet unfortunately needs veterinary treatment because they scrutinise your pets medical history and find something to link it to. I can’t bare to think how many pets have suffered and been put down due to this unscrupulous companies decisions and heartbroken owners who can’t afford to pay because they won’t cover the cost... don’t do it! I have made a complaint to the financial ombudsman, which by the way costs you nothing and is easy to do, however due to the current climate this may take some time.... I have one of the more expensive lifetime policies which obviously means nothing, I’ve made my complaint to them and they have given their ‘final decision’ so the battle goes on..... Just don’t do it please!
written by Mitchlang7 on 08/08/2020
I'd strongly recommend you find a better insurer. I applied for a claim that I think is valid but was refused. When I asked for an explanation I was given a copy and pasted response. When I suggested I may move insurers if this wasn't resolved my policy was just cancelled with no communication at all. The customer service is poor and they try to get out of claims. Don't make the mistake I did and find a more reputable insurer.
written by psmike on 10/06/2020
Drawn to them because they were cheap (bad decision). Their charity work was appealing to me (sucker). On making a very small claim (£90 now paid) I had to go through so many hoops to progress the claim I very nearly gave up. Their complaints decision was insulting, quoting back emails but NOT telephone conversations. Relying purely their fine print, but not acknowledging problems they engineered. If a vet loses or mislays pet history I am directly to blame. There is a very good reason they are so cheap, they really do not want to pay out. I am still angry with them weeks later.
written by KRC1 on 22/05/2020
I feel they should be called 'Animal enemies'. Reading posts on here, it seems there is a pattern of not paying out..... Due to CoVid-19 our vets refused the groom our long-haired cats coat, advising I would have to do it. It got so bad the cat was in distress, so I tried to remove one large matted clump of fur which was hard to see & puss was struggling. I unfortunately caused an accidental wound requiring stitches from an emergency vets. Four nights later he had projectile vomiting and was dehydrafted so had to go back for more treatment. Believe it or not Animal friends refused both claims, saying they were linked, and that they don't cover 'grooming'. I've asked for a review saying it wasn't grooming, and the vets wrote 2 letters to them saying it was accidental injury in understandable but very unusual circumstances and emergency surgery was required, imploring them to cover the claim, but they won't change their opinion. I have now taken the time to read through all the policy paperwork and the policy with Animal friends does have some very unhelpful clauses. These include that under vets fees it states that if out of hours charges for vets fees are being contemplated, not only must a pre-authorisation be obtained but also that they will not cover out of hours charges unless the animal is in a life threatening condition. If one would assume that might not for instance include a broken leg or similar injury, I find it quite shocking that there terms could result in an animal suffering over a weekend needlessly. After this experience we will be looking elsewhere for insurance for our cat and I would advise anyone to read terms VERY carefully before selecting ‘Animal Friends’ who I do not believe are as friendly as they claim!
written by Nuckyshuman on 24/02/2020
If the vet has ever put anything in your dog's record, don't get this insurance. It doesn't matter whether you've done extactly as your vet has advised, some idiot assessor will decide your dog has a 'pre-existing' condition that they haven't informed you will be excluded - even if your vet has said that it's not. They won't pay out, their customer 'service' people will only read from a script. You'll be out of pocket in every way possible. I'm now going to the ombudsman and trading standards.
written by Kassixyz on 08/01/2020
DO NOT insure "senior dogs" with this company I have been insuring 2 x dogs both now 10 years old with them for years. It is fine when the dogs are young but as soon as health problems due to old age arise suddenly you are handing over £90 excess PLUS 20% of each claim per condition. On top of that if your dog starts with a Lifelong Condition which, during the first months requires a lot of medication, vet visits for reviews plus physio or treatment, if you do not keep up with sending in Continuation Claim Forms in good time (because of all the travelling to and from vets etc) and decide to bulk up all vet fees in a Continuation Form - suddenly that claim form is not allowed because it is over 90 days! So whilst thinking that my dogs vet fees etc are safe - they are not. I do not mind spending money to make sure my dogs are well cared for but when you pay a lot of money for Premiums, then have to contribute 20% of each claim etc, you would expect every Claim to be accepted and paid. I am absolutely disgusted with this company but now my dogs are "senior" i.e. 10 years old with lifelong illness eg Canine Arthritis and Dry Eye Syndrom, I am stuck.
written by ReinaRivera493 on 22/11/2019
This is the most appalling company ever- if you care about your pet- find another company- it doesn’t matter if you inform them prior treatment- discuss treatment etc the vet is supportive etc - this company will find a loop hole so they don’t have to pay you a penny. Never thought I’d say it but you would be better without insurance !!!!! Dreadful dreadful dreadful - if I could have 0 out of five I would have ! Worst thing we did was change to this company - what a waste of money- no protection for our beloved pets!
Written on: 10/06/2020
Your 'better off without insurance' is a valid one. I have made standing order payments for holidays, replacement white goods, car expenses to a variety of saving accounts for years now. Never considered it for pets. If I get another pet I will defiantly do that.
written by paul273 on 07/11/2019
They have rejected a claim after they have twisted the chain of events to fit the exclusion clause in their policy wording that i had no other option than going to financial Financial Ombudsman Service therefore avoid this insurance to avoid adding more pain when you have a problem with your pet!
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As rated by our community of reviewers
Psmike's Response to Nuckyshuman's Review
Written on: 10/06/2020
This is clearly why they took pains to see every detail of medical history of our 20 year old cat even though a previous vet had lost its details. Agree with the script reading and they have the gall to provide fake sympathy in their correspondence 'in these difficult times' 'losing a dear friend' and so on. I received payment, angry, but no going to the ombudsman (worn down by the experience). Posted my experience on 10/06/2020