***AVOID AVOID AVOID**** I am just coming in to the end of my 2nd year with my 2 year old St Bernard and his monthly premium renewal for August has more than trebled to over £180. He was diagnosed with bilateral hip and elbow dysplasia’s before he was 1 year old, having full lifetime cover (£6000 per condition) through the diagnosis process and physio treatments we have used less than £3000 in total over the two years. They will not give me an explanation why my monthly payment has more than trebled and obviously now I am going to be extremely nervous of putting any claim in and definitely terrified of putting a claim in if he ever needs hip surgery in the future. When I read my renewal I was devastated and sick to my stomach, what the hell would they increase it to if he needed serious medical care, £1000 per month, £1500 per month? To have my Saint I don’t have holidays, I don’t go out and spend and now I am going to struggle every month to live with the rate of their increases. This is the worse mistake I have EVER made in 20 years of owning Saint & giants, getting insurance with Animal Friends. I went off their reviews but I now I am extremely suspicious of the reviews as I can’t be the only policy holder who has been completely ripped off by them by their extortionate increases in monthly premiums when you have only claimed a very small percentage of the limit you have. I have also repeatedly had to give permission to deal with my vet directly and they constantly asked my vet for information for the claims that they already had. I rang over the increase and 48hrs later I am still waiting for someone to email me that day with all his claims I have submitted and for a senior manager to back to me, after they also included a claim that was not even for my 2yr old Saint, on my policy and when I realised this had happened I was assured multiple times this would be removed from his history as I knew it would affect every claim in the future and surprise surprise 6 months later they have not removed it. While they have paid out for all his claims the result for me has been an absolute financial nightmare and I am terrified what the future holds for me financially if and when my boy ever needs further treatment. I even stopped his hydro treatment after a few months as I was worried about the cost and I was taught a physio routine to do with him at home with the agreement of his specialist. From FB St Bernard UK dog groups with 1000’s of members not one member has anything good to say about animal friends but it is now too late for us to leave, I am stuck here or my boy won’t be covered for his dysplasia’s as they are pre-existing conditions.