Animal Friends Reviews

Name: Animal Friends
Rating: 1.64

1.6 Rating 582 Reviews

15 %

of reviewers recommend Animal Friends

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1.6

Based on 582 reviews

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

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Animal Friends 1 star review on 12th June 2025

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Filter: Rated 1 None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“I have been with AF for over 9 years. Only had to claim once before now. Now my baby is starting to age and had to have test done and heart tablets now for the rest of her life. AF is fighting me because a vet wrote back in 2011 that she has a slight heart murmur requiring no investigation. The fact that she was already insured with them with a life long policy still makes no difference. They still haven't agreed to pay. Disgusting way to treat a loyal customer!”

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Posted 7 years ago

“They do not pay out on ANY out of hours vets visits. Even on their 'accident-only' policy. So if your pet happens to have an accident outside of 9-5 or a weekend they will not payout. All in their small print.”

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Posted 7 years ago

“Sadly just had to cancel my insurance policy for Watson that was held with Animal Friends Insurance. They snuck an exclusion onto the policy so that they won't have any more claims for anything to do with his skin, as before we took him on the rescue paid cash for him to have one removed back in 2012. Even after the vet writing to them to explain this is completely unrelated to any other condition, they are adamant that this will exclude him from all future claims of this nature, which just happen to be the most common issue for older white boxer dogs. It's opportunist at best so I would recommend not using them if you have the choice as turns out they are a complete joke.”

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Posted 7 years ago

“My dog has been diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. We received a £2,000 bill for a biopsy and MRI to confirm this. Animal Friends won't pay out as they say we had an exclusion for a fatty lump which we had removed for cosmetic reasons. We are going to fight this one 100% with the financial Ombudsman, my Vet advised Animal Friends are notorious for this kind of thing.”

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Posted 7 years ago

“wouldn't pay out for my dogs cataract surgery as it was " elective" it seems as he has one good eye it was my choice to have the op!! had it been both eyes they presumably would have paid out....go figure that one !!”

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Posted 8 years ago

“Cat is insured up to £1000 per condition, she needs investigations into a heart problem but Animal Friends have refused to do a pre authorisation claim because the treatment will be under £1000! So we have no way of knowing if she is covered for this condition or not. We cannot afford to pay the £500 for the tests if the insurance wont cover her (that is why we have insurance in the first place). Phoned animal friends and they say that it is in their policy not to pre authorise claims under £1000 - stupid.”

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Posted 8 years ago

“My dog had a a operation on her outer ear due to blood building up I put a claim in it was not payed due to pre extisting condition.she has never had one before. I have wrote to watch dog and if I don't get my money back will be going to the the papers. So many unhappy people with AnimalFriends NOT”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Shocking company to claim with as every condition is classed as pre-exsiting. Had to get the financial ombudsman involved. Terrible customer service.”

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Posted 8 years ago

“Poor customer service stated my dog had a pre existing condition and refused to pay our claim this seem their normal way out I would advise all people looking for pet insurance to avoid this company”

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Posted 8 years ago

“Took out insurance in may with no pre existing conditions my dog got gastroenteritis and had to stay overnight in card cost nearly £300 when I spoke the lady said I was covered then letter arrived not covered as he had loose poo a couple of times years apart none required vet treatment as it was his anal glands! My vet even said should pay out as never had gastroenteritis ever ! Spoke to customer care! Beth what a rude lady she was shouting at me! ? would never ever use this company and the lady thats deals with insurance at the vets said she has delt with this company and they never pay out!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Despicable rude staff they throw claims out for reasons that conflict the policy. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY”

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Posted 8 years ago

“Beware of this company ,they don't pay out,and their favourite saying is 'pre-existing condition '.the reason they are so inexpensive is because they don't pay claims .”

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Posted 8 years ago

“Claimed my dog had exceeded the upper weight limit category for what I had insured her as, but they don't publish the weight limits in any or their documentation, therefore had no way of know there was an issue until I had to make a claim. They said I should tell them every time her weight changes”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Anyone thinking about going with this company please think again total rip offs full of excuses if I only knew 7years ago when I took my pet insurance out until now haven't needed to get in touch with them even my vets said one if the worse ones you can go with”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“I too have fallen victim to a undeclared pres existing illness. Apparently I was informed in 2013 that there was a possibility my dog could have pancreatitis. I WAS NEVER informed by the locum vet at the practice I was using at the time. AF informed me it is my responsibility to contact the previous vets, which I have done. They have informed me the vet in question is no longer employed by them and they can't help me. DEAD END !!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“after 5 years of insuring all my pets and submitting a valid claim, Animal Friends now pointed out small print buried in the back of the policy booklet saying, we dont insure x breeds of Akitas plus a list of around 50 different breads most notably Greyhounds!! So animal Friends they are not, just another insurance company hiding behind the small print. Key issues should be highlighted and in bold and on or in the policy document not buried for future use in small print. Shame on You Animal”

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Posted 8 years ago

“I took Animal Friends insurance for my cat, have never missed a payment. My cat became ill on 7th February, took him the vest and was given a lot of treatment (£956.00), I put a claim form in a few days later. There have been numerous emails backwards and forwards between us, each time with a different excuse for not paying. As at today 7th April I still have not been paid and I have had to have my cat put to sleep. Absolute disgrace Animal Friends you are not caring enough for these pets, never again will I be using or recommend you to anyone ever again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Animal friends have declined my claim for my dog recently. He has superior plus policy(lifetime). We took this policy out on January 4th 2013, on Sept 12th 2013, he was diagnosed with Hip dysplasia. Animal friends are telling me it is a Pre-existing condition! He has not required any treatments nor medication until March 2017. Now I have put in a claim and Animal friends do not want to pay out for his X ray or pain relief. I think this is disgusting, considering I have been paying every month for four years and not had a single claim til now. Also, my fog has just been diagnosed with Spondylosis of the spine. Animal friends have declined to payout for the x rays and medication to treat my dog as apparently this was an incidental finding. (When I clearly asked my vet to X ray his lower spine incase it was his spine giving him pain). I really do not know how this company can publish all their good work they do for animal charities, yet refuse to pay out for a dog who was clearly insured for 9 months before ANY condition was diagnosed. I am currently pursuing this claim. I will take it all the way. They are not going to get away with this. I will go to the Press if I have to.”

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Posted 8 years ago

“Animal friends are a shambles. I have cat insurance with Animal Friends for 3 cats, all on a non-lifetime policy. I have twice tried to claim (for two different cats) and both times have been rejected - quoting the '365 day lapse' of both 'conditions'.... that being a complete lie. 1. The first time, I tried to claim for Basil's skin treatment. They wrote to be on 3 occasions asking me to confirm the date when I first noticed the condition, despite me filling this in on the form I sent to them. They ignored my responses so I had to call. I did this while on a break in work, thinking it would be an informal conversation to inform them of what I had already informed you. The claims advisor asked if he had ever shown signs before of a skin condition... I said something along the lines of 'no, cats have little scabs on their skin often but it hasn't ever been in this way'. This conversation, which I thought was chatty, informal and not something which would make my claim void (I'd already answered the question on two occasions) was then rejected, and they stated that it had been over 365 days since I 'noticed the condition' and therefore I couldn't claim. 1. Why were my first two responses not accepted, but an informal chat where no dates were confirmed or spoken about was? 2. I was told, whilst complaining about this, that someone would review the call and get back to me. Nobody did, and therefore this complaint is still outstanding. 2.This week I've been told I can't claim for Pedro's stomach rash/skin condition, which started in October 2016. The reason stated is because of 'plaque on upper lip' which was noted during a check-up in 2015. The lip plaque was never treated - nor did it ever need to be. It was simply an observation from my vet at that time. The vet has confirmed the two have nothing to do with each other, but they are insisting they know more than my vet. The claims advisor said the claims handlers are 'Veterinary trained', however he confirmed that they are not Vets, nor have they every examined my cat. 1. Why does a claims handler know more about my Cat's condition/diagnosis than my Vet, who has physically examined him? 2. Why did they not let me know at renewal that Pedro was registered as having a 'skin condition' and therefore would not be able to claim for any further skin conditions? If theh had let me know this, I would have been able to make a more informed decision about my claim in the future and sought advice from my Vet 3. Jack in Customer Services said that my Vet's word would not be sufficient, and that I would need 'Reasoning' and 'Evidence' that the two conditions weren't linked. I asked Jack what exactly 'reasoning' and 'evidence' meant, but he could not tell me. I would propose that the two would come from my Vet, who is trained to be able to give such 'reasoning' and 'evidence' - but apparently not. Along with this, the claim handler was rude on the phone, he would not let a very frustrated customer speak, was sighing on the call and clearly had no intention of helping. There was no mention of my loyalty as a customer, having been with them for 4+ years and having 3 cats with them. There was also no apology for the length of time the claim has taken, for the lack of communication around his apparent omitted cover and no mention of the fact that this is my second 'failed' claim. The staff have been rude, unhelpful and the service I have received has been very poor. I also have had no response on social media, which after some research I can see why - due to lots of other complaints being on the internet about them. I am now out of pocket by over £200, excluding the excess I would have had to pay on the two cases. Don't trust them or waste your money. Pay more for a better more trustworthy service !”

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Posted 8 years ago

“worst company in the world - they don't like paying out.”

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Posted 8 years ago

Animal Friends is rated 1.6 based on 582 reviews