This is the most awful insurance company. thier sole objective is to avoid paying any claims. They use small print to baffle you and use your kindness to your pet against you when it comes to making a claim. If your pet has so much as sneezed and been to the vet they will use this to refuse cover for something not connected.
Frankly they should be investigsted - they are RIP OFF merchants.
“Terrible company, highly adept at claim refusal and finding reasons to hike your premium and exclude general injuries and illnesses. I won't go into detail, enough reviewers have done that already, suffice to say, don't touch them with a barge pole. Best advice on here, put asside some money each month, I may just be unlucky but, I've yet to find a decent pet insurer having made only two claims in thirty years.”
“Avoid this company at all costs. It looks really good value on the face of it but they will do anything to avoid paying a claim. They are refusing to pay for my dog's treatment right now. She had surgery costing £1,500 a month ago to remove a foreign body from her stomach and they are refusing to pay as she was treated for a slight sickness bug over a year ago when she was 8 weeks old. I now have an exclusion on my policy against any digestive health problems due to something completely unrelated to my claim. My vets are currently fighting with them to try and get my completely valid claim paid out. As soon as I can cancel I will be leaving this awful company.”
“Well all I can say is I wish I had read the reviews before I insured my dog with this nightmare company! My 6 year old labrador spent 2 nights at my vets after vomiting continually for hours. I am now over £1400 out of pocket because they will simply make any excuse to not pay out. I should have known because when my vet asked who I was insured with, he rolled his eyes and shook his head when I said 'Animal Friends'. He said they were pretty much the worst he'd ever known for paying out. Another vet I have spoken since said the same thing! AVOID!! I'd give them zero stars if it would let me. ps On a brighter note, thankfully my lovely lab is back to her bright happy self again.”
“policy discourages you from taking an animal to the vet as any claim made is tenuously linked back to a “previous condition” and won’t be honoured .augmentative, confrontational staff and definitely not ethical.”
“Avoid like the plague, been insured for over 6 years paying around £30 a month so had roughly £2000 Plus off me, put a claim in for ear infection for £230, but cos my dog went to vets on 18th sept then my policy renewed on 21st sept there charging 2 excess of £69 as it runs over 2 years insurance apparently, ( not the fact I’ve had continuous insurance with them for the past 6 years. Only paying out £100 absolutely disgusted and fuming.”
“Policy utterly worthless. Will clas any unrelated issue as a pre existing condition to avoid their responsibilities. Save your money and bank it for when you need a vet”
“My rating would be no stars however the lowest this allows is 1. This company are your typical insurance con outfit. 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 these con artists 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 these thieves 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.....these are insurance scammers.”
“I have been with Animal Friends for many years who provided cover for my two German Shepherds. Recently one of my dogs had to undergo an exploratory procedure which cost £1,000. The vet submitted the claim on my behalf. After a couple of weeks I sent an email to Animal Friends enquiring as to what progress had been made. Eight days later I received a response which was asking me to provide security details to reassure them that they were corresponding to a genuine customer. I provided the necessary information. Two days later they informed me that they were still awaiting a breakdown of costs from my vet. I contacted the vet who assured me that they would take immediate follow-up action. The following week I contacted Animal Friends yet again. The following day they replied stating that my vet had still not responded! On speaking to the vets for the second time they assured me that the initial claim included a full breakdown of costs. They then took up the case on my behalf and gave the Insurance Company both barrels. The following day, Animal Friends contacted me stating everything was now in order (which was the case from the outset) and payment would be paid shortly. I was horrified to learn that their total payment was only £320. They explained that under their Ts & Cs, (dogs being over 8 years of age, together with maximum payments permitted) I wasn’t entitled to anything further. Like other customers on this forum, they had me over a barrel. I cancelled policies for both dogs. The following month they had the audacity to send me letters informing me that I had failed to meet the premium payment. Devious practices, exacerbated by complete and utter incompetence has made me bitterly regret doing business with these sharks.”
“Animal friends provide a disgraceful service and I would strongly recommend pet owners to avoid them at all cost. They are excellent at creating loopholes to avoid making payments and their complaints department is useless, arrogant and rude. Hopefully all these bad reviews will eventually lead to them being put out of business.”
“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!”
“hidden deductions
I accept an excess payment, which is standard for insurance claims
But "co-payment"?
Sounds so cuddly, but just another way of getting money from people
Would not use them again”
“I have 5 dogs insured with animal friends and recently one seemed to have a sore throat as it was coughing. At the vets it was found to be a heart problem. I had to answer lots if questions about the dogs history. They questioned the breed if dog, they say he is a jack russell, he is in fact a multi breed, all my dogs are, and most if them related in some way. Ages between 5 and 11, always with same vet, annual checkups, no other medical issues. Its now nearly 3months and still no decision on payout.”
“Awful, deceitful company, who has no interest in your pet. Our beloved dog Max was diagnosed with Nasal cancer, and Animal Friends declined any costs towards Chemotherapy, and also wouldn't contribute to a Ct.scan prior to diagnosis. We paid for everything. Unfortunately our beautiful boy passed away, on 22nd September 2020, which was heartbreaking, they refused to pay for Euthanasia and also for the cremation, saying it wasn't covered..previously another instance, they deducted all their 20% and any excess, and sent 80pence..for a £300 bill.
Find a good insurance company for your pets, your wasting your money on animal friends, they certainly are not your pets friend, they really dont care.”
“My wife and I are sat here in tears, our friends whom are with animal friends want to leave asap. We had insurance we made a mistake and its only for 1k, this appears to be our problem with thought the wording meant 4k. Our 4 year Dashund went for boosters just over a year ago, vet went he as a creaking knee may get arthritis later in life, we thought nothing of it, he now has a problem with his leg and was refered to wear referals they have phoned and said his cover as been pulled 12 hours before his scan which is £1500 as this was a pre existing condition over a year old so no cover, we knew nothing of this so now have no option to put my best buddy in the world to sleep as I cant afford it, they said we can complain but we dont have time he is in pain, Animal Friends I think not. Feel like my soul has been ripped out.”
“They really do refuse to pay out at all costs.
Our dog developed a nasty skin infection on her back last month which is now potentially going to cost us hundreds a month in medication but apparently it's a pre existing condition (she has had a bad patch on her leg for years which has never been a cause for concern) but apparently that's a good enough reason to take £45 from us a month and refuse to help when they should be! Horrendous company, avoid at all costs!!!”
“Frankly Im surprised at them scoring this highly, its a shame I cant give 0 stars.
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!”
“Do not use this company , make a claim after 8 years with them for just a few hundred pounds and they decided to link the condition to an entirely unrelated condition so that the policy terms allowed them to wiggle out of the claim , thank god I found out what kind of company they are before a significant bill came in. The staff are abrasive and unhelpful. I only wish I’d known sooner ***STEER CLEAR OF ANIMAL FRIENDS*** , if you are with them now beware making a claim”
