Animal Friends Reviews

1.7 Rating 532 Reviews
15 %
of reviewers recommend Animal Friends
1.7
Based on 532 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 30th November 2021
Roger Rothery
Animal Friends 1 star review on 6th April 2021
Angela
Animal Friends 1 star review on 23rd February 2021
J Sewell
Animal Friends 5 star review on 15th October 2020
Paula Mccur
Animal Friends 1 star review on 25th September 2020
Paige
Anonymous
Anonymous  // 01/01/2019
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.
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Posted 3 years ago
AWFUL... they don't care about your pet, they don't care about you, they 100% DO care about taking your money for many years! Pay extra and get an insurer who isn't a con artist. I hope none of these people have pets, I feel for them if they do! Should be ashamed.
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Posted 3 years ago
I have been using this company for many years ( 5 cats) and on the surface they appear very good, that is until you have to make a claim and then their true colours come out. I had to put one of my cats down on the 16/11 and I am still trying to get this claim sorted, the vets were at fault sending through an invoice incorrectly however I have phoned Animal friends nearly every week for the last month to go through with them the rational of the invoice, I have chased the vets to also email them with an explanation and still today I am told that it is not sorted, I was told last week that someone would chase it and come back to me but no call back. The lack of communication from them is shocking and during one conversation I was even told that it was not their job to chase vets ! That may be the case but surely it is there job to let their customers know ( I can't even see the claim on my account so have no idea what was happening) Needless to say I have now cancelled the remaining policies and gone to another company. I would not recommend this company at all .
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Posted 3 years ago
refuse to pay out on anything whatsoever, absolutely disgraceful company AVOID!
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Posted 3 years ago
Firstly I am surprised that they score so high on Trust Pilot and so low here. Makes me question how they did this??? So the only thing I can say is AVOID AT ALL COSTS. They cause dog owners so much additional stress at a time when you are worried sick already about your fur baby. Pet Owners BEWARE If I could give this company a zero rating I would. Do not be fooled by the friendly, we care for your pet, marketing. They really do not! When you have a pet that is never or rarely ill they are could be fine as per my Border Terrier BUT BE WARNED if you have a pet with a lot of issues they try everything they can NOT to PAY. I have a Parson Russell, that is a longer legged Jack Russel breed. Sadly he has serious issues with his spine and now pancreatitis and along with that, his friendly and energetic lifestyle pre the spinal injury has led to a lot of claims. As a result of his bad experiences he is not best pleased at the vets but a super happy, friendly gorgeous boy who loves everyone and all dogs equally and just wants a good play session. Here is the RUB with Animals Friends. Every time we have a claim, they try to pull the dangerous dog card. They literally go back years on the vets records and say 'he had to be muzzled' 'is he dangerous' 'have you ever had an incident' 'your claim is on pause' any excuse not to pay. Three times I have had to justify his friendly character despite the fact that his illnesses have absolutely nothing to do with the conditions being claimed for. I have even invited them to visit us to see for themselves but of course they do no such thing and would rather prefer to stress pet owners out and try and avoid their obligations. WORST decision I ever made by moving to them and now I am stuck with them ! I am serious people, trust me, AVOID! I have had dogs all my life and claimed for all over the years with companies and have never experienced anyone as bad at this company. I have spoken to professionals in the animal sector and they are also all shocked.
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Posted 3 years ago
My policy started with Animal "friends" in October 2020. My cat had treatment and medication after a diagnosis of Glaucoma in December 2020, they really clawed for reasons to refuse the claim. They never maintain communication, I had to phone them 6 times over the space of 2 weeks to get any kind of update and the answer you get is "it's on our missed claims spreadsheet that we keep of things that are urgent and haven't been dealt with by the team". That really says it all. DO NOT INSURE YOUR PET WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!! If you care about your fur baby at all, pay the little extra and find an insurer that cares about animals and the wellbeing of their customers. They should not be in business!
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Posted 3 years ago
Everybody please be aware!!!!! Everybody please be aware!!!!!! we have insured our dog for over five years with animal friends we wanted to upgrad our policy through the go compare site because our renewal quote for almost the same policy was a lot more, unfortunately we had to claim for Coco who is now seriously ill We have been told us we can’t claim on the old or new insurance due to the new policy has to be wait 14 days before it can be activated ...... we even overlapped the date so there would never be a gap in our insurance for our little princess ... But the sad sad news is it’s costing us over £7,000 and we may still lose our little princess xx All this is over a large company trying to charge more people money for being loyal customers....... the exact same policy every year for five years this year we are going through a pandemic and people are losing their jobs livelihoods, Loyal customers find themselves in this position Being charge almost 20% more for the same cover FOR BEING LOYAL!,,,,
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Posted 3 years ago
If i could face given zero stars i would have I changed to them in autumn 2020 when my insurer almost doubled my premiums and got what I thought was a good quote from animal friends Put a claim in end of January 2021 for a serious eye complaint and was refused saying it was a pre existing condition he had before the start of the policy August 2019 I explained ( my vet agreed ) that was mild conjunctivitis or allergy reaction with no follow up and nothing like the serious glaucoma he was suffering with for the claim I was told it was his eyes that were not insured for anything and would not change the decision so I will be taking it to the ombudsman and let as many people ( Facebook ect ) not to deal with these crooks take your money but do not pay out when you need them too Disgusted
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Posted 3 years ago
My experience of this company is that they will do anything they can to get out of paying by using previous illnesses and injuries to say they are pre-existing when they are not. Bacterial infections are not pre-existing, they occur and they are cured! They have not paid out on any of my claims this last year. I have just been advised of my renewal and they are asking if I have taken my pet to the vets for anything other than vaccinations and if so these things will be excluded. I will not be renewing. I have looked at other pet insurances and have found one that offers reasonable cover and will include any current or recent illnesses. My advice is look elsewhere.
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Posted 3 years ago
This is not insurance. They do absolutely everything to avoid claims and will exclude anything that they think is remotely connected to a claim you may have had with them or any others in the past. The first loss escalates with age of pet rapidly. They are awful at communicating with vets. Just avoid this company.
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Posted 3 years ago
We have been with Animal Friends Insurance for 5 years, have never made a claim and our elderly cat has been very healthy. However, this year they increased the premium by 35% (stating it was due to him being over 10 years old - he is now 12 ½ so why didn't they increase the insurance 2 years ago? - and they added that they would not cover 'any illness or condition linked to the Pyrexia'. Our cat had a raised temperature in 2012 (9 years ago) which the reason was never discovered - he could have been bitten by another cat / rat etc. or maybe had an illness of unknown origin. No further episodes and the vets said it had been a mystery as to why he got ill all those years ago, but not to worry as it was obviously a 'one off'. But their new exclusion meant that, if our cat got ill, they could simply point to the fact that he had a temperature (which tends to happen with illness / infections etc!) and refuse to pay. Our vets wrote to them and said this was ludicrous, Pyrexia is a symptom and not a condition, but they refused to remove this. So we cancelled and went to a new insurer, slightly more expensive but I just had the feeling that this company were looking for excuses NEVER to pay out if we ever made a claim. Reading some of these reviews, it is a well founded concern.
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Posted 3 years ago
A two bit company that try’s to make every excuse not to pay up,we never ever made a claim on our insurance with them when our cavalier became ill then they say they are not paying as the 365 days treatment has passed absolutely disgusting in the way we have been treated.If anyone is considering taking a policy out with them DONT no matter what they say through advertising
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Posted 3 years ago
DO NOT USE IF YOU VALUE YOUR PET This has got to be the WORST insurance you can take out - 1st time I have had pet insurance and this company exploited this. AVOID AT ALL COSTS - Mis-sold and misinformed on this policy. Spoken to Danielle (who is a perfect employee of what this company is - useless) today whom when I cancelled the policy with failed to tell me when the policy cancellation comes into effect - Luckily I asked when did the DD get paid and she replied 5 days ago. Yes I paid 5 days ago for the month and she cancelled today without advising that I paid on the 4th for the whole of the month - treating cutomers fairly? I do not think so - failed to pay a claim - hard to get hold of and finally when the claim gets put in it gets declined. Please do not use these and look after your finances and your beloved pet.
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Posted 3 years ago
Fuming. Refusing to pay my claim for the emergency vet as my cat had "suspected dyspnoea" which they are saying is related to fits & seizures. She has exclusion on my policy as she has epilepsy but this was not seizure related as my own vet confirmed on her follow up visit to them. Avoid at all costs!!
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Posted 3 years ago
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.
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Posted 3 years ago
Worst insurance company I've ever had the misfortune to come across. Got out of every claim with one of my boxers, and when we lost her last week unexpectedly, they showed zero compassion and are being awkward about paying a percentage for the loss.
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Posted 3 years ago
Raised my premium by 40% this week. I am leaving. Read the reviews!
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Posted 3 years ago
Just don't bother. So upset my claim is rejected. All legitimate. I get my dog checked for everything I am concerned about & pay in full. Then when I need to claim on an operation the small print denies a claim. I don't mind paying my bills but why pay insurance when you cannot claim back. I will never use this company again. Try phoning or emailing & NO response. Go elsewhere can't tell you how upset I feel.
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Posted 3 years ago
Will be changing Lots of loopholes to avoid paying out
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Posted 3 years ago
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.
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Posted 3 years ago
Animal Friends is rated 1.7 based on 532 reviews