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
As with most of the reviews posted, I have found Animal Friends to be an extremely poor provider of pet insurance. I strongly recommend pet owners to seek insurance elsewhere as you would not find a worse service than the one they provide. They will do everything in their power to find any loophole to avoid making payments. The complaints department is useless, arrogant and rude. Hopefully all these bad reviews will eventually lead to this disreputable company going out of business.
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Posted 3 years ago
Terrible service does not pay out for anything misleads you with their policies have not paid out like they should stay away from them not worth one star
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Posted 3 years ago
I tried to claim last year for gastroenteritis and was told it was pre existing and refused to pay anything. After reading these reviews, I'm thinking of cancelling.
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Posted 3 years ago
Calling a car accident a "pre existing condition" is neither truthful nor honest. For people that want cheap insurance there is "animal friends" for REAL life there is the Ombudsman who can hopefully get this skinflint company to pay out! Do NOT use them, pay a bit more and actually get a service....
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Posted 3 years ago
Would not recommend this company Find any excuse not to pay out .Took my first cat for minor problems like diarrhea,upset tummy.When I made a claim they tried to link it with the previous vet visits Even the vet wrote in the end to say they were not linked.Now received a letter for my second cat to say the insurance has gone up a lot plus we have to.psy even more up front if we claim.Our cat to old to insure any where else or I would if moved years ago Friends and even a vet have said animal friends will find any excuse not to pay.Have canceled my policy because what's the point if I have to find most of the bill.Wish I had listed to or looked at reviews before
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Posted 3 years ago
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!
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Posted 3 years ago
they dont deserve even one star, absolute rubbish, please dont buy insurance with them.
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Posted 3 years ago
PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THIS ORGANISATION THE SATISFACTION OF TAKING YOUR MONEY. !!!!!! Confronted with why have you told lies to me and my vet.! After weeks of so called investigation they just shut down communication!!!!!!!! They really are the most unprofessional company to deal with and as may people have testified to. I say again please please do no use this organisation. Or do so and join this for Forum at a later date Capt. T.W Davis
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Posted 3 years ago
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
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Posted 3 years ago
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.
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Posted 3 years ago
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.
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Posted 3 years ago
We've been waiting for our claim to be dealt with for months now and meanwhile a second accident happened with our dog. The first one happened when he injured his shoulder in the park when playing, the second one was a bite from a german shepherd, both with emergency treatment. It's been many months now and neither the first nor the second claim was dealt with. They constantly try to find excuses to procrastinate, first making it impossible to get the right form for the claim, then asking for details of the owner of the german sheperd who attacked. Now we are simply waiting and nothing is coming back, even though our vet sent the claim to them directly. Absolutely disgusting. I can really picture the teams sitting in their offices and the manager giving instructions as to whether a claim will be successful or not based on their profit numbers that day. obviously we will stop paying and leave the insurance, but we will terrorize them with emails and calls till they pay us the expensive accident treatments that they "claim" to cover in the insurance documents. and if they don't pay we will take legal steps. don't spend your money to this unethical company and rather set aside a good amount of money into a savings pot. in the end the money is yours and if you need it you also have it available. this is what we did since we got our puppy and continued doing even after we decided to get insurance "just in case". turns out the insurance is absolutely useless!
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Posted 3 years ago
Understand their jargon before committal. I thought I'd take out cheaper Insurance as we are pensioners. How wrong were we to go with Animal Friends!!! A £2100.00 vet cost for a cruciate ligament break, I have to pay £600 of that! Apparently, I have a 'Prime Policy' (I did not know that before) so for each condition, it is a max of £2000 pa with 20% off (you pay) and a excess you pay. Yes, the writing is there, but not explained in details as to what it means - Be very careful!!!
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Posted 3 years ago
I was nearing the end of my years insurance with Animal Friends- having made no claims. My 9 YO Cocker Spaniel developed an ear infection in May 2020 which proved to be very resistant to any antibiotic. I assumed animal friends would pay on insurance so went along with the treatment. I put in a claim for just under £700 which included multiple antibiotics, steroids, ear flushes and 2 ear swabs etc. This was declined on the basis that Oscar had had an ear infection in 2016 (nothing since). Stating this was therefore an existing condition. I feel very let down. I understood an ongoing/existing condition to be just that. Still under treatment and still ongoing. NOT something that happened 4 years previously and was treated and cured. I am really disappointed as they have now put conditions on my insurance which effectively bars me from getting any other insurance. Shame on you Animal Friends. Not good at all.
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Posted 3 years ago
I have been with Animal friends for 31/2 years. In the beginning there were no issues, always paid out at a reasonable time. Then payments started being reduced finding all sorts of reasons to cut paying. And now, well what can I say, it is absolutely disgusting. I constantly have to send repeated claims as they keep coming up with excuses such as , paperwork not filled in correctly or amount not correct then when they haven’t paid for a claim they ignore you. Even using the pawtal through the vets it’s exactly the same. I can’t go anywhere else now as my dog had diabetes and I won’t be able to insure him elsewhere. They should be ashamed of themselves Stay well away from this appalling company
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Posted 3 years ago
Avoid like the plague. They try anything to avoid paying out a claim. Definitely don't use these they are completely unscrupulous we tried to put a claim in last year for our Cavalier King charles spaniel who was diagnosed with enlarged heart. Our dog was 12 at the time. We should of enjoyed our last few months of his life instead of fighting and getting nowhere. They should not insure dogs of an elderly age but instead took our money without question. He was put on medication. You only contact your insurance company when you have to make a claim. I would advise everyone to stay clear of this insurance company...
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Posted 3 years ago
Unprofessional. Lying and deliberate procrastination lied to me and my vetinary practice cancelled three policies today!! Will try any thing not to pay out been with the m three years small claim. SAD. Capt. T.W. Davis
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Posted 3 years ago
Our dog was insured for 2.5 years with them and they refused to pay out on an operation to remove a lump as it had been over one year from it first being noticed. The reason it wasn't dealt with straight away was that the vet told me to wait and see if it gets any larger. They then cancelled the policy basically saying we want nothing more to do with you.
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Posted 3 years ago
AVOID, AVOID, AVOID & READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS THOROUGHLY IF YOU DO BUY. There are numerous points in the t&c's that could stop them paying out - beware!! Mainly they don't cover Out Of Hours vets fees - unless the vet states it was a "life threatening condition" (after you've taken them in obviously and had a professional vet look at them). Owning a pet is 24/7 and so to put this clause in (and not highlight it in bold red letters when getting the quote) is quite simply not acceptable. Once the owner is aware that they won't cover out of hours ..... people will think twice to take their animal to the vets. People aren't experts and so how can they judge before they take them if it's "life threatening? Also a lot relies on their own "vet expert" - so they may decide based on the vets notes not to pay out. This is also appalling - how can a vet expert sitting in an office decide against the vet who actually saw your animal decision? Also that you need to phone for pre-authorisation if you think the bill might be over £1000 or again it could be refused. I am going to submit a complaint to the Ombudsman as these terms and conditions are so unfair to the customer.
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Posted 3 years ago
Charged me two lots of excess for one condition. Was told less cover than I actually had resulting in my cats death. DO NOT USE
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Posted 3 years ago
Animal Friends is rated 1.7 based on 532 reviews