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

“We insured our 8mth old rescue dog on the for life policy with max cover.. £6000 per cond per year. What they failed to mention was massive increase in premiums if u actually used the insurance. Ours went from £86 per month to £298 per month. So our dog now only 1 but with pre existing conditions was not insurable unless you have so much money £300 a month is no object..in which case u prob would not get insurance in the 1st place.. please do not insure a young dog with this company on a for life policy as you will be left with a dog with really expensive insurance after the 1st year. We are going through the ombudsman and our claim looks positive. Hopefully we will get compensation. But I would rather not be in this position. Avoid them at all costs.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“DO NOT insure your beloved pet with company. You would be better off putting the money into a saving account as you are paying for nothing. They will not pay out on claims and come up with excuses why they wont pay. It should be shut down. PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOU MONEY. You will not get anything back from them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Your pet WILL be left suffering even with a genuine claim and you will be majorly out of pocket. Animal friends.... disgusting company!! Cheap and employ the best people to wriggle out of genuine claims ... need shutting down, if you love your pet avoid these first class scammers as all costs as you will be paying for nothing and you will be left out of pocket and your pet won’t have the medical care they need. This company is a joke!! Avoid at all costs ... they will not pay out and do anything to avoid it... joke of an insurance company ... with a valid claim ... basically ... yes we won’t pay out for his left eye troubles because we have seen that you got drops for his right eye years ago from the vets history (but no claim was made... just eye drops purchased that is all) all from the vets records ... so they wriggle out of a claim by doing that ... total insurance scam artists .. they are cheap for a reason, avoid them ... they won’t pay out... pay for a real insurance company not scammers like these ... will be posting this on all insurance and google reviews!! They need to be exposed for the con artists they are!. Yes they are cheap ... and for a reason.., they NEVER pay out ... just look at all the google reviews!!.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“This company is no friend of ANY animal, let alone a loved pet. They only operate at certain hours. Their policy's are not worth the paper they are printed on , as they will look to NOT paying out given ANY slight excuse. Pay more for a better policy with another insurer. I pity the people who work for them, and the lengths that they will go to not pay out !”

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Posted 6 years ago

“NEW BIT ADDED TO THEIR POLICY!!!!! If your pet has an injury to one leg, hope to hell they don't injure another leg, or another eye, or ear condition! 1.2 – Specific Conditions 1.2.3 Please note that where a condition is affecting one body part of which your pet has two, one each side of the body (e.g. ears, eyes, knees, cruciate ligaments) this will be considered a bilateral condition and when applying the benefit limit or an exclusion bilateral conditions are considered as one condition. 1.2.4 Please note if your pet first showed any clinical signs; or had an accident, injury or an illness; or was diagnosed with a condition within the first 14 days or prior to the commencement date, we reserve the right to apply an exclusion to your policy in respect of this clinical sign, accident, injury, illness or condition.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“I really wish that I'd read the reviews before I joined this company. They are dreadful. They look for excuses not to pay out - please don't waste your money. We had to take our 14 yr old dog to the vet on bank holiday Monday as we thought she had had a stroke. She couldn't stand up, she was really sick and there was blood in the vomit, she couldn't eat or drink and she was drooling incessantly. The vet was able to diagnose it as vestibular disease and gave her an injection but the vet said that she could understand why we thought our dog was dying. The insurance wouldn't pay ot because she wasn't actually dying but how were we as lay people suppose to know that - we needed a vet to tell us that. Just like the reviews below I feel like they were looking for a reason not to pay us.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Terrible insurer I had a policy for my 14 year old cat, that had bladder cancer my vets bill was over £300. I finally had to have her put to sleep which cost another £200. They declined my claim and did not even pay for her death even though she had premium cover. And was insured for this came up with some lame excuse that her condition was Pre existing. I would avoid this company far worst pet insurer on the market. They take your money but give you nothing in return.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Please do not insure your pet with this company, it will be as much use as a chocolate fire guard. I would give minus stars if I could. At the time of writing this review 67.92% are one star reviews and most saying they would give zero stars if they could. Animal Friends are fraudsters at the very least and will wriggle out of any claim if they can. I'm very disappointed with this company and wish I had read their reviews before taking out insurance with them. Will be cancelling my insurance immediately as they have declined my genuine claim stating it was a pre existing condition, much the same as many of the customers who have left bad reviews on here. Animal Friends should be ashamed of themselves for having so many bad reviews.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“BEWARE don not use animal friends to insure your pets your as good as not insured as they do not pay out for anything unless your pet dies. This company should be closed down and stop taking money from people knowing they will never payout. SCUM..................”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Do not use these crooks Have put in 3 claims and all 3 have been rejected due to what their vet called preconditions although their vet has never seen my dog and the last problem was only found by a blood test,”

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Posted 6 years ago

“As previous reviewers have stated stated, I am only giving them one star because there isn't the option to leave no stars. They will use any excuse to label something as a 'pre-existing condition' to get out of paying. We devastatingly had to have our greyhound put to sleep last month as he had broken his femur. Due to the seriousness of the break and his age (he had just turned 14) it wasn't fixable. He obviously had worsening arthritis at this point and it would have been very unfair to put him through surgery with no guarantee of a successful outcome. However because the supplied vets notes mentioned a stiff shoulder in 2012, Animal Friends are claiming his arthritis was a pre-existing condition and have refused the claim. We took the policy out in January 2011, the stiff shoulder is mentioned in October 2012. Despite repeated requests, they have yet to explain how a stiff shoulder relates to a broken back leg. Instead they have 'suggested' that we go back to the vets and ask them to provide more information. I have told them to jog on. I will be making an official complaint to the company and will also be reporting them to the financial ombudsman. As fair as I am concerned this is a fraudulent company. I am never taking out pet insurance again. You will be better off putting the premium amount in a separate account to use if you need it.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Awful company! Used every excuse in the book to wriggle out of an insurance claim. Used my pets previous history when I was not even insured by animal friends at the time. Then they stated that cover was invalid on any out of hours claims... does this mean people should let there animal suffer until they can make an appointment with there vets??? Being weekends, nights or bank holidays. Always been sceptical to use insurance companies and this confirms why. I will be cancelling my policy with immediate effect and would not recommend this company to anyone hoping to claim any fees back on a claim”

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Posted 6 years ago

“I never ever write reviews but I felt compelled to on this occasion. I've had insurance with this company for the last 3 years and it included lifetime cover. I recently submitted a claim as our basset hound has an ongoing skin condition and I thought this would help towards the ongoing cost of his treatment (shampoo, occasionally medication) The claim was rejected on the basis of a single visit to the vet when our dog was less than 12 weeks old which took place while he was still covered by temporary insurance taken out by the breeder. No condition had been determined at that stage. I then took out the Animal Friends cover and it was only a year or so later as the dog got bigger that it was diagnosed as a yeast condition. I feel really let down and wonder now what the point of the insurance was. Furthermore, when I rang up to cancel the policy, the person at the other end of the phone did not seem remotely concerned or too bothered about the cancellation. I would not recommend this company to anyone.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Avoid these thieves. 10 years of premiums paid to AF for our Dog with no claims made. Poor lad has been diagnosed with a Tumour in his Jaw, rang AF prior to telling the Vet to go ahead with his surgery. Told there was no problem and to go ahead, he was covered. A week later received another call from AF telling me the vet would be paid that day. The next day I received a 5 line email from AF saying his problem was dental related and they were refusing the claim. We have complained and I have let as many as I can let know what this company is like on social media so I hope I have cost them a few hundred customers! This company needs investigating ASAP it us legalised theft.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Purchased a lifetime policy and on year 8 they increased my premium by 300% from £55pm to £220pm! My dog was diagnosed with an ongoing condition that year! What is the point in lifetime cover if they can price you out at renewal? When I took out the policy 8 years ago their advertising included the claim that they would not punish you if you had a pet that needed vet care - but that's exactly what they did to me! I paid enhanced premiums for 8 years for lifetime cover and then found myself priced out of renewal - the policy is not fit for purpose.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“NOT A PET INSURANCE ITS A PETTY INSURANCE i have had the same problem as many or most of these 1 star reviews .is there no ombudsman covering pet insurance company's ? Been paying insurance for 6.5 years for two dogs took one dog to vets 2 years ago for eye drops ,( NO claim ) two years later other eye got a aggressive ulcer & dog lost eye now they say because its had eye problem 2 years previously its a previous problem and dont cover, even though we never ever claimed in 6.5 years should be investigated by someone NOT PET INSURANCE PETTY INSURANCE :-(”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Refusing to pay out after a genuine claim. Been a long stressful fight and got nowhere. Now left to pay a £600 vets bill. Be aware. TAJ”

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Posted 6 years ago

“If I could give no stars I would.. truly awful company...any claimants please beware to read all your vets notes as they will try every trick in the book to wriggle out paying a claim...I've now cancelled..have paid the hefty vets bill myself...it was the principal for me, whether it's £50 or £700 , you take out insurance for peace of mind... animal friends certainly deserve zero stars !!!!”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Avoid at all costs. Their website and lovely blurb might lure you in but they'll refuse to pay out on the flimsiest of 'pre-existing conditions' excuses. Be warned, if your dog bumps its leg running on the beach this year and you take it to the vet and the vet states that there is '...nothing really wrong, probably just a bit of a strain...' and the animal receives no treatment, but then in two years your dog is diagnosed with some joint disorder in the same leg, your claim will be refused. As others have implied here, there need be no actual 'condition' diagnosed for them to claim that whatever is wrong now was pre-existing! Badly let down, many hundreds of pounds out of pocket. Shame on you AF.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Don't use this company as they find any excuse they can not to pay out. A dog that goes to the vet because they are licking their paws as a 6 month year old puppy is excluded from all claims to do with Allergies,Skin Conditions and anything to do with ear infections. If you upgrade your policy make sure you only do so on annual renewal dates otherwise your old insurance is cancelled and any preconditions that you may never have claimed for on the old policy become void. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Animal Friends is rated 1.6 based on 582 reviews