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

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Watch out for the gradual, but significant erosion of policy cover after a claim. There is now so little covered by my policy that it is pointless. For example, a bout of sickness lead to "the (whole) digestive system" being removed from cover; and accidental injury lead to anything relating to "sticks" being removed from cover; a heart murmur at a check up (no treatment needed) lead to "heart conditions" being removed from the policy cover. This latter situation was most disappointing as this did not appear in my pet schedule and only came to light when my (now elderly) dog actually needed medication for heart failure. I have found the fiscal attitude is completely inconsistent with the Animal Friends advertising (friendly and charitable). I felt extremely let down by Animal Friends Insurance at a time when I needed most help with my pet's healthcare costs. I do not recommend them as an insurer. I just hope some of my money has made it to animal charities.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“never buy from this company.. not interested in your pet, solely interested in avoiding paying out on genuine claim. Staff rude & not helpful.. invest your money elsewhere.. one star is one too many”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“One star is too many but it doesn't let me record no stars. Absolutely appalling, avoid, avoid!! I made an claim for a sore that developed in a fold of skin near to my dogs eye. The only thing to their credit, they did reimburse me quickly however they have also placed exclusions on my policy. I am now unable to claim for any other skin conditions, no matter where they are or what was the cause and because it was near the eye, I am also excluded from making any claims for anything connected to the eye!! I acknowledge I did sign up to a policy that would not support on-going / repeat illnesses, so I was expecting an exclusion for any other similar skin conditions in the folds of his skin near the eye but I was not expecting to be unable to claim for any other skin conditions (eg allergic reactions) or anything involving the eye (eg trauma). This doesn't make any sense to me and I will not be renewing with them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Can’t give a lower rating, this so called caring animal insurance is a total waste of money. They don’t cover anxiety?in your pet, waste of money don’t go anywhere near these chancers”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Been with them 6years they wouldn’t pay out because they said it was an ongoing issue since 2016. Even tho I hadn’t claimed for this condition before. If I had saved money myself for the 6years I’ve been paying them I wouldn’t be out of pocket”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Would not recommend this shocking company. Wish we had read reviews before signing up with them. If your cat is over 10, forget it, your premiums go up as well as excess and when you try to claim, you then find out you are not covered for certain treatments, e.g. blood tests, certain drugs, cremation etc. As for the up to £1000 death insurance which is stated on the policy, that's a laugh! It goes on how much you paid for your cat, whether death was an accident etc. As our cat just decided to live with us, we didn't pay anything for him and he died of anti freeze poisoning which, apparently, isn't an accident, he obviously ate it on purpose! They tell you to read the handbook which we never received although requested on several occasions. Use this company and you will make a very expensive mistake!”

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Posted 6 years ago

“I was concerned when my vet groaned when I mentioned I was insured via Animal Friends. He said that in his experience they were one of the worst pet insurance companies to try to claim from, and so it proved for me. They consistently tried to claim that the matter being treated was related to some previous completely unrelated matter in the vets notes, even where that had not needed treatment and was wholly unrelated to the current issue. It took persistence from our vet to get them to accept that the issues had nothing to do with each other. They are charlatans, avoid.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“do not trust this company any compensation you will not get.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“No previous claims. My dog was vomiting lots, pooing and passing blood and in pain. Unfortunately it was a Sunday and my vets were closed. As a good owner, I could not leave my dog like this as I was concerned he had been poisoned or had a blockage. Visit to the out of hours vets which I know is extortionate but left with no alternative. My dog had various tests and was much better after injections and check up. The bill was £270. Animal friends would not pay the out of hours vets bill because it wasn’t a matter of life or death! The moral of this story, leave your pet in agony until your vet is open for normal working hours to suit this insurance company or better still let the dog get near to death to justify that they might just payout. As I’m not a trained vet how am I to know that my dog isn’t dying. Try another company that puts the dogs well-being first than looking for cop outs not to pay.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“they dont pay out relate old conditions with new. ahve spent over £2k and had nothing back cat is really old and is bound to get new illnesses but these will all be associated with "being off his food" they pick up any sentence in vets notes and apply to all circumstances. Stay away save your premiums in a special account to cover any future treatment.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Worst company ever to deal with. Ongoing dispute over an animal that received specialist treatment that I now have to pay £300 a month towards as I was never made aware of ‘lifetime’ Policies. Led right up the garden path. No wstuck with an additional £500 bill that they refuse to honour. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. only gave 1 star as there’s no option for zero”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Incredibly bad company - avoid at all cost. I won't go into details of the claim and monies received but needless to say it was pitiful (claim was under £1k) Renewal costs are spiraling out of control - 2 years ago it went up 14%, following year went up 21% & this year went up £27%”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Animal 'Friends' - what a joke. Pre-authorised a claim when my dog had spinal problems but now refusing to pay out saying it relates to a pre-existing condition. The pre-existing condition they refer to was when he cut one of his tendons in his pads when he was young (and we never even claimed for it then!), and they want to link a slipped disk to a cut paw! We went ahead with surgery costing almost £7k and they pre-authorised £1,500 (took 20% off as co-payment from the £2k on the policy due to him being over 8 which I never remember seeing at the time) and now they are trying to tenuously link the conditions despite my vet saying it's not related. Oh how I wish I had never encountered this appalling company. They should be closed down. I am disputing the claim and have asked for their escalation procedure, as well as details of the independent vet they use to link conditions.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Dreadful. Bombarded me with emails and phone calls and seem to be disputing my vet's professional opinion. The outgoings over this illness including numerous tests total £265 and I've just seen that £3.16 has been paid into my bank account. Obviously I'm not putting up with this so if I don't get an acceptable outcome by the end of the week I'll be going to the ombudsman. It's a long time since I dealt with such poor customer service from an insurer. I'll be removing my business as soon as this is resolved.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“I would give them a minus 5 if I could. Avoid at all cost and don't be blinded by their alleged award status. They will not pay out at all on the basis of "pre-existing" condition. They will use any small note they find in your Vet's records and turn into a pre-existing condition. They will also not pay for any treatment above £1000 unless previously discussed and approved by them, so a total waste of money in an emergency situation. Vets and animal hospitals never know the exact fees they will charge for investigation/operations in advance. I tried to get the Financial Ombuds-Man involved but apparently missed the 6-month deadline because the Small Animal Hospital in Glasgow never came back to us with their invoices as they also couldn't believe that the insurance wouldn't pay. Even Vets Now who did the final operation on our dog were ready to fight our cause but we missed the time limit. Avoid at all costs and put your money into a savings account.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“*****PLEASE DON'T PART WITH YOUR MONEY****** Unfortunately the option of leaving 0 stars is not available or that would have been the score I'd have given them. This company should be avoided at all costs. Please actually speak to this outfit rather than purchase online before parting with your money to see exactly what is covered (I promise you it wont be much). Like others have said, if you are already a customer and need to make a claim I feel for you already. You will speak to a half wit who doesn't know one end of an animal to the other but is still quite happy to impart their knowledge/argue with you (delete as appropriate) with regard to pre-existing conditions and associated ailments until you start losing the will to live. Good luck if you go with them, you'll need it, along with a large bank balance.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“As others have said avoid at all costs. They come across as all concerned and 'ethical' but just try claiming - for anything. Not so ethical then are they? Absolutely awful experience. Something you don't need when you've lost your best friend.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Avoid at all costs. I’ve been a long term customer and this week have tried to claim for my little dog who ended up in the vets for 3 days following a period of being extremely unwell. She was clearly in severe pain and following acute vomiting, shaking and panting, there ended up being no clear diagnosis but thank fully she improved. Today I received the letter telling me that I did not qualify for a claim because my dog has been sick before! Being sick is a symptom of many problems so I don’t get how they can refuse it! I’m now out of pocket by £680, lost one of my jobs post Christmas and am recovering from a double mastectomy and reconstruction. Dreadful company and a waste of premiums.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Avoid avoid avoid.... Today have refused to pay out for x rays and bloods for my dog when taken to vet after uncharacteristic behaviour. After examination vet suspected hip pain... All of above done and then another test due to high sodium levels to rule out addison's disease. Tests came back negative vet then suggested attendance at behaviourist so animal friends now sayi g nothing is covered. They made diagnosis themselves. Something vet is still trying to do now over 800 poun ds in debt event hough paying one of premium policies.... Shop ariun folks they are cowboys”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Have to agree with the majority here - Animal Friends will look for any reason to decline your claim AND add an exclusion on future claims. Don’t purchase; if that’s too late and you already have insurance then when declined for a legit claim don’t accept it. Follow their complaints procedure and then go to the Ombudsman. Policies are underwrittten by Red Sands who will try any trick in the book not to pay out.”

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Posted 6 years ago

Animal Friends is rated 1.6 based on 582 reviews