“Our 13 year-old cat was treated by the vet for a tumour in the abdomen; unfortunately he did not respond to the treatment and had to be put to sleep. Losing a beloved pet is bad enough, but now AF have advised that they will cover only about 40% of the treatment costs, for reasons I frankly fail to understand. I have contacted them for their comments and await their reply. The policy is very long and long-winded, and it is doubtful if anyone would read it word by word, as like me they trusted that AF is an honourable organisation. I note that virtually all the reviews of AF on this website are complaints concerning payment - or more accurately non-payment. I also intend to speak to the vet for his comments. If we do get another cat we shall most certainly not be insuring with AF again. Our sadness at losing our little friend is now tainted with anger.”
“MyDog has a Tumor they refused to help saying teeth and gums not included in my policy,i cancelled my policy then they replied after blocking me on twitter and reading my google review and said my concerns would be looked at by there complaints department and again said no,rubbish company,dont waste your money,i had no claims for years till it mattered at 22ppm for there so called super cover,not loose change,and no refund offered,my vet says problems with teeth and gums are a very common problem in pets and if you want to insure your pet use pet plan uk or just save your money in a bank for a rainy day,now i am faced with a hefty vet bill,thanks for nothing Animal friends,”
“It would be 0 stars if we could. STAY AWAY FROM THIS FIRM. THEY ARE LIARS AND DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS.
we have been mistreated for the last 4 months and will never reccomend them ever again. And we were with them. For years. 0 service.
We phoned up last August (recorded call) and discussed our ongoing claim regarding our two pets. The women cleared stated over the phone we could allow the vets receipts to accumulate prior to sending them in, thus ensuring we wouldn't lose out too much for every £99. This is said clearly in the recorded call.
But hey ho 4 months later, they are avoiding our calls, emails, letters, etc. Over £1000 in a claim being ignored and they have now done the same, to our other animal. What a joke. Using covid 19 as an excuse to process the queries and listen back to calls made. Disgusting attitudes received from two of the women we spoke too. My daughter had to step in and deal them as it proved too stressful for myself and my husband. We are disabled and currently isolated. This has been beyond stressful. I would advice anyone wanting to ensure their beloved pets are cared for, LOOK ELSEWHERE. Your loved pet is just a number to them.
Avoid the liars. If anyone would like further information about their deceit, please get in touch. I will happily post the recorded call for everyone to listen too, the emails fobbing us off, etc.
“We've held insurance with Animal Friends for 2 years. Our French Bulldog had no pre-existing health concerns or issues and has been a very healthy dog up until this year. This year our 3 year old dog has been really unlucky his health this year which as meant we've had to make a £6000 claim for neck surgery. Animal Friends paid out with no quibble for this and we were really impressed.
Two months later and we've just received our renewal quote and our premium has increased by 400% to £283 a month!
We hold a lifetime policy (and pay a premium for this) so I'm extremely upset that we now be forced out of this lifetime policy and will lose all of the benefits of a lifetime policy through extortion. We now are left without an option for adequate insurance for our 3 year old dog for the rest of his life because of this disgusting treatment.
The law states that insurance companies cannot increase the premium to a point where they are trying to force non-renewal but that is exactly what Animal Friends have done to us.
At best they are using people's love for their animals against them to extort money from them at worst they are punishing people for claiming and ensuring their quotes are unaffordable so that they can get out of 'Lifetime' policies, screwing people over in the long term.
We are now left with only two options for insurance: Go to another insurer and not have any pre-existing conditions covered, which makes taking out 'lifetime' cover in the first place completely pointless and a waste of money or 2) Submit to extortion from Animal Friends and pay them £283 a month!
Avoid Animal Friends at all costs unless you want to be left without insurance options for life.”
“Offer by far the most competitive price with a very extensive level of cover. Over the 6 years we were with them we made a number of claims, relatively small (skin rashes, allergies, upset digestive system etc), nothing major but each year on renewal the price would sky rocket. In the the end what started off as a reasonable policy started to get ridiculous. £250 a month is not to be sniffed at. It got to such a level that we started to avoid claiming for anything that was relatively minor in fear of renewal time.
Needless to say, we left as soon as we got the opportunity. This was when our dog had a fit bill of health for 2 years (yes 2 years claim free and premiums would still increase 20-40% per year). We switched to Bought By Many and the only regret was they weren't around when we got our pet nor could we have switched earlier. We managed to more than halve our premium with more cover. Their claims process is uber efficient, online with tracking and their staff show a level of care, attention and empathy that we were never afforded at animal friends.
I just hope people do not make the same mistake and get tied in to Animal Friends with their 'welcome' offer just to be trapped later on when you need them most. Once you start a policy and claim, when you switch 'pre-existing' conditions are largely not covered hence being tied in.
I could not recommend Animal Friends any less but also could not recommend Bought By Many more.”
“Recently I had to have my dog put to sleep due to kidney failure. My vet submitted the claim form to Animal Friends and then it was up to me to provide the whole of my pets medical history all 12 and a half years!! That meant contacting 3 vets for the history. Seems that Animal Friends are looking after share holders and not our pets. They were not so picky about the medical history when i signed up!.
I paid a loaded premium due to the age of my pets only for on pay out to find that Animal Friends took another 20% excess off the claim due to the age of my pets.
Totally unsatisfactory if I ever get another pet I will avoid using these badly worded Animal Friends.”
“An absolute sham. Our poor old dog developed a chest infection, he coughed up blood and we thought we would lose him and these cowboys...Animal Friends refused to payout. An absolute shower of S**t
STEER CLEAR”
“Total scammers, no friends of animals, as with any insurance company use any excuse to not pay. They are no friends of animals whatsoever, just want to make money - disgusting company.”
“This is an appalling company. I am so sorry I didn't find this site sooner. Paid a higher amount because my dog is 10. Very active dog. Last year when he had his annual injections the vet ask how he was in general, I said for an elderly dog he is ok but sometimes struggles getting over the door step. The vet made notes and said it he gets worse bring him back and he'll check him out. 12 months later my dog started limping, took him back and the vet checked him out after xrays he said his cruciate ligament was damaged. He was operated on and made a full recovery. The now say they will not pay as it should have been addressed 12 months ago. The vet wrote to them stating the comments are in no way related to this injury. Refused to pay. I intend passing this to my solicitors and placing a formal complaint with the Ombudsmen. Do not use t hem.”
“My dog looked like she was either poisoned or having a stroke as she couldn't see or stand up. Took her to an emergency vet at 10pm. After trawling through all her medical records from the day she was born (looking for an excuse not to pay), they couldn't find a reason not to pay so their excuse was that the situation was not an emergency and it could have waited until normal hours appointment. They have docked the emergency part of the vet bill. See attached.
I have been a loyal customer for many years and never claimed anything. Absolutely disgusted. Raised a formal complaint and I'm taking them to the ombudsman.”
“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.”
“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....”
“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”
“Avoid at all costs. I should have read more reviews before taking out this policy as there are a huge amount of terrible ones. We had some small lipomas on our dog looked at years before taking out the policy. Several years later after having the policy for a couple of years my dog developed a couple of lumps (not near the existing lipomas that had never been an issue or grown in size) these new lumps were growing and would need removing. Although I thought they may reject the pre authorisation because he had had previous lumps checked I did not expect them to then put an exclusion in my policy meaning that he would not be covered for any tumours or cancers! After calling them it was clear that they wouldn't change their minds as they can do what ever they like. I inquired if they would reduce the price of the premium as they had decided to reduce the service they were providing me, only to be given a firm NO and that they wouldn't discuss it. If this company had an honest bone in their bodies they would change their name from 'animal friends' to 'screw your pet we only want your money'. It would be far better to pay a little more for your policy and go with a decent insurer as their insurance isn't worth the paper its printed on! 1 star review is far too generous!”
“Pretty much the same as everyone else reviews. Put a claim in, they refuse then put an exclusion on your policy to prevent further claims. Happy to take the money each month but not to pay out when you need it.
“Awful company, Ruby our Staffy died from heart failure yet animal friends, against our vets advice decided to take upon itself that Ruby died from a pre existing condition.... A lypoma yes a unharmful fatty lump, so with them never seeing Ruby they thought they knew more about my dogs health than my vets and I, please if you have any sense avoid, avoid avoid, they are very condescending and have no empathy. If one person reads this review and looks elsewhere I may just may cheer up a small amount, If your pet for eg hurts her foot/leg when she is 2 years old and later in life suffers problems with said leg, sorry not covered pre existing condition and 365 days have elapsed, disgusting.”
“Paid out for TPLO surgery with no questions or issues at all. I would say if taking out insurance make sure you do tell of any vets visits, it won't necessarily put your insurance up, but logs whatever was treated.”
“The worst insurance company I have ever dealt with. They acted against how the vet filed the claim following the death of my beloved cat. Appalling customer service and exceptionally patronising. Lodged an official complaint with the Ombudsman”
“Just cancelled my policy with animal friends,our dog needed an operation on his eyes they refused to pay out saying the dog was born with this condition,would not recommend this insurance,waste of money”
