| Overall |   |
| Claims | |
| Customer Service | |
| Value For Money | |
Animal Friends is an ethical pet insurance specialist that gives all its benefits to animal charity around the world. Cover is available for cats and dogs and owners can choose for nothing less but 7 policies with one option giving you up to £40,000 to spend in vet fees in the lifetime of your pet. You can also choose your excess – between £49 and £99 – to adapt your monthly premium. Older pets welcome.
Thankfully we have not had to claim on our policy yet, but nevertheless, the service from Animal Friends has been fab. They all love animals and are really friendly and helpful. Even during the underwriter changeover from E&L everything was handled perfectly. The premium for our cat Rusty is only £7.81 per month on their Silver plan and has not increased in the 2 years we’ve had her. and apart from anything else, they give all their profits to animal charities, which is a winner for me – no shareholders! Thanks AFI!
I was insured with Animal Friends Insurance last year and have sinced moved on to another insurer. I had to make a claim for my puppy Bruce, the customer service was poor and after several phone calls my claim was finally sorted. My new insurer is friendly, efficient and cheaper!
I have been with AFI for many years and i can only praise customer services.All my claims have been delt with in a friendly manner.They have payed out within weeks of a claim going in and when the changeover was happening they even offered to pay a claim out of there own funds as Red Sands wanted to read the full vets reports from my vets and AFI thought I would have to wait long for payment.
i have the prestiege cover for both my cats ollie and willow
by far this company provided the best levels of cover for all my needs
i work in insurance myself and have scaled the market to find what i wanted
it is also extreamly good value for money at just under 48p per day per cat
i think i will be a very loyal customer for years to come
The phone service is terrible with a premium rate number getting in touch with the claim department is never less than 20 minutes.
They find every excuise not to pay out on a claim, including non payment for using a different vet.
Save your Money & insure elsewhere.
Good
The cover is good value and does not go up as your animals get older and policies do not decline in the cover they give.
Abysmal
Service – at the moment up to 21 working days to pay a claim – the worst of any insurer I have been with. No responses to letters or obeyance of regulatory guidelines on responses. Any possible chance to avoid paying and they will.
Conclusion
Go elsewhere if you can find a suitable policy.
They may be cheaper than some, but making a claim has been a long frustrating experience. 3 months and counting! Vet’s paperwork wasnt clear enough for them, this was immediately corrected,they said it would take 6 weeks to look at again! unbelievable!
I am DISGUSTED by the service from Animal Friends insurance. Initially things were great, then they sent a free toy for our Dog, for which we were very grateful. Until we took it to the park and it smashed our Staffordshire bull terriers teeth out. The vets bill was £209.27 I asked them for a full refund. They have sent me £27, what an absolute insult. The company ethos is the Feel Good Factor, something that we are certainly lacking. The refund would have been a gesture of goodwill which would have made a wonderful lasting impression of which I would have let you all know. Don’t use this company please.
Very difficuilt to get hold of over the phone!The best way to contact them is by email but this isn’t ideal if you need to speak to someone! Claims take over a month to be paid (if they are paid at all) and even then they won’t cover precribed food. I recently paid a bill of £157 and got £38 back! I was also recently accused of seeking treatment for a fatty lump (I hadn’t)and as a result was told that they won’t cover any form of lump or tumour. Although the cover looks good on paper, it is extremely difficuilt to get your money back! Would not recommend!
DONT USE THEM. Maybe cheap but impossible to get hold of them on the phone and they do everything they can to wriggle out of paying claims. My worst ever experience with a so called ‘insurance company’
Have paid into this insurance company for over 1 year. I have 3 dogs and 1 cat. I made my first claim on March 16th. It is now 5th May and I haven’t received payment.At the end of March I was told that claims were not looked at for 6 weeks because of the “Bad Weather over Christmas”!! I have just chased them again to be given more excuses.
Disgusting. Please do not use them even though they say all their net profits are given to charity.
May be cheap but save your money. The try to wriggle out of paying even the smallest amount and take ages to settle.
Please take my word for it – this company claims to be ANIMAL FRIENDLY but they do not honour their obligations as a responsible pet insurance company. If you decide to take out a policy with Animal Friends, then carefully read the small print in their terms and conditions before taking out the policy. If you don’t declare every previous illness/condition that you pet has had by phoning them first, then they WILL NOT PAY OUT ON ANY CLAIM. My dog recently had a tumour on his anal gland which had to be removed. Animal Friends would not pay out on this claim because 3 years earlier, my vet had noted that he had some samlle FATTY LUMPS under his armpit (this was normal for a dog his age). Animal Friends claim that the tumour was a pre-existing condition, which is ABSOLUTE NONSENSE and my vet is shocked that they way we have been treated during this claim. I will not let this drop and I will take my claim all the way to the Financial Ombudsman Service if necessary
Attrocious service. If it were not for the fact that I have a continuous claim for an ongoing condition that means I now cannot change insurers I’d never reccommend this company. Since their split from E&L (who I thought it was impossible to beat in terms of bad service)Animal Friends have gradually gone downhill. Impossible to get hold of on the phone and when you eventually do they tell you they can’t deal with whatever your enquiry is by phone, you have to put it in writing by email. Then when you email they don’t reply. Two of my claims in the last year have failed to arrive and then when I resubmitted them I was told they were outside the 90 day limit. I was advised to send them recorded in future! And in the last claim that was paid (more than 8 weeks after I submitted it mind you) they suddenly decided they were no longer paying for a part of the ongoing condition they have always paid for before, with no explanation. After finally agreeing to reassess this claim, I was just told that reasessments are being dealt with after new claims, so they have no idea how long this will take to process. In short, they’re happy to take your premiums and with a nice ‘animal friendly’ tag line, but beware ever having to claim from them. Awful company. Unfortunately I’m stuck with them but I hope reading this will persuade someone else not to fall into the same trap. If they don’t lift their game I too will be speaking to the Ombudsman very soon.
we moved to Animal Friends because premiums at our other insurer were getting too pricey. Wish we
had’nt because the first time we had to claim they would’nt pay because they claimed an internal tumour was an ongoing condition when they ordered her history from the vets. What they were refrering to was a previous external cyst. Cancelled the policy can’t afford to pay them and the £500 off my credit card.
Have to agree with all the above posts and I am about to also go to the Ombudsman. I have been with them since 2006 and whilst with E&L service was fine. However in the last 18 months service has hit an all time low. I have two dogs both with ongoing heart conditions. Payment ranges from 5 months to three months if you are lucky. They have claimed forms have not arrived despite paying for one in the same envelope!(Twice) They have needed more information despite it being for a condition that they have had for years . They have failed to respond to letters and e-mails I could go on and on and on. The final straw is that one of my dogs had to have a cancer in her mouth removed. I phoned to inform them that this was happening and they said fine. Now it turns out they are not going to pay because they do not pay for work to teeth or gums???? I spoke to the vet and he said that it was a life saving operation not gum disease. If it was not for the fact that my dogs are elderly and with ongoing conditions I would move immediately. DO NOT TOUCH THEM WITH A BARGE POLE
not an ethical choice at all. i have had a claim refused for an injury to my bullmastiffs leg. they are claiming that it was caused by a condition which only exists by labradors! i have told them if they do not pay we weill have no choice but to have dog distroyed, their response was that it’s not their problem. we have had a letter from our vets to back up our claim and they are still refusing to pay out. they have also managed to block our phone no, my husband was on hold for nearly an hour from the house phone before deciding to call from his mobile(they don’t have that no), call was answered straight away! now we 141 before calling them. we will be fighting them with our vets backing all the way to court if necessary. they are not a friendly company.
I have been with Animal Friends for many years with never any problems.I have no hesitation in recommending this company to anyone.They were one of only 2 insurers who would take on my 9 year old dog after his existing insurer refused to cover him once he turned 8 years old even though I had been with them for years.They dealt with his claims as he aged and sent a symathetic letter when he died.
I can’t understand the contact problems people have,you simply request a call back on their automated phoneline and they respond asap.
I have 2 dogs insured with them now and have been paid out on claims for both in a very friendly and efficient manner.If it takes a week or so longer than other companies then maybe it’s because they are so busy having so many customers.
Victims of their own success I wonder !
sorry forgot to put my star ratings !
AWFUL!!!! Refused to pay for my dog to have a lump removed because I failed to advise them she had suffered an upset stomach after raiding the bin! Vet wrote on my behalf but to no avail, avoid at all costs!
This company is a disgrace! Animal Friends NO WAY!
Mis-sold policy stating I had £3000 cover, now saying I can only claim £500 as the £3000 is only if its different conditions, the manager phoned to say there was nothing they could do as I had not read the small print, now left with a dog who has ligament damage to her knee and no insurance.
After advising the manager of all the other poor reviews I had read about similar stories, he said he didn't bother about that!
Feel Good insurance, I left the phone call in tears.
STAY AWAY!
Awful, awful, awful. Save your money and go to a company that actually gives a fig about its customers. Have insured my dog with them for YEARS and never made a single claim. In his old age he’s developed heart disease but they won’t pay for his medication because they claim it was a pre-existing condition that I didn’t declare to them when I took out the policy. Not true – he’s never had medication or treatment for this in his life. They also scoured his medical records and now say that because he’s had a couple of fatty lumps, from now on he won’t be covered for any skin conditions or for any tumours or lumps. What exactly am I paying my premium for then? My poor dog doesn’t seem to be covered for anything, yet they’re happy to take my money every month. I’m cancelling my policy and will be contacting the financial ombudsman.
Very worried now have theses people for my ddb and have just had to but a £850 claim in they assure me on the phone it will only take a few weeks but as my vet wont deal direct I have had to pay. I have to hope that they deal with me well and i can put a good report on. However if I suffer any of the problems above they will find me taking them to court.
It is a mistake to go for the cheapest, will I ever learn. My dog was really ill and my vets did a number of investigations to diagnose his problem. Eventually he had a lump removed to solve his ailments. Friendly pet insurance refused to pay out as they said he’d had a fatty lump removed previously. My vet informed me that the lump he had remove was in no way connected to a fatty lump. My vet rang them and reported back to me that the insurance wasn’t worth the paper it was written on! I wrote a letter of complaint asking for a complete explanation then I would send that and the vet’s report to the ombudsman. They haven’t bothered to reply. Disgraceful! AS mentioned above DO NOT TOUCH THEM WITH a barge pole!
Well heres my update sent the claim in which they recieved last friday and today chased to see what was happening and they have assesed and arranged bacs transfer for full amount. So as it stands assuming the money comes through i cannot fault them.
I have had a policy with Animal Friends for about 4 years but have never had to claim until now. My dog has allergies and I phoned before treatment started to check and was told what was and was not covered. They have just paid out for the first round of treatments (approx £500) without question. Payout was within about 3 weeks which I think is reasonable. I had to wait almost a year previously with another insurer, even then they didn’t pay for everything. I am really happy with the service I have received.
Animal Friends insurance has been really helpful with me when I set up my policy. I haven't made a claim, but their website was so easy to use, and their ethical code is something I agree with so they were an obvious first choice for me.
I was worried at first because of all the bad reviews, but everywhere I looked seems to be inundated with the same thing (making deciding who to go with so confusing), so I've stuck by my guns and gone for the friendly and charitable choice. I don't get the impression they are just out for my money either, so hopefully I will not have any troubles from Animal Friends, and my little Max can stay safely insured so I donâﾂﾬ™t worry anymore
Feel Good Insurance? Ha ha ha ha. I have had two genuine claims denied now for my dog. My Boxer collapsed suddenly last month and died. The cause of death was never determined. Animal Friends found that she had a heart murmur at 8 weeks (which was gone at 10 weeks!!) and decided that an exclusion then applied to the policy relating to heart disease. They quote that she “most likely died of heart disease” with no evidence whatsoever. Denying the claim on “most likely” is shocking, shouldn’t these things be based on fact? Currently seeking legal advice… Terrible service – AVOID.
What a dreadful company. They make every excuse under the sun not to pay a penny. Despite my dog bleeding profusely for over 4 hours from a ruptured blood vessel, they refuse to pay the out of hours vet fees because “it was not life threatening”. This despite being told three times on the phone from their claims departemnt that the claim was valid and would be paid, minus of course the huge excess. I now have a letter stating that the claim will be paid…minus the out of hours vet fees, minus the excess..total payable, nothing as it is less than the excess. Their slogan is “feel good insurance”…I am taking them to the Ombudsman..they are just a rip-off. If enough of us complain about the horror stories above, then perhaps something will be done about them.
“dog insurance claims wouldn’t pay out”
My boxer who 10years of age had 1 cysts removed (paid by us). After the 2 cysts removed we placed a claim with our insurance (won’t paid out because we had had cysts removed in the past, as they have put excludes on his cover for growths, cysts and tumours back in 2010) We taken dog to vet due to malignant cancer involving his bottom sacs and lymph nodes to be removed.(not cover by them because of excludes) …
This vet will be about £5,000.00
DON’T USE THIS COMPANY
ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING SERVICE.
This company will try every trick in the book to get out of settling a claim. I am still battling with them to pay up for a spinal op my puppy had to have. we are not only faced with ongoing pysio costs, this company are causing grief by trying to wriggle out of their responsibility! DO NOT touch them. They waited until we had racked up 4k vets bills, whcih with our policy we should have been covered with as we paid for a superior package, before telling us they would not pay! I am fighting all the way but could really do with focusing my energies on getting my puppy back up to full strength.
Have been with AFPI for many years with a life time policy. When they were underwritten by E&I it was terrible trying to settle a claim – slightly better thereafter but takes forever! Our dog has a chronic illness – great if you have a life time policy – or you would think! The premiums just go up and up – a 118% hike this year to £55 per month!