Anyone else having trouble with ANIMAL FRIENDS Insurance?

sheramber

Any exclusion would be on the renewal policy document.

I t should be easy to check the document.If it is not stated on that then send a copy to Animal Friends with a complaint.

You need to follow the company's complaints procedure and get a final refusal before escalating it to the FOS.

The complaint procedure is detailed in the policy document.

If it is stated on the document then your parents have no complaint as they have accepted the exclusion by renewing the policy.

LusciousLuce

If, after review, Animal Friends are still refusing the claim, escalate it to FOS. The insurance company get charged £400 for every complaint made to FOS, whether it's upheld or not.

I'm not surprised by this story, but I am appalled. I really don't know how they get away with such unusual and medically inaccurate exclusions. Have a look on the FOS website; if AF are saying it's pre-existing, FOS say they will look at whether the policyholder could have reasonably known that it was. Maybe there's a case to be made there, if they're linking all masses regardless of diagnosis.

duchessofwavendon

ANIMAL FRIENDS PET INSURANCE are the worst insurance company we have had the misfortune to deal with in the last 40 years.

How on earth they can be called Animal Friends is an absolute joke. These people DO NOT CARE AT ALL ABOUT YOU OR YOUR PET. They should be renamed Animal Enemies.

After paying for cover for both of our dogs for two years, when we needed to claim for one of the dogs when she was very ill earlier this year, they declined the claim based on a technicality and also stating it was a pre-existing condition which it was not. They had complete disregard for our dog's illness and did everything in their power to negate our claim. I was in hospital at the same time with a burst appendix and the stress of dealing with them delayed my recovery.

What our lawyer informed us is that there is a difference between a 'symptom' which she had and their view of a 'condition' which they said she had. We escalated the claim to the Financial Ombudsman who agreed with us that there are many 'grey areas' in pet insurance which is not fair for the consumer but Animal Friends used this to their advantage.

We have since written to BBC Watchdog who will investigate these people as they have received hundreds of other complaints about Animal Friends.

Piggywinkle

Just another moan about Animal Friends. Our dog was insured with them for two years. He had an irritated area on his foreleg (it was after a long walk through some long grass - we think something bit him). He gnawed on it so badly overnight that he made a mess of himself and we had to take him to the vets for treatment the next day. We were lucky I suppose that it was a fairly minor cost of £350 for meds over a few months until his wound healed.

We tried to claim on the insurance policy and were refused on the basis that as he had a small patch of dry skin on his rear end 3 years previously (we sought advice from our vet about ointments etc. that would be best to use - they told us to give him half a piriton!) then that made it a pre-existing skin condition. We cancelled the policy with immediate effect and started putting the £10 per month extra into our savings after that.

Utterly pointless company.

sheramber

A pre existing condition is anything that you have consulted your vet about, whether you get any treatment or not.

Any symptom, condition or illness that is the same as or can be related to any previous occurrence is considered a pre existing condition.

This only applies if your animal has had any vet visits before you take out the insurance. This is to prevent someone taking out insurance once they know something has occurred so that they can claim for it in future.

If you are changing insurance or taking it out after your pet has had any vet visits you can ask your vet for a copy of the medical record and forward it to the insurance company and ask what will be excluded in future.

Most companies operate this way.

Some will include a pre existing condition after a set time- normally 2 years- without any recurrence or treatment , depending on the condition.

Bought by Many have a new policy which may cover pre existing conditions if you pet is under 2 years old when you take it out. I have no experience of this policy.

Animal friends do tend to find any possible way to reject a claim.

Watchdog has already done a programme about them.

Jules156.

Hi all

Could any of you please tell me if you are still having trouble with animal friends I will gladly give you my email address so you can email me directly with your horror stories. My cat passed away 6 weeks ago and to say that I have gone through hell on earth with animal Friends is the understatement of the century! I am so disgusted it is unreal. I have been through the complaints procedure which they don’t take seriously at all so the next step is ombudsman it it was until they pushed me a bit too far. After my cat passed away I have cancelled the policies for my two younger cats. Animal Friends has no rush at all with my complaint or with my claim yet they have hounded me non stop for money for the other two policies that I cancelled. When I walked in last night to a letter demanding money for the policy for my cat that has passed away I hit the roof!! I had animal friends on the phone for 1 hour 30 mins and I have told them I will deal with them and if it comes to it they will be out of business completely!!! I have no problem with taking legal action and I have advised I will leave no stone unturned and they have given me all the evidence and I need and they just do not stop causing upset and distress but I will stop them!!! I have advised I will be going viral across Facebook and across the internet with the disgusting vile way that I have been treated!!! I intend to set up a Facebook page of how badly animal friends treat people and I have told them I will put it viral around the world. I am told that my complaint has been escalated to a managing director as I have told them I will deal with this and I won’t stop as I will be doing it for all the animal lovers out there. I have just been reading these reviews and they are terrible!! I will be telling the managing director all about this but if I set up a Facebook page I need all these reviews on there to show just how bad animal friends really is. There is no way on this planet that they are receiving awards the customer service is disgusting. Please all give me feedback if you will add to a Facebook page as animal friends needs sorting out and taking to task for once and for all for our beloved pets. I will put reviews anywhere I possibly can as to just how bad they are please all give me your thoughts and feedback as we need to stand up for our animals and this firm shouldn’t be operating

Vegastare

All of the above threads are horrifying me....I have had this company since my dog 7mths old no claims through the years, now my old darling boy is truly unwell and as I sit waiting for results, I keep thinking well at least I will be able to claim some thing back and give him the care he needs, which I will with or without this insurance.
Even before he turned (think it was 8 or 10) they sent letter stating because of age his excess would be 20% then 35% off any claim.
Because he has had lifetime cover and the odd illness has just be over his excess I have never claimed, so as to keep premiums down.
I will not let him have invasive procedures at his age, but can you advise me if these results look bad do I notify them, have paid over £150+ in last week on test but no outcome yet.
Sorry if this is a little of track with this thread but my head is so mixed up with all that is going on with my lad.

sheramber

Is the cover per condition or per year?
if per year then any claim would be split to what was before the year end and what was after. A separate excess is payable on both claims.

What does your policy document say about notifying them of a claim? I know Petplan say notify within 12 months but some policies say within thirty days.

Freddykrueger69

One of our cats died just before Xmas. Just a horrible company full stop - not interested in anything other than your premiums.

Vegastare

sheramber wrote: »

Is the cover per condition or per year?
if per year then any claim would be split to what was before the year end and what was after. A separate excess is payable on both claims.

What does your policy document say about notifying them of a claim? I know Petplan say notify within 12 months but some policies say within thirty days.

It is per year - treatment has not commenced only investigation, bloods and next is biospy, it is not a good outcome and they don't have the severity yet and my darling boys age is against surgery.