Animal Friends Pet Insurance Discussion

MSE_Ben_T

Hi,

This is a feedback thread on pet insurance provider:

Animal Friends

Please share your experience with other MoneySavers. Click reply to take part:

• Have you experienced problems?
• How quick did they help?
• Happy with the overall service/premium?

The feedback comes as part of the Cheap Pet Insurance guide.

Thank you,

MSE Ben

Sleazy

We had an Animal Friends policy for our cat since he was 5 weeks old (He's 14 now). Many years ago I put in a small claim which was settled promptly after paying the excess.  A few months ago, we were told that the policy we had was being discontinued as the smaller premium policies "weren't worth it".  They offered me another policy at six or seven times the previous monthly cost which I declined. 

Thank you Animal Friends, after 13 years our cat no longer has any insurance, and I can't afford £70 or £80 pounds per month for a new policy.

prettyandfluffy

We had a bad experience with Animal Friends some years ago which put us off taking out insurance on our other pets.  Our cat was unwell and underwent a series of tests at the Veterinary Hospital, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and was subsequently euthanised.  Our claim, under the then highest level of cover provided by AFI, was rejected because they said he had a pre-existing medical condition - it turned out they were citing the fact he was overweight.  Our vet supported our claim and wrote to AFI stating that the cat's weight could not have been a contributory factor in the cancer but AFI wouldn't budge.  At no stage of the proposal or renewals of the policy were we ever asked about the cat's weight. 

AaronEP

We've used Animal Friends for a number of years for our dog. They have been very good. Always helpful on the phone. And always paid any claims promptly and without any issues. We needed to use their vet advice helpline once & it was very helpful. Premiums seemed competitive. They did increase quite a bit as the dog got older, but we chose to reduce the level of cover in order to keep the price down.

msmoneysaver23

Very, very disappointed with Animal Friends. I've been with them 10 years, but leaving this year even though I'll have to pay for regular meds for my pet.  They constantly try and wriggle out of claims, which after a lot of to and fro end up being reinstated with the help of my vet.   Were horrible to deal with at the death of one of my cats.  They now have nearly tripled my yearly cost to well over £2K!  I can only bring costs down by lowering the amount claimable per year, and raising the excess, but it's still double last year's fee, which in turn was double the year before.  Signed: muggins

Moonlit

I’ve suddenly realised something about the Animal Friends Policy that I have had for 6 years and which may be common to all pet insurance policies.  Our Dog Fraser has recently been Ill requiring many tests which took the cost over the annual condition limit.  AF paid up to the limit and we paid the rest.  To be sure all was correct I checked the annual condition limit in my Policy which I had printed in 2018.  I then checked the current Policy online to find that the annual condition limit was the same - 6 years later.  In that period my premiums have increased relentlessly, but not unreasonably.  However, I now wonder why as the liability for AF is decreasing.  Had Fraser had his recent issue in 2018 the cost would have been below this limit, now it cost me around £500 on top of the annual condition limit, and I also pay more than £400 additional per year.  I wonder how AF, or any similar Company, justify increasing costs but retain liability limits at the level when the policy started.  Can anyone help me understand how this is acceptable.  Many thanks.