Photo illustration of a dog and a cat

Our policies

Find helpful information about what policies we have and how they work.

The horse insurance offered by Animal Friends does not include any optional benefits. The policy will include cover for the following:
 
Section A: Vet fees
Section B: If your horse dies
Section C: If your horse injures someone or damages their property
 
For details of cover and more information please see the Policy Booklet.

Puppies and kittens must be at least 4 weeks old.

You can continue to submit claims for incidents that happened before the date your Rider policy ended.
 

We do not require a vetting certificate to take out the policy.

What is a pre-existing condition?

Pre-existing conditions aren't covered by this policy. We consider a condition to be pre-existing if it was first noticed before your policy start date or within the waiting period, whether they needed treatment previously or not.
 
If you noticed something was wrong with your pet or horse before you took out the policy, it could be a sign of a pre-existing condition. This is true even if you decided not to take them to the vet. For example, if your dog was limping before the policy started, and your vet later confirmed this was due to arthritis, we’d consider this to be a pre-existing condition.
 
Remember, there is a waiting period at the start of this policy. The waiting period is 14 days for illness and two days for accidents. If a condition is first noticed or an accident happens in the waiting period, these will be considered to be pre-existing conditions as well.
 
Any injuries caused by accident or illnesses your pet had before you took out this policy will also be considered pre-existing conditions. This includes any complications or conditions that later appear because of the illness or accident.
 
For more information about how we apply exclusions please read our Policy Booklets thoroughly. These can be found under our products pages.
 

You can get a quote online by completing some questions about you and your pet or horse.

Get a quote now.

Pet policies

If you have a Lifetime £10,000 or Lifetime £18,000 policy, we’ll pay for dental illness or accident up to £3,000.

If you have a Lifetime Prestige policy or a Lifetime £5,000 policy, we’ll pay to have your pet’s teeth removed, or their gums repaired, if they’re damaged in an accident. We don’t cover any other dental or gum treatments or conditions, including epulis.

We’ll only cover dental illness or accident claims on these policies if your pet had a dental exam within a year of the injury or illness and you followed the vet’s advice.

If you have any other policy, we don’t cover any dental or gum treatments or conditions at all. This includes the cost of any tests that lead to a dental or gum problem being diagnosed.

This benefit is different for customers who have renewed with us from Aviva. 

Horse Policies
 
Dental treatment is included on our Horse Time Limited £3,000, £5,000 and £7,000 policies.
We’ll only cover dental illness or accident claims on these policies if your horse had a dental exam within a year of the injury or illness and you followed the vet’s advice. There is a set amount that can be claimed for dental treatment and this counts towards the overall vet fee cover amount.

A full detailed list of all activities that are covered is available in Appendix A of the Horse Time Limited Policy Booklet. 

Unfortunately, there are some breeds that we do not cover. These include all breeds banned by the Government and any dog or cat crossed with these breeds. There are also certain other breeds we do not cover including dogs and cats crossed with these breeds. Further details can be found below.

The following lists include the cat and dog breeds that we do not insure:

  • Aladseer
  • Asian Leopard Cat
  • Chausie
  • Keetso

  • Akita
  • American Bandogge / Bandogge Mastiff
  • American Bully
  • American Foxhound
  • American/Irish Staffordshire Bull Terriers
  • Anatolian Karabash
  • Anatolian Shepherd Dog
  • Anglican Bulldogge
  • Australian Dingo
  • Braque du Bourbonnais
  • Brazilian Dogo
  • Bucovina Shepherd Dog
  • Bully Kutta
  • Canary Dogs / Perro de Presa Canario / Presa Canarios
  • Cane Corsos
  • Caucasian Shepherd Dog / Caucasian
  • Ovcharka
  • Chinese Red Dog
  • Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs / Sarlooswolfhounds / Wolf Hybrids
  • Dogo Argentino / Argentine Dogo / Argentinian Mastiff
  • Fila Brasileiro / Cao Fila / Saint Miguel Cattle Dog / Azores Cattle Dog / Brazilian Mastiff
  • Fox hound / Foxhound
  • French Gun Dog
  • Gonchaya Ruskaya
  • Greek Harehound
  • Greek Shepherd / Greek sheepdog / Hellenikos Poimenikos
  • Istrian Hound
  • Japanese Tosa / Tosa Inus
  • Korean Jindo
  • Laizhou Hong
  • Pit Bull Terrier
  • Racing Greyhounds
  • Romanian Raven Shepherd Dog
  • Sabueso Español
  • Thai Ridgeback
  • Turkish Kangal

Banned breeds and dogs crossed with banned breeds.

We do not cover any dog that is:

  • Banned in Great Britain, as defined in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 or any breed crossed with these dogs. These currently are:
    • Pit Bull Terrier
    • Japanese Tosa/Tosa Inus
    • Dogo Argentino/Argentine Dogo/Argentine Mastiff
    • Fila Brasileiro.
  • From 1 February 2024, this includes XL Bully in England and Wales. Please note that the American Bully, XL Bully and Pocket Bully breeds (including any breeds crossed with these dogs) are excluded from cover with Animal Friends.

If we receive veterinary evidence that your pet has been crossed or mixed with any of the banned breeds listed above, we will need to cancel your policy. This is true, even if you didn’t know your pet was crossed or mixed with a banned breed.

We’ll ask you to provide us with a DNA test result for your pet. You are responsible for any costs for the DNA test. If the DNA test shows that your dog is mixed with any dog types listed on the Dangerous Dogs Act, we’ll void your policy and give you back any premiums you’ve paid, minus any amount we’ve paid for your claims. We’ll do this no matter what percentage of the banned breed your dog’s DNA test results show.

What do I do if I own, or think I own, an American Bully XL or a dog crossed with an American Bully XL?

On 31 October 2023, the Government announced that the American Bully XL, also known as the XL Bully, type dog has been added to the banned breeds list in England and Wales.

From 1 February 2024, it will become illegal to own an American Bully XL dog unless your dog has a Certificate of Exemption. If you own or think you may own an American Bully XL, please visit the Government website for more information: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prepare-for-the-ban-on-xl-bully-dogs.

If you know that your dog is an American Bully XL

We won't be able to continue cover for your dog from 1 February 2024. Please get in touch with us as soon as possible to cancel your policy.

If your dog is crossed with an American Bully XL

You will need to get a DNA test for your dog and send us the results to review and discuss with a veterinary expert before we decide whether we can continue to provide vet fee cover. Please note, that even if we are able to continue cover for vet fees, we will not be able to provide cover for Public Liability. As this is a Government requirement you will need to arrange this with another insurance provider to meet the requirement of the Certificate of Exemption.   

After 1 February 2024, if Animal Friends discover your dog is an American Bully XL or crossed with an American Bully XL your policy will be voided and we will give you back any premiums you’ve paid in this policy year, minus any amount we may have paid for any claims.

What happens if we find out your pet is crossed or mixed with an excluded breed?

If we receive veterinary evidence that your pet has been crossed or mixed with any of the excluded breeds listed above, we may need to cancel your policy. This is true, even if you didn’t know your pet was crossed or mixed with an excluded breed.

We’ll ask you to provide us with a DNA test result for your pet and you are responsible for any costs for the DNA test. We won’t be able to review your claim, or any future claims, until we receive the results of the DNA test.

If your pet’s DNA test results show they have 50% or less of an excluded breed, we’ll continue covering your pet. If your pet’s DNA test results show they have more than 50% of an excluded breed, we’ll void your policy and give you back any premiums you’ve paid. If we’ve already paid a claim in this policy year, we’ll continue cover for the remainder of the policy year – but we won’t renew your policy.

Please see your Policy Booklet for more information. 

We won’t cover horses younger than 12 months or older than 40 years of age.
We don’t cover horses outside of the UK.
We won’t cover horses that have been previously declared or freeze marked as ‘loss of use’.
We also won’t cover horses used in any trade or business - for example, working liveries.
We don’t cover stallions.
We don’t cover blind horses.
We also don’t cover any horses that suffer from epilepsy or narcolepsy.

We have four different policy types for dogs and cats.

Our Accident Only policies provide cover for injuries sustained in an accidents.

Our Time Limited, Max Benefit and Lifetime policies cover injuries, illnesses and conditions, as well as having other benefits available such as cover for if your pet goes missing or is stolen (if you paid for them) or if your pet injures someone or damages their property.

These policies also have different levels of cover.

For dogs find out more about our Accident Only, Time Limited, Max Benefit and Lifetime policies.

For cats find out more about our Accident Only, Time Limited, Max Benefit and Lifetime policies.

We use a number of things to work out your price each year. These include the age of the pet or horse, where you live, and the cost of vet fees. When we look at all these things together, it does mean that your price might go up, even if you haven't made a claim. 

As your pet or horse gets older, it is more likely that they may get ill and the cost of treating them will increase. This means that the price for many policies is likely to increase, whether you have claimed or not. 

Our renewal prices are based on the information we have about your pet or horse, as well as the information we have about pets or horses of a similar age and breed. We use data from claims we receive to estimate how likely it is that you will need to claim, so if we see that there is a rise in claims for a particular condition for your pet’s or horse’s breed, then your premium is likely to increase. 

There are ongoing improvements in the treatments that vets provide which means the fees they charge also increase. The average fees vets charge in your area means that where you live can also affect your renewal price, so if you move house, it could mean that your price is increased or decreased. 

You should consider carefully if this cover is right for you today and in the future based on this information and your ability to afford ongoing insurance for your pet or horse. 

We can continue to cover horses up to the age of 40 years. You can take out cover at any age. Cover is provided for accidents and illness, but there is no cover for pre-existing conditions.

You can insure a horse aged between 12 months and 40 years of age.

Standard Horse
 
You can continue to submit claims for accidents and illnesses that happened before the date your Standard Horse policy ended.
 
Mature Horse
 
You can continue to submit claims for accidents that happened before the date your Mature Horse policy ended.

We know that new puppies and kittens are always exciting and therefore you may decide that you want to breed from your pet. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide cover for costs related to breeding or provide cover for pets that are used for this purpose, regardless if you are a registered breeder or not.

We also understand that accidents happen and therefore kindly ask that you contact us at your earliest convenience as this may affect your policy.

General insurance products are taxed by the government. The tax is known as Insurance Premium Tax and pet insurance is taxed at the standard rate of 12% as of June 2017.

You don’t have to pay VAT on insurance.

No, our horse insurance does not cover injury to Riders.

Each year our insurance policies are annually reviewed by our Underwriters and our pricing team.
 
For this they consider many factors such as the age and breed of the pet or horse, the risks of recurring or chronic conditions associated with specific breeds, vet fees and the risk area that the pet lives in, as well as any claims history.

We don’t offer discounted multi-pet or horse cover because we do everything we can to make sure you get the best price. By not offering deals or discounts we can keep our prices lower for everyone, no matter how big or small your animal family is.

We offer cover for dogs, cats and horses.
 
Some exclusions may apply based on your pet or horse's breed, behaviour and lifestyle, so it's important to check our excluded breeds list and general exclusions.
 
Please note that we will not cover mixed breeds where they are known to be a cross of any of our excluded breeds.
If you want to change your level of cover, you can do this in your online account  or by calling us on 0344 557 0300, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
 
Increasing your level of cover 
You can increase your level of cover at renewal.
 
If your pet already has a condition, and you change to a policy with a higher limit, we’ll cover valid claims for this condition at your previous lower limit. This is true even if you haven’t yet made a claim or if you noticed something was wrong but your pet hasn't yet been to the vet.
 
You’ll be able to make claims at the higher limit for a new condition after 14 days and for new accidents after two days. You’ll still be able to make claims for new and existing conditions, within this 14-day period, but at your current lower limit. You’ll also be able to make claims for new and existing accidents, within the two-day period, but also at your current lower limit.
 
Decreasing your level of cover 
You can decrease your level of cover at any time.
 
If you change to a policy with a lower limit, cover for new conditions and accidents will start straight away. Your new policy limit will apply to all new and existing claims.
We can cover horses on Time Limited policies with vet fee limits of either £3,000, £5,000 or £7,000.

Horses can be covered between the ages of 12 months and 40 years.
Cover is for horses within the UK.
Cover is suitable for someone who owns or loans their horse.
The policy includes cover for the following:

  • Vet Fees
  • If your horse dies
  • If your horse injures someone or damages their property

The policy type and excess you select will affect the price you are given. As an existing Animal Friends customer, we may have more accurate and up-to-date information on you, your pet, or your horse, so it is possible that what you’ve seen is not an identical policy. Please make sure that when making any comparisons you take these details into consideration. 

Pre-existing conditions aren't covered by this policy. We consider a condition to be pre-existing if it was first noticed before your policy start date or within the waiting period, whether they needed treatment previously or not. These conditions will be excluded from cover.

We'll also exclude any conditions or accidents that are claimed for on our Time Limited policies and Max Benefit policies once the benefit limit has been reached. 

Yes - Just like people, as your pet ages the chances of them needing medical treatment increases, meaning you’re more likely to claim on your policy. This means that your premiums may increase as your pet ages. To help us keep premiums as low as possible, when your dog turns 8 years of age, or your cat turns 10 years of age, a co-payment will apply to your policy from your next renewal date.

The co-payment is 20% and is paid by you each time you make a claim in addition to your excess. Full details can be found in Your Schedule and in your online account.

Additionally, for older pets, you may still be able to claim under Section B: If my pet dies or is put to sleep, if they pass away due to an accident.