Pet loss and bereavement
Saying goodbye to your best friend can be a difficult time, as our pets have such a big impact on our lives.
Here’s some information, which may help you if your pet has passed away.
Find someone to talk to
The loss of a pet can be difficult to deal with. You may be struggling to cope with a range of emotions or need advice to help you make the best decisions for your pet and your family. Here are some resources you may find useful if you’d like to speak to someone who understands what you are going through.
Bereavement support
Don’t hesitate to call the Blue Cross Pet Bereavement Support Service on 0800 096 6606. The conversation is completely confidential, and you can phone up just once or as many times as you like. If you’re not quite ready to talk, or you find it easier to write, you can get in touch using their confidential online form, or through their webchat.
The Blue Cross Pet Bereavement Support Service will be able to help you every day from 8.30am – 8.30pm.
Cat loss support
Cats Protection has a confidential phone line called Paws to Listen for cat owners suffering grief or bereavement. They also have an email support service and can be contacted on this email address pawstolisten@cats.org.uk
You can contact them on 0800 024 9494.
Ways to support a friend after losing a pet
Here are some ways to help your friend get through a tough time.
Coping with the loss of a pet
Dealing with the loss of a pet can be traumatic - guest author Layla Beakhouse shares techniques that help with the grieving process.
How to help your children deal with the loss of a pet
It’s never easy to lose a pet, here's how to help children deal with losing their best friend.
Cancelling your policy
We appreciate that this is a difficult time and therefore we can cancel your policy via Live chat, email info@animalfriends.co.uk or by calling our friendly UK team on 0344 557 0300.
The cancellation will not affect the review of any claim you are intending to submit, providing that the premium for the treatment period has been paid. All this will do is stop any future payments from being debited.
If your pet dies or is put to sleep and you would like to make a claim
If your pet dies or is put to sleep, we may be able to cover some of what you paid for them. The amount we’ll pay depends on how they died, how old they were when they died and how much you paid for them.
We realise that your pet dying can be a difficult time, so we’ll try to handle your claim as fast as possible. To help us do this, please tell us as soon as possible if your pet dies.
When your pet dies, we’ll cover a percentage of the price you paid for them up to the amount shown in your schedule. If you have a dog over 8 years and 1 day, or a cat over 10 years and 1 day, we’ll only cover deaths as a result of accidents. There is no cover if your pet dies or is put to sleep if you have an Accident Only policy.
If you have a Gold or Platinum policy and you have a dog over 9 years, or a cat over 11 years, we’ll only cover deaths as a result of accidents. There is no cover if your pet dies or is put to sleep, if you have a Silver policy.
If you need to make a claim, we might need to ask you to send us some more information. This might include details about how your pet died or copies of a pedigree certificate (if applicable) or the receipt to show how much you paid for your pet.
- Print off a claim form (or ask us to send you a form in the post)
- Complete the claim form. Ensure the form is signed by the policyholder and attach any supporting documentation requested in the claim form.
- Send us the claim form. You can email us the claim form and documents or send them to us by post.
Please send all completed forms to claimform@animalfriends.co.uk or by post to: Animal Friends Insurance Ltd, Number 1 The Crescent, Sunrise Way, Amesbury, Wiltshire, SP4 7QA.
We will aim to process your claim within 5-7 working days. You can discuss your claim by calling us on 0344 557 0300 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.