Animal Friends referral: get a £40 voucher when you insure your pet
An Animal Friends referral is one of the simplest ways to add real value to a pet insurance purchase you were probably going to make anyway. Animal Friends runs its refer-a-friend scheme through the Mention Me platform, and it rewards both sides: the person who shares the link and the friend who buys a new policy each receive a £40 voucher, redeemable against a wide choice of well-known retailers, once the new policy has been live and paid up for 60 days.
Animal Friends is the UK's best-known charity-linked pet insurer, donating a share of every policy sold to animal welfare causes, and it insures cats, dogs and horses across four cover levels from accident-only up to lifetime cover. Because premiums are billed annually or monthly and renewed every year, a working referral link is genuinely reusable — not just a one-off sign-up bonus.
This page sets out exactly how the current Animal Friends referral offer works, what a new customer needs to do to qualify, and what to expect from Animal Friends cover once the voucher has landed.
What you get: A £40 voucher, redeemable with a range of partner retailers, when you take out a new Animal Friends Pet Insurance policy through a referral link.
Referral link: Use the Animal Friends referral link on this page, which runs through Mention Me. If prompted at checkout instead, click "Been referred by a friend?" and enter the referrer's name.
Qualifying purchase: A brand-new policy bought direct from Animal Friends (not via a comparison site) on any cover level except Accident Only.
Activation: Click the referral link before getting a quote, then buy and keep the policy active for 60 days with premiums up to date.
Timing: Allow up to 14 days after the 60-day qualifying period for the reward fulfilment email. Vouchers are valid for 3 months from the date they're issued.
Verified against: Animal Friends' official refer-a-friend page and Mention Me offer terms, current as of the offer's most recent published terms revision.
Animal Friends referral offer at a glance
| Detail | What applies |
|---|---|
| New customer reward | £40 voucher, choice of partner retailers |
| Referrer reward | £40 voucher per successful referral (not the focus of this page) |
| Referral code | No fixed promo code — referral is link-based, or enter the referrer's name at checkout |
| Referral link | Use the Animal Friends referral link provided on this page |
| Excluded cover | Accident Only policies do not qualify |
| Qualifying period | Policy must stay live and paid up for 60 days |
| Reward delivery | Up to 14 days after the 60-day qualifying period ends |
| Voucher validity | 3 months from the date it is issued |
| Comparison-site rule | Quotes or purchases via aggregators (e.g. GoCompare, MoneySupermarket) within 30 days void eligibility |
| Eligibility | UK resident, aged 18+, first-time Animal Friends customer |
How to activate the Animal Friends referral offer
- Open the Animal Friends referral link on this page before you do anything else — don't get a quote first on the main site or via a comparison site, as that can strip the referral tracking.
- If the link takes you straight through, follow it to get your quote. If you land on the standard Animal Friends site instead, look for "Been referred by a friend?" at checkout and enter the referrer's name there.
- Get a quote for your cat, dog or horse and choose any cover level except Accident Only — Time-Limited, Maximum Benefit and Lifetime cover all qualify.
- Complete the purchase directly with Animal Friends and set up your first payment, whether monthly or annual.
- Keep the policy active and premiums up to date for 60 days from the start date — this is the qualifying window for both sides of the referral.
- Watch your email (including spam/promotions folders) for the reward fulfilment message from Mention Me, which should arrive within roughly 14 days of the 60-day mark.
- Redeem the £40 voucher against one of the listed partner retailers within 3 months of it being issued, since unclaimed vouchers are not reissued.
Animal Friends Pet Insurance: full platform review
Animal Friends Insurance Services Limited is a Wiltshire-based specialist pet insurer, founded in 1998, best known in the UK market for combining conventional pet insurance with a charitable donation model. It insures dogs, cats and horses, is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and holds strong customer review scores on Trustpilot built on tens of thousands of verified reviews.
Products and cover levels
Animal Friends sells a tiered range of policies rather than a single product, so the right choice depends heavily on the pet's age and health history.
- Accident Only: The cheapest tier, covering vet fees from accidents and injuries only. It does not cover illness, and it is the one cover type explicitly excluded from the referral scheme.
- Time-Limited: Covers each new condition for a fixed period (commonly 12 months from the first symptom) up to a set monetary limit, after which that condition becomes permanently excluded.
- Maximum Benefit: Provides a fixed pot of money per condition with no time limit attached, but once that pot is used up for a condition it is not replenished.
- Lifetime: The most comprehensive tier. The annual vet fee limit resets each year at renewal, so ongoing or chronic conditions such as arthritis or diabetes remain covered year after year as long as the policy is renewed without a break.
All three qualifying tiers (Time-Limited, Maximum Benefit and Lifetime) count towards the referral reward — only Accident Only is excluded.
Onboarding and getting a quote
Quotes are obtained online for cats, dogs and horses through dedicated quote journeys, with pet details, breed, age and postcode used to price the policy. The process is quick and designed to be completed in one sitting, which matters for referral tracking: starting a quote, leaving, and coming back later via a different route can break the link between the referral and the eventual sale.
Pricing, fees and payment
Premiums can be paid monthly or annually. Monthly payers need at least three premiums paid within the 60-day referral qualifying window; annual payers simply need to avoid cancelling within that window. As with any UK pet insurer, premiums typically rise with the pet's age and with claims history, so it's worth budgeting for increases at renewal rather than assuming the first-year price holds indefinitely.
Claims and vet fee handling
Policyholders can submit claims online through the Animal Friends customer hub, with the insurer settling either directly with participating vet practices or by reimbursing the policyholder, depending on the practice's own arrangements. Claims history and the annual vet fee limit chosen at purchase both affect what's paid out on larger or ongoing treatments.
Rewards and referral mechanics
The referral programme itself sits on top of the insurance product and is administered by Mention Me rather than Animal Friends directly, so confirmation emails about the reward typically come from Mention Me. Rewards are cumulative for referrers (multiple successful referrals earn multiple vouchers, subject to caps), but each new customer can only ever receive one referral voucher, regardless of how many policies they buy.
Support
Customer service is handled through the Animal Friends contact centre and online account hub, with a dedicated FAQ section covering policy management, claims and referral queries. Referral-specific questions (missing vouchers, tracking issues) are best directed to Mention Me support since they administer the reward technology.
Security and eligibility
Animal Friends is authorised and regulated in the UK, and the referral scheme itself is restricted to UK residents aged 18 or over. Animal Friends reserves the right to decline referrals made through platforms set up purely to game the scheme, and to withdraw or vary the offer at any time — though rewards already earned before any change are honoured.
Limitations to be aware of
- The voucher only pays out once the policy has been live and paid up for a full 60 days, so it is not an instant reward.
- Buying via a price comparison site — even if you later switch to the direct Animal Friends site within 30 days — will usually still be tracked as an aggregator sale and will not qualify.
- Accident Only policies, while cheaper, don't qualify for the referral reward at all.
- There's a cap on how many referral rewards one referrer can earn in a rolling 24-hour or 12-month period, which matters mainly for anyone referring at scale rather than a single friend.
Practical scenarios
- Scenario — new puppy owner: Someone insuring a new puppy for the first time uses the referral link, chooses Lifetime cover for long-term protection against chronic conditions, and qualifies for the £40 voucher once the policy has run for 60 days.
- Scenario — switching from a comparison site quote: A pet owner who got a quote via a comparison site a fortnight ago should be aware that buying direct now may still be tracked as an aggregator sale, so they may not qualify for the referral reward even going direct.
- Scenario — budget-conscious older cat owner: An owner insuring an older cat who opts for Accident Only cover to keep premiums down should know this specific tier is excluded from the referral scheme, even though the insurer itself is the same.
- Scenario — monthly payer: Someone paying monthly needs at least three premiums paid and the policy still active at the 60-day mark to trigger the reward — missing a payment in that window can affect eligibility.
Comparing Animal Friends cover levels
| Cover level | Best suited to | Referral eligible? |
|---|---|---|
| Accident Only | Tight budgets, older pets, injury-only protection | No |
| Time-Limited | Younger, generally healthy pets; one-off illnesses/injuries | Yes |
| Maximum Benefit | Owners wanting no time cap on treatment, aware pots don't reset | Yes |
| Lifetime | Pets likely to develop ongoing/chronic conditions; long-term peace of mind | Yes |
Who this offer suits best
- First-time pet owners who are getting insurance sorted anyway and want a straightforward £40 voucher for using a referral link rather than going direct.
- Owners choosing Lifetime or Maximum Benefit cover, since these tiers both qualify and tend to suit pets most likely to need ongoing treatment as they age.
- Anyone who hasn't already shopped via a comparison site in the last 30 days, since that history can block eligibility even on a fresh, direct purchase.
- People happy to wait roughly 10 weeks for the reward, since the 60-day qualifying period plus fulfilment time means this is not an instant perk.
Referral FAQs
What is the current Animal Friends referral reward?
New customers referred to Animal Friends Pet Insurance currently receive a £40 voucher, redeemable with a choice of partner retailers, once their new policy has been active and paid up for 60 days.
How do I use the Animal Friends referral link?
Click through the referral link before starting your quote, or if you're already at checkout, use the "Been referred by a friend?" option and enter the referrer's name.
Does Accident Only cover qualify for the referral reward?
No. Accident Only policies are explicitly excluded from the Refer a Friend scheme — you need Time-Limited, Maximum Benefit or Lifetime cover to qualify.
How long does it take to get the voucher?
Your policy needs to be live and paid up for 60 days from its start date, and then Animal Friends and Mention Me allow up to a further 14 days to send the reward fulfilment email.
Can I use the referral offer if I already got a quote via a comparison site?
It's risky. If you got a pet insurance quote via an aggregator or comparison site within the last 30 days, any subsequent direct purchase is often still tracked as coming from that channel, which can make you ineligible.
Is there a limit on how many referral rewards I can earn?
Yes, for referrers: no more than 3 rewards in any 24-hour period, and no more than 12 in any rolling 12-month period. Referred friends can only ever receive one voucher, regardless of how many policies they hold.
What happens if my voucher email goes missing?
Vouchers are valid for 3 months from the date they're issued, and Animal Friends states it will not replace a reward that isn't claimed within that window or that goes astray in a spam filter — so it's worth checking your inbox regularly after the 60-day mark.
Can existing Animal Friends policyholders use the referral scheme?
The reward is for genuinely new, first-time Animal Friends customers. Existing policyholders renewing, or switching between Animal Friends products, do not count as a new Referred Friend.
Verdict
If you're already planning to insure a cat, dog or horse with Animal Friends, using the referral link on this page is a straightforward way to add a £40 voucher to the deal for a couple of extra minutes of effort. The steps are clear, the 60-day qualifying window is standard for this type of insurance referral, and the only real catch is remembering to click through the link first and to avoid comparison sites in the run-up to buying. Choose your cover level on its merits — Lifetime cover is worth the extra premium for most young pets — and treat the referral voucher as a welcome bonus on top of a policy you'd have bought anyway.
