Face to Face: Jen Wormleighton from Animal Friends

Q. Hi Jen, could you tell us about Animal Friends and its unique approach?

A. To support our customers and vet practices, we operate a dedicated online claim platform, Pawtal, which allows vets to process claims on behalf of their clients, making it quicker to pay claims.

This platform is supported by a skilled team of claims experts, ensuring a knowledgeable and seamless experience.

At our core, Animal Friends is working with experts around the world to help drive positive change for animal welfare and conservation under the vision of creating a better life for every animal.

To date, we’ve donated more than £8.5 million to more than 800 animal welfare charities and conservancies at home and abroad.

Q. What has Animal Friends been doing to support vet practices?

A. We’re passionate about continuing to meet the evolving needs of practices and in our recent survey, 97% of veterinary professionals told us they like our Pawtal platform.

Pawtal provides a one-hour pre-authorisation process for large claims, helping reduce waiting times and uncertainty of repayment, allowing vets to provide care as quickly as possible.

We process 92% of online claims within five working days, giving practices greater confidence in cash flow, and as we pay vets directly, clients are empowered to focus on giving their pet the care it needs.

Q. Could you share some of the headline insights from your recent vet survey?

A. Two key themes came out of the survey last year, which we’ve actively worked on to improve our services to the industry: reducing the level of admin burden and requests from clients for alternative payment options.

More than 50% of respondents said that the level of admin burden impacted their well-being, and 90% of practices stated that they have been asked by clients for payment options to spread the cost of their bill, but only about a third are able to offer any kind of repayment scheme.

Additional insights showed 52% of practices are regularly asked to discount the cost of treatment and for about 30% of practices, a client’s financial difficulties have resulted in clinical advice not being properly followed by the pet owner.

Q. How have you used these insights to help vet practices?

A. To help support the 90% of vet practices that are facing a challenge with payment option requests, a new feature was launched on Pawtal in February 2024 to empower vets to discuss monthly payment options with their clients, regardless of whether they have insurance.

The new feature could benefit registered vet practices as it can help reduce unpaid bills by providing eligible clients with alternative payment options, as well as freeing up time to focus more on supporting the owner and the pet – not on the paperwork and admin.

Q. How does the payment feature work?

A. Once a vet practice has been registered for the feature, they are able to discuss additional payment options with their clients and initiate an application online via Pawtal.

Eligible clients can access interest-free payment options with a third-party lender to spread the cost of treatment (up to £2,000), with optional repayment terms of 3, 6, 8, 9 or 10 months.

All successful client applications are paid directly by the third-party provider to the vet practice within 10 working days. The feature also provides practices with a dashboard so they can track the status of each application.

We all know that pets are part of the family, and we want to support the great work vets do in treating animals in every way that we can.

For more information on the payment feature, email [email protected]

Please note that acceptance on to the payment scheme is decided by the third-party lender based on its eligibility criteria.