My wrong move with Bishop's

When I moved, I took insurance from the remover, Bishop's Move. I had left my filing cabinet unlocked with the keys in the lock. When it arrived the cabinet was locked and the keys lost. The insurance schedule was inside.

I had the covering letter, which emphasised that Bishop's should be told of a claim in writing within seven days. So I immediately arranged for a locksmith to break open the cabinet and sent the bill to Bishop's to meet the deadline. Bishop's refused to pay, saying I should have obtained written consent before the work was done.
HQ, Linlithgow Bridge

Why oh why, asks Bishop's, did you not phone? The keys might have been taped to the back of the cabinet. Perhaps no one at the removal firm understands the trauma of moving day.

If you had checked beforehand, Bishop's would have recommended a firm on its list and paid up. It refused because it believed your locksmith overcharged you. It has now agreed, as a goodwill gesture, to pay what it considers a reasonable price for the job - half of your £94 bill.

Storm work snag: Roofless tactics

I notified my insurer, London & Edinburgh, on 5 November of storm damage to my conservatory roof. A contractor visited four times with different workmen to measure up for the work, and the assessor approved the estimates. Authority was given to commence it.

Yet eight months later, no work has started and the damage and potential costs are escalating. No one appears interested.
JB, Dover

London & Edinburgh says it accepted liability quite quickly but the delays arose because you wanted to replace the corrugated plastic roof with polycarbonate sheeting, which has proved difficult to obtain and costs twice as much. The insurer says it was unaware of the problem until five months after you claimed, which lost a lot of time. The contractors say there are still problems finding the polycarbonate.

But now London & Edinburgh has agreed to pay £5,500, which is £2,550 for a plastic roof and £2,950 compensation for the delays, which will meet the cost of polycarbonate. It is talking to the contractor and adjuster to speed up repairs.

Changing banks: Poor welcome

I opened a Halifax current account in January, but by May nothing had been sorted out. On 19 June, Halifax said I could close my old Abbey National account but over the next five days, my salary went to Abbey National, my mortgage was not paid and one direct debit was still with my old bank.
HT, Croydon

Our mistake, admits Halifax, 'We got it totally wrong.' It blames the popularity of the account for the delays. Halifax set up the direct debit for your mortgage to start on 1 July but the lender tried to take the money on 20 June. Halifax has written to Abbey National to accept blame and contacted your employer to make sure your salary goes to the right account. It is sending you £50 'to make amends'.

Mirror wills: Cracked idea?

I have read that many people have 'mirror wills' so everything that one spouse owns goes to the survivor when the first one dies, although this uses only one partner's inheritance tax allowance. I do not understand this.

I assume it is correct to say that when the second spouse dies, tax is paid only on what they leave above £242,000 (this year's inheritance tax exemption).

But presumably there is no link in what the first spouse to die leaves to the other and, for inheritance tax, it is only a matter of what the second leaves?
OS, Bromsgrove

Mirror wills are two identical wills, so solicitors charge less than for different wills, but spouses do not have to leave everything to each other.

Anything left to a spouse is free of inheritance tax, but the first to die can use his or her inheritance tax band by leaving some assets to other people. The survivor's total estate is then smaller than if they inherited everything, which could make a difference to inheritance tax.

Assume Mr A had assets worth £500,000 and Mrs A had none. If Mr A died, leaving £500,000 to his wife, there is no inheritance tax bill but, when she dies, tax is payable on £258,000.

This assumes that the inheritance tax still starts at £242,000, that she has not spent any of the money, nor has it risen in value, and ignores other assets such as a house.

If instead Mr A left £260,000 to his wife and gave £240,000 to their children, there would be no tax to pay (none on the assets left to his wife and his children's inheritance is below £242,000). When Mrs A dies, tax is payable not on £258,000 but only on the £18,000 difference between £260,000 and £242,000.

Car insurance: Travelling time

My daughter needs to renew her car insurance, but she is going travelling in September so will need it for only three months. Is it possible to buy insurance for a short period?

When she returns a year later, will she be able to claim her five years' no claim bonus or will the break in continuity count against her?
JM, Wantage

She is unlikely to get motor insurance for just three months, although she would get a refund on unused months - probably minus an administration charge - if she paid upfront. She should instead pay monthly by direct debit so, to cancel, she has only to stop the direct debit mandate.

Her no claims discount will stand for two years after she stops driving. She should ask her present insurer for a letter confirming that she has had no accidents in the past five years. When she starts driving again, she can present this to any insurer with confirmation that she has not had an accident in the past year either.

• Write to Margaret Dibben, Money Writes, The Observer, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER, and include a telephone number. Do not enclose SAEs or original documents. Letters are selected for publication and we cannot give personal replies. The newspaper accepts no legal responsibility for advice.