Pig's ear of camper claim

Last September our camper van was broken into and thousands of pounds worth of walking and climbing equipment was stolen. Our insurance with Direct Insurance Centre covered the contents of the van up to a limit of £2,000, so we claimed for this. The insurers sent a sympathetic assessor, who agreed that the value of equipment stolen exceeded £2,000, and submitted his report to the insurer.

In January the insurer finally offered us £1,960, minus an excess of £100. I accepted the settlement but objected to the excess, since we had already paid a £50 excess to have the windows of the camper van repaired, and my reading of the policy was that the excess should be £100 in total.

The insurers agreed and asked for proof of payment of the excess, which I sent last February. I have heard nothing since. Is there anything I can do about this? I feel I ought to be able to charge interest on the amount offered in January.

PR
Buxton

Direct Insurance Centre admits that there has been a breakdown in communication between itself and the loss adjuster.

The settlement cheque was originally raised in February, but held up because the insurer says it thought it ought to be paying you £50 more. Instead of coming back corrected, the cheque went into limbo. Your complaints to the loss adjuster were not passed on to the insurance company, which says it is disappointed it was not given the opportunity to sort this out sooner.

Direct Insurance Centre admits to making a pig's ear of your claim, and to causing unnecessary delays. It has confirmed your claim for the contents of the caravan at £1,983, deducted the correct excess of £50 and sent you a cheque for £1,933. On further thought, the company agreed to waive this half of the excess and forwarded another cheque for £50.

Term insurance: Can we opt out?

We are in our third year of a fixed-term mortgage with Nationwide Building Society. As part of the agreement, we were obliged to take buildings and contents insurance with the company. We believed this was for the first year only. This year's quote looked expensive. We found an alternative which was £10 a month cheaper. Nationwide said we had to accept their quote while we were under the fixed term.

I was told there was no independent ombudsman to whom we could write; we could only appeal to Nationwide. Does this mean Nationwide can charge whatever it likes for insurance for three years?

GH-R

The mortgage agreement you signed said you were committed to Nationwide's house insurance for the full five-year fixed term, with no mention of any limits on how premiums might rise. But you do have the right to take your complaint to the Building Societies Ombudsman (even though the issue is house insurance, the policy was sold by a building society). Telephone: 0207 931 0044.

Isas after death: probate rules

My wife and I each have cash Isas and we are both over 80. If I die before her, will my wife need probate to withdraw my Isa?

DL
Harrogate

It depends how much is in the account when you die. Isa providers set their own limits - around £15,000 - below which you do not need probate for a cash Isa; you just complete a statutory declaration form. To access the money, she will have to close the Isa and transfer the proceeds to her name, unless she uses the money to pay for funeral expenses, probate fees or inheritance tax, which can be paid direct.

It is different if the Isa contained shares. Then probate is required if the person's whole estate, including savings, life insurance and assets, totals more than £5,000.