While undergoing its annual service in May the garage rang me to say that the steering ram was leaking and would have to be replaced. I have a policy with Warranty Direct, so I rang them and asked if this was covered. They said no, and as I needed to have the repair done for the car to pass the MoT I asked the garage to go ahead and do it.

I then wrote to Warranty Direct and sent them a copy of the garage's invoice which showed the replacement of the steering ram, with the cost of the cylinder and pipeset at a total of

£200.64. In my letter I put: "Looking at the "Covered items" on page 6 of the SecureCare Policy Documents under the heading "Steering" the wording is quite clear. The covered items include the power steering unit, and presumably all its parts even if they are not specifically listed." I asked Warranty Direct for their views.

They wrote back four weeks later as follows: "The ram or cylinder as per the repair invoice is a small suspension damper as part of your steering rack. The part is not insured against failure as it is not specifically mentioned under the terms and conditions of your policy handbook. It is not part of the power steering unit. The power steering unit consists of the pump, reservoir and ECU. The ram is part of the steering rack but has no input into the vehicles steering. It is a safety device to stop kickback during small accidents such as hitting kerbs. This is why it is not listed under the "Steering" section of coverage."

Please tell me if you think that Warranty Direct's interpretation of the ram's function is correct.