I've had some of the same experiences , UPS. used to be "not so bad" but now it appears they go out of their way to rough things up. I now ship ONLY via USPS priority mail or Fed X. And ship ALOT virtually drama free.
I share a similar experience to the initial post in this thread , the last UPS parcel I received had several large BOOT PRINTS on both sides,
As if they were "Curious" & "testing" it to see exactly how "fragile" it was.
As for insurance ??? forget about it. The claims process is so frustrating and time consuming you'll likely die of old age before you are compensated. The same applies to USPS on insurance although they are more adept at saying no, and do it in a more customer friendly manner.
______________________
jim@stinsonsports.com
Buying & Selling Vintage Baseball Autographs
stinsonsports.com