Shipping, Insurance, etc.

[xdrx]

The "Cards You've Taken out of Existence" thread got me wondering about shipping damage and insurance. I've shipped fairly valuable electronics gear for years without issue, but was always concerned about insurance claims - would shipper honor claim or blame poor packaging; would they replace or provide some lower cash value...Lots of horror stories out there.

So, I have to wonder how it works with baseball cards. Does the USPS or Fed-Ex just trust your insurance value if the package disappears or is somehow damaged? Does it matter if you are shipping raw cards or graded? or if you packed them yourself or had them "professionally" packed?

Hoping to come away with some Best Practices here, as I know many of you regularly ship valuable cards.

Thanks.