First, let me say I hope you never have to collect an insurance claim.
To this end, you might want to ask your packer to read the guide at our site about packing fragile items. But sadly, I hate to say it, particularly as it is of personal experience, even the best laid plans sometimes go wrong. I've had things shattered that I took hours to pack and thought it was impossible to break. And then, things with barely any protection come through to me as if guarded by angels.

A LOT has to with what happens between "here" and "there," and that's why we buy insurance.  Then, I'd like to note, that there has been a lot of chat about excess packing cost and that's not necessarily a good thing--we want really GOOD packing so we have less cause to look up insurance. The cheapest packing is not the best packing. The best packing increases the odds that you get your item intact. And it costs--but less than breakage.

INSURANCE IS A HASSLE, as you either know or will soon see. If you get a broken item that's insured, here's what to expect. First, from what I've seen, the employees at the PO hate this process as a rule because they don't do it often and it is detailed and somewhat confusing. You can ask three different PO people and get three different answers. Expect that. The big issue is there are two parts to the little blue form with numbers: The part on the box is a tracking number and bar code. The buyer has that--having both the box and broken thing. The "receipt" is the larger part of the form with printing on it done at the "sale" of insurance at the shipping site. The seller has that.

By the PO scanning this number in the very start, sense and rumor would have it that the PO system also has record of this through the tracking numbers. And though that makes sense, that's where the sense ends, so get ready. The PO ideally wants the "Bringer of the Broken Box" to have both sides of the form to initiate the claim. If that is not the case then the clerk will say the ominous words: "It may have to go through St,Louis." I don't know exactly what that means, but the look on the clerk's face indicates paperwork purgatory, and apparently the holdup there is for months. (Forgive the slight rant here, but in what case would you expect the shipper and the shippee to have the same paperwork? --the shipper is in a different place than the receiver (thus shipping) and in case of loss and non-delivery they can't put the receipt IN the box. I believe the phrase best suited is: Catch 22)

So, you, the "Bringer of the Box" must take it (the box and all of the packing materials and items that it came in it) to the stated post office in your town that handles claims--not all of them do and a phone call can save you a lot of time. You must allow them to inspect the packing job (less than 3 inches of space between the outside of the box and any fragile item will make the insurance invalid. And if items inside the box have broken each other by concussion (packed with insufficient padding between them--though this is a touchy issue as a crush can negate any packing distance within the box--and that IS the PO's fault) then the PO is not responsible.

But anyway, let's assume the PO thinks the packing job was okay, and they usually do think it's okay--even if I do not, :) They check the box on the form that admits it was their fault. They will ask for your item receipt. (the E-bay or Paypal one works fine and you must BRING IT WITH YOU) They will then confiscate the broken item or items that you are claiming--remember this can be part of the shipment or all of it. They will ask you to fill out a simple form, take down the return address of the shipper, copy your receipts Then they will politely say farewell and you will leave--with nothing. In due time, al least without both sides of the tracking/receipt in the first place, they will contact the shipper/seller, ask them to produce the receipt part, establish that the item was really worth what it was insured for.  IT IS MUCH EASIER TO ASK THE SHIPPER TO MAIL OR FAX THEIR PART OF THE INSURANCE RECEIPT TO YOU IF YOU NEED TO USE IT.  It is possible to get paid in three months, more commonly it takes six.  Encourage good packing!!!!!