Ron; The postal clerk does not know what he/she is talking about. If you insure an item.... and it is lost or damaged while in the custody of the USPS.... they are liable for the full value of the insurance purchased IF YOU CAN PROVE IT'S VALUE ...... either through a copy of an invoice ... OR via a recognized source of value such as one of the many fine reference catalogs that are currently available in the hobby..... something that didn't exist eight or so years ago. Other than occasional long delays, I've had no problem collecting on USPS insurance for lost packages. It is the shipper of the lost merchandise (the unsurer) who chooses on the claim form to whom the claim check from the USPS is to be forwarded to ... not the USPS. The insurer may simply chose to send a replacement item to the intended recipient while waiting for the claim to be processed.