Yes they were, but not in the way you hypothesize. What they're now saying is they won't make you prove to them that the bag they lost was worth $1500. Do you

Yes they were, but not in the way you hypothesize. What they're now saying is they won't make you prove to them that the bag they lost was worth $1500. Do you have receipts for the suitcase itself? Do you have receipts for each item you claim was in it? And then they could and would say: "Hmmm ... those shirts were purchased a few years ago, they're currently not worth anywhere near what you paid for them new." The only problem I see with the new policy is the potential for fraud. At many airports there is very very little supervision of the baggage claim area. So bags can easily be "stolen" from there by accomplices of the passenger. Then it would be easy for the passenger to demand $1500 for a "lost" bag that wasn't even worth $150.