Odds on, of course, AP will most likely claim it was NOT adequately packed:-( not really in their in the best interest of AP is it? very grey area, and very bad system, one wonders how does one send a fragile item these days without it costing an arm and a leg!

Of-course, AP cannot be responsible for how well the item is packed.  The only person who can make sure the protection is adequate is the person who actually packs it.

It is not so difficult to pack well.  I post fragile items regularly.  The most fragile are all individually wrapped in 2 layers of bubblewrap to protect them from chipping, then they are placed in a box with plenty of protective material around them (at least an inch).  This box is taped to make sure it cannot open, and is placed in a bigger box with at least 2" layers of scrunched up newspaper all around it = under, on the sides and on the top.

Research study showed that scrunched up newspaper has the best impact absorbing quality from all the packing materials tested.  The outer box needs to be strong enough and well taped with sticky tape to give further protection.