---
title: "How much compensation do I get for lost luggage?"
description: "How the liability cap works per passenger, why depreciated value replaces purchase price, what excess valuation buys, which items the contract of carriage excludes and when the claim is not worth filing."
url: "https://benefitsystems.io/en/knowledge/baggage-liability"
lang: "en"
category: "Rights and disruption · Baggage"
domain: "reise"
pillar: "rights-and-disruption"
status: "entwurf"
published: "2026-09-18"
reviewed: "2026-09-18"
type: "Artikel"
---

# How much compensation do I get for lost luggage?

> **Entwurf.** Dieser Beitrag erfüllt die Redaktionsregel noch nicht vollständig und ist nicht indexiert.

Liability for checked baggage is capped, and the cap applies per passenger rather than per bag. In the USA the settlement is based on depreciated value rather than on the purchase price, and anyone wanting more cover declares excess valuation at check-in for a fee.


## At a glance

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What the cap applies to | each passenger |
| Basis of valuation | depreciated value, not purchase price |
| What the cap covers | loss, damage and delay together |
| Higher cover | excess valuation at check-in, for a fee |
| Common exclusions | cash, jewellery, documents, electronics |
| Carry-on bags | only where the airline was at fault |

## Why the cap surprises people

Of all the rules around baggage, the liability cap is the one least often read before a trip and
most often argued about after one. It decides the amount, it can be influenced before departure,
and after a loss it cannot be influenced at all.

Most travellers meet the cap only when they file a claim. Until then it seems obvious that a lost
bag is replaced, and replaced at what it cost. What the airline pays is the value at the moment of
loss, and even that only up to a ceiling.

The ceiling applies per passenger. A solo traveller with two full bags has the same ceiling as one
with a single half-empty bag, and no other rule in the topic matters as much.

The packing follows from that. Valuables do not belong in checked baggage, and whatever must go in
is evidenced and, where warranted, declared. Medication is a case of its own: rarely valuable,
often irreplaceable, and always in the cabin, because no reimbursement solves its loss.

The cap covers not only loss but also damage and delay, and all three events on one trip share the
same amount. Interim purchases already settled during a baggage delay have eaten into it, as
[damaged baggage deadlines](/en/damaged-baggage-deadlines) describes for the damage case.

On international itineraries the cap comes from a treaty, on domestic ones from a federal maximum.
Either way it is not a matter for negotiation at the desk.

## How depreciated value is calculated

### Clothing and everyday items

Two quantities determine the settlement: the depreciated value of each item and the ceiling over
everything. The first decides small claims, the second decides a total loss.

Clothing loses value quickly, and a two-year-old coat is valued at a noticeably lower figure than
its purchase price. Valuation follows age and condition. A receipt helps because it evidences the
age; without one the purchase date is estimated, and across a whole wardrobe the deductions add up.
An itemised list with individual values therefore works better than a single total.

New clothing bought as a gift causes a common misunderstanding. With a receipt it is valued as new,
without one as worn clothing, and that substantial difference hangs on a till slip.

### Electronics

Electronics lose value even faster and are frequently excluded on top of that. Together the two
effects mean a laptop in a checked bag travels essentially uninsured.

The exclusions sit in the [contract of carriage](/en/glossary/conditions-of-carriage). They are the
core of the liability question, hardly fine print, as [reading fare rules](/en/fare-rules)
describes for the related document. Electronics that have to travel go in the cabin. Liability
there is limited, because for items the traveller stows and keeps the airline is generally liable
only where it was at fault, but the risk of loss is incomparably smaller.

Used equipment adds a third effect. The depreciated value of a four-year-old laptop is a fraction of
its purchase price, and even without an exclusion the settlement would be small. The real exposure
is the data, and no liability rule helps there, only a backup.

A standing packing list and a photograph of the packed bag do more than any receipt drawer. The
photo later replaces memory, shows condition and extent, and costs ten seconds before the lid
closes.

## Excess valuation

Excess valuation raises the cap for a specific bag. It is declared at check-in and costs a fee
scaled to the declared value.

The declaration works only for the flight it was made for. A declaration on the outbound does not
cover the return, while on a connecting itinerary it covers the whole carriage on that ticket.

Not every airline offers it, and not for every kind of content. Excluded items stay excluded even
when a value is declared. Bicycles, skis and golf bags often travel under special conditions with
exclusions of their own, and those are best read before the trip, not during a claim.

For most trips the declaration does not pay. It pays in the individual case with a high value, a
musical instrument for example, and there it is the only route to adequate cover. Usually it is
offered only at a staffed counter, not at a kiosk or online, so it needs extra time at the airport
and a direct request, because staff practically never raise it.

Travel insurance works differently. The declaration raises the airline's liability, while insurance
creates a second debtor that often pays beyond the cap, up to a limit of its own and with a
[deductible](/en/glossary/deductible), usually once the airline has decided. Regular travel with
high values is usually better served by insurance, as
[credit card travel insurance](/en/card-travel-insurance) describes.

## Worked example: a bag lost after three years of use

A bag is lost for good. The contents are an ordinary two-week holiday kit, plus the bag itself.

| Item | Purchase price as reference | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Bag, three years old | full | depreciated, with a clear deduction |
| Clothing, mixed ages | full | depreciated per item |
| Newly bought swimwear | full | close to purchase price, with receipt |
| Opened toiletries | full | pro rata |
| Camera | full | frequently excluded |
| Total | above the cap | reduced to the cap |

Even where every item is recognised, the settlement ends at the ceiling.

The swimwear shows the one lever that reliably works. A receipt for a recently bought item carries
almost its full value.

Toiletries are often left out and belong in. Opened toiletries, sunscreen and similar consumables
are valued pro rata, they add up noticeably on a two-week trip, and receipts from the travel period
evidence them easily.

The camera causes the most friction. Many contracts of carriage expressly exclude cameras in a
checked bag, and the exclusion applies whether or not the cap was reached.

Putting the year of purchase in the middle column, in place of the price, shows which items still
carry value at all. The claim becomes markedly shorter and markedly more defensible.

## What else the cap absorbs

Loss, damage and delay share one cap. A traveller who settled interim purchases during a delay and
later loses the bag for good has already spent part of the ceiling, because interim purchases are
not a separate pot. Two weeks of them consume a substantial share, and if the same bag is then
declared lost, only the remainder is left for the contents. That sequence is the most common
unpleasant case.

With several travellers on one booking, each person has a cap of their own. Spreading valuables
across several bags and several people raises the total cover at no cost, and it is the single most
effective step there is, as [bag did not arrive](/en/delayed-baggage) describes for the process
after a loss.

Children count too. Each child with a ticket has a cap of their own, even without checking a bag,
and allocating the bags accordingly and saying so in the claim triples a family's cover at no
charge.

Solo travellers with a lot of luggage lose that lever. What remains is excess valuation or simply
not checking anything valuable, and in most cases leaving it out of the hold is the better
decision.

## When it is not worth filing a claim

The effort does not carry the claim in these cases:

- **For old items.** The depreciated value is near zero regardless of purchase price.
- **For excluded items.** Cash and jewellery are not reimbursed, not even partly.
- **Without receipts and without a list.** The estimate comes out below any evidenced itemisation.
- **When the cap is already exhausted.** Further items no longer change the outcome.
- **For very small losses.** A claim below the effort of assembling evidence pays only when it
  rides along in a letter that is being written anyway.

A lawyer rarely pays at these amounts either. The cap is unambiguous, the valuation is a matter of
negotiation, and the Department of Transportation complaint process clarifies both without cost
exposure. Only declared values and special conditions make the matter complex enough for advice to
pay.

## How to build the claim

A claim has four parts: the file reference, the itemised list with individual values, the receipts
and a total.

The itemised list is the core. It is ordered by item, each with a purchase date and an estimated
depreciated value, and the less it estimates, the stronger it is. A brief line on why an item is not
excluded is worth adding: a hairdryer is electronics in the broad sense but no valuable, and one
sentence prevents whole sections of a claim being denied wholesale.

Bank statements, invoices and photographs of the packed bag complement each other, and a photo of
the open bag before the trip replaces many individual receipts.

State the total as capped. Writing yourself that the claim ends at the ceiling shows command of the
rules and attracts a standard denial less often.

The deadline matters as much as the amount. A cap is worth nothing when the report arrives late, and
the report window is short. Where the figure needs time, the claim goes in on the merits first and
the itemisation follows. A longer period runs for litigation from the scheduled arrival, but the
short report window is the one that decides most cases.

On a connecting itinerary the report is made at the arrival airport. The airline that issued the
ticket and the operating carrier are both liable, and either can be pursued.

A denial deserves a written request for the reason. A denial resting on an exclusion and one resting
on the cap lead to different next steps: the first can be contested on whether the item falls under
the exclusion at all, the second only on the valuation.

[Award tickets](/en/glossary/award-ticket) carry the same liability as paid ones. It attaches to the
carriage, whatever the fare, so a flight booked with points is no special case here.

## The most common mistakes

- **Assuming the cap applies per bag.** It applies per passenger, which is why spreading contents
  across people works.
- **Claiming the purchase price.** A claim built on purchase prices gets cut wholesale; depreciated
  values survive scrutiny.
- **Checking electronics.** They are frequently excluded and belong in the cabin.
- **Filing without an itemised list.** A bare total gets estimated, and estimates rarely favour the
  traveller.
- **Forgetting excess valuation.** For a single item of high value, the declaration at check-in is
  the only way to lift the cap.
- **Treating interim purchases and contents separately.** Both draw on the same cap.

## Related topics

- [Bag did not arrive](/en/delayed-baggage)
- [Damaged baggage deadlines](/en/damaged-baggage-deadlines)
- [Credit card travel insurance](/en/card-travel-insurance)
- [Reading fare rules](/en/fare-rules)
- [Meals and hotels during a disruption](/en/duty-of-care)
- [Separate tickets](/en/separate-tickets)

## Frequently asked questions

### Does the cap apply per bag or per passenger?

Per passenger. Travelling with two bags means sharing one cap, which is why families gain by spreading valuables across several people.

### Is the purchase price reimbursed?

No, depreciated value is. Worn clothing and used equipment are valued with a deduction, and the deduction grows with the age of the item.

### What does excess valuation buy?

It raises the cap for a specific bag for a fee paid at check-in. It has to be declared before the flight and does not work retroactively.

### Which items are excluded?

Cash, jewellery, securities, documents and frequently electronics. The exclusions sit in the contract of carriage and apply regardless of the cap.

### How do I evidence value?

With purchase receipts, photographs of the packed bag and an itemised list. Without evidence the value is estimated, and estimates rarely favour the traveller.

### Does the cap also cover damage?

Yes, the same cap covers loss, damage and delay together. Several events on one trip share the same amount.

### Does travel coverage pay beyond it?

Often yes, up to a limit of its own and with a deductible. It usually engages only after the airline has decided.

### Who is liable on a connecting itinerary?

The airline that issued the ticket and the operating carrier alongside it. Both can be pursued, and the report is made at the arrival airport.

### How long do I have?

Short windows apply to the report from handover and a longer period applies to litigation from scheduled arrival. In practice the short window decides.

### Does liability cover carry-on bags?

Only in a limited way. For items the traveller stows and keeps, the airline is generally liable only where it was at fault.

### Is a camera replaced?

Only if it is not excluded and its value is evidenced. Many contracts of carriage exclude electronics in checked baggage outright.

### What do I do about a denial?

Request the reason and check whether it rests on an exclusion or on the cap. The two lead to different next steps.