The question now is: Was the package not insured through this freight forwarder (Palomar)? Then they are not responsible for the insured value, as I see the UPS proof of delivery clearly showing receipt in Chicago, ending UPS's liability, unless there was a different arrangement with UPS where they use Palomar as an agent (or sub-contractor) and UPS is responsible through the destination point. I ship a lot of equipment internationally and always make sure that all freight terms are clearly defined prior to actual pickup. If there is no specific UPS liability beyond Chicago and there was no declared value with Palomar, then they are only liable for $100 or $20 per Kilo whichever is higher (according to the 1929 Warsaw Convention which applies to air freight, but ocean freight also has some minimum liability). I?ve done this for too long, got burned a few times but managed to learn the rules of the game.
I'd like to offer my help in resolving this if you'd like, as this should never happen and really angers me as I've seen freight companies try to get out of paying claims if they think the customer may not know enough about freight forwarding, freight terms, etc. Hopefully that?s not the case here.