Good questions - I am facing this for an upcoming trip to IST. At the moment I'm leaning towards going TK as their handling of it seems much better all around.

I am concerned about theft/damage. What is the limit on luggage claims for BA? Isn't it about £1k? That wouldn't cover my laptop, and if I have to check that, I may as well check the rest of my stuff, so I'm guessing I'd be well over that.

I also wonder how many insurance policies cover something like that in checked baggage. I know my current policy doesn't