For the love of reading: Woman wins $10,000 from insurance company for reading the fine print

Need motivation for reading the fine print while purchasing anything online? This story might help.

A self-proclaimed “nerd” from Georgia, the USA who often read the fine print has won a whopping $10,000.00 for doing what she normally does - basically to read the often ignored fine print in online purchasing contracts.

Per CBS News, Donelan Andrews recently bought travel insurance from a Florida-based company, Squaremouth, in preparation for her travel to London with some friends come this September. Well, Andrews is fond of reading the fine print and this time was no different. She read the fine prints only to discover that the company had hidden a contest to win $10,000 along with the instruction for claiming the grand prize.

“If you’ve read this far, then you are one of the very few Tin Leg customers to review all of their policy documentation,” the fine print reads. It included an email address and said the first person who replied would win the prize.

According to CBS News, Andrews, a teacher, is no stranger to hiding gems amidst instructions or fine prints for that matter. It’s a trick she had used on her high school students.

“I used to put a question like that midway through an exam, saying ‘If you’re reading this, skip the next question.’ That caught my eye and intrigued me to keep reading,” Andrews tells CBS News.

Following the win, the insurance company explains on their website: “We understand most customers don’t actually read contracts or documentation when buying something, but we know the importance of doing so.”

“We created the top-secret Pays to Read campaign in an effort to highlight the importance of reading policy documentation from start to finish.”

“Over the past 16 years, we’ve learned that many travellers buy travel insurance and just assume they’re covered if anything goes wrong, without actually reading the details of their policy. “However, this often leads to claims for losses that are not covered. This lack of understanding is one of the biggest reasons travel insurance claims are denied.”

In addition to awarding the $10,000 prize to Andrews, Squaremouth also donated another $10,000 to a children’s literacy charity and $5,000 each to two high schools as part of their Pays to Read campaign.

This story first appeared on the CBS News website.