"I always read all the fine print," she said, adding that her major in university was consumer economics. "I know I sound like a nerd, but I learned to read contracts so you don't get taken advantage of." Andrews was deep into page seven of the policy when something jumped out at her. "Pays to Read," read the contract. It continued: "We estimate that less than 1 percent of travellers that purchase a travel insurance policy actually read all of their policy information - and we're working to change that." It said the first person to email the company and mention the fine-print contest would win $US10,000. Andrews immediately emailed.

She thought back to the days when she used to write high school tests, and she'd sneak in a bonus for students who carefully read the instructions. For example, the fourth sentence of test instructions would say something like: Circle the number 10 three times for 10 extra points. "About a third of the class would read it and the rest would get mad," she said. "The lesson they learned is they need to read the directions." On February 12, the day after Andrews sent the email to Squaremouth saying she'd seen the contest hidden in her contract, a representative from the company called her and told her she'd won $US10,000. "It was my lucky day," she said. The company had quietly started the contest a day earlier, and in that time had sent out 73 policies to different customers who had purchased them, the company said. Andrews was the first one to email.

She was thrilled to win. Her friends and family were not shocked. "Most of the comments from people who know me have been, 'that doesn't surprise me at all, you're that kind of person,' " Andrews said. "Particularly in my family, I'm the one who gets things straight." So why would an insurance company do this? Isn't fine print the part of the contract the company might not want the consumer to read? Squaremouth figured that if its customers are informed about the details of their policies, it reduces any miscommunication for filing a claim, spokesman Jenna Hummer said. The 40-person company, which is based in St Petersburg, Florida, and began in 2003 as a travel insurance aggregator, started its travel insurance subsidiary, Tin Leg, in 2014. "We want people to read it because we want people to understand what they're covered for and not covered for," Hummer said. "It makes everybody's life a lot easier."

Andrews said the experience has been fun and "kind of crazy." "I might start buying lottery tickets," she said. Would she read the fine print on those as well? "Absolutely." Washington Post