Woman Wins $10,000 For Reading Fine Print of Terms and Conditions of Travel Insurance Policy

Georgia high school teacher Donelan Andrews won a $10,000 reward after she closely read the terms and conditions that came with a travel insurance policy she purchased for a trip to England. Squaremouth, a Florida insurance company, had inserted language promising a reward to the first person who emailed the company. NPR reports: 'We understand most customers don't actually read contracts or documentation when buying something, but we know the importance of doing so,' the company said. 'We created the top-secret Pays to Read campaign in an effort to highlight the importance of reading policy documentation from start to finish.' Not every company is so generous. To demonstrate the importance of reading the fine print, many companies don't give; they take. The mischievous clauses tend to pop up from time to time, usually in cheeky England. The report continues to highlight a number of different cases where companies have intentionally inserted unusual clauses into their terms of service, knowing people wouldn't read them. Here's one such case: A few years earlier, several Londoners agreed (presumably inadvertently) to give away their oldest child in exchange for Wi-Fi access. Before they could get on the Internet, users had to check a box agreeing to 'assign their first born child to us for the duration of eternity.' According to the Guardian, six people signed up, but the company providing the Wi-Fi said the clause likely wouldn't be enforceable in a court of law. 'It is contrary to public policy to sell children in return for free services,' the company explained.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.