Georgia teacher wins $10,000 in St. Pete company's 'fine print' contest

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (FOX 13) - A Georgia high school teacher won $10,000 for reading the fine print in her new travel insurance policy.

Squaremouth, the St. Petersburg-based company, said it buried the contest information at the very end of the seven-page document it had mailed to the 73 people who purchased new policies.

Donna Andrews was the first and only person to read it and contact the company.

According to Squaremouth, the purpose of the competition is to get people to read legally-binding documents in their entirety.

"How can we highlight the importance of just understanding your coverage and how can we do it in a fun way?" asked Jenna Hummer, a spokeswoman for Squaremouth.

While many people choose to sign contracts or policies without reading through them, consumer experts warn it can lead to unwanted surprises down the road.

"That's a contract, my friend. If you sign that contract you're bound by that contract," said James Giardina, an attorney for the Consumer Rights Law Group. "You click the box that, 'I agree to the terms and conditions,' you're bound by that contract."

Social media sites and apps also ask users to agree to privacy policies. Those who click "agree" may be giving up personal information they otherwise would rather not provide if they had read the fine print first.

"The fact is, you are giving them all of your data. If they're storing your data, if they're displaying their data to other people, you're giving them everything," said Giardina.

Experts recommend people read documents from top to bottom, and always ask questions if something doesn't seem right.