Squaremouth's message is loud and clear: read the fine
print.
The travel insurance comparison site recently launched a
secret campaign, hiding language in its policy documentation stating that the
first person to read it would receive $10,000.
The last page of documentation from Tin Leg, Squaremouth's
insurance product, contained this sentence: "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 contest, "Pays to Read," launched Feb. 11.
Squaremouth planned for it to last the entire year, but a consumer economics
teacher from Georgia, Donelan Andrews, found the hidden text in just 23 hours.
In a statement, Andrews said she reads every contract she
signs. The practice paid off, as she won $10,000 and Squaremouth made additional
donations. The company donated $10,000 to children's literacy charity Reading
Is Fundamental and $5,000 each to the two high schools where Andrews teaches,
Upson-Lee High School and Lamar County Tech School.
"We launched the Pays to Read contest to remind people
to read their policy summary so they can ensure they are getting the policy
they want, or cancel their policy for a full refund," Squaremouth CEO
Chris Harvey said in a statement.