I know you are mostly right, but it isn't always so.

My ex-husband had a house fire last August that did considerable damage. (One thing I never knew, but makes perfect sense in hindsight, is that putting out the fire causes an incredible amount of damage - of course, if the fire isn't put out, everything is lost.) The insurance company has been very helpful and has paid or done everything he expected of the policy. The insurance did not cover absolutely everything, but there were no unpleasant surprises.

Now, I should say our insurance agent is my first cousin's spouse. ( We both kept the same agent and stayed with the same insurance company when we parted ways.) He has always made sure we are fully informed about our policies and coverage, and limitations on the coverage. In other words, he makes sure we are informed of "the small print," and is careful to be sure we understand the implications.

My experience with insurance is it pays to use an agent who lives in the local community, is active in the local community, and whose business success within the community has been well-established based on integrity, trust and many satisfied customers who have had need to use their insurance coverage - which means customers who did not encounter "unpleasant surprises" from terms buried in small print. The small print will always be there. The biggest problem is not knowing about it, or not understanding what it means. A good agent will know the kinds of assumptions people are likely to make that are mistaken assumptions because they are either unaware of the small print, or don't understand it. S/he will want to be sure their customers understand their policies, simply because their business success depends on their local reputation.