A contract is the signed pages and any documents it attaches. Everything said across the desk is a conversation, and a conversation does not bind a provider or protect you when a claim is denied. That gap is where many disappointments start. Before you initial anything, match each spoken promise against a page you can point to.
List the promises you heard
Write down every statement about claims, shops, timing, refunds, transfers, and cancellation that the salesperson made or that you are relying on. Use your own words, not the brochure's. The list is your checklist. Anything you cannot find in the contract pages is not yet a term, however reasonable it sounds.
Find the page that carries each one
For each promise, find the section of the contract that says it. Check the definitions too, since a word like covered may be narrower than the salesperson's version. If a promise has no matching section, do not assume the provider will honor it. Ask where it appears, and if it does not appear, ask whether the contract can be changed before you sign.
Get changes in writing before you sign
If a promise matters to your decision, ask for it to be added in writing, either as a revised page or as a signed addendum that the provider and the seller both sign. Ask who has authority to make the change. A salesperson may not be able to bind the provider, and a manager's verbal yes is still only verbal. Do not accept a promise that will be fixed later, after you have signed.
Watch for the conflict rule
Find out what the contract says happens when a document and the seller's statement disagree. Many contracts state that the written contract controls and that earlier statements do not count. Read that clause closely. If it is there, your list of spoken promises matters only as a list of things to put in writing before you sign.
Questions to ask before you initial
Which page of the contract says this? Can you add this promise to the contract before I sign? Who approves the change, and will it appear on the copy I take home? If the contract and what you were told differ, which one controls? Is there anything in the paperwork I am signing that is not in the contract itself? If an answer is vague, that is your signal to slow down.
What this does not do
Getting a promise in writing does not tell you whether a future claim will be paid. It only tells you what the contract says when you sign. To read the wording before the salesperson is in the room, start with the list of providers that post a sample contract.