Seminar 1 - Avoiding Fraud Travel Insurance

[HarryB1964]

Another year has arrived, and with it, another scam travel insurance company, Prime Travel Protection, has gone bankrupt, leaving hundreds of customers in debt for thousands of dollars after they found out that the travel insurance policy that they thought they had was worthless. To make matters worse, recent disclosures indicate that the Travel Agency who sold them the product may have known that the product was worthless! Two related cruise sellers, Cruise Value Center and Cruises of Distinction went bankrupt last November, and both were sellers of this fraud policy, but two very large travel companies in the state of Florida are continuing to sell products labeled "Travel Protection" today, after having previously sold Trip Assured, Vacation Protection Services, and Prime Travel Protection, all run by the same crooked group of individuals. One of these companies is still selling a fraud product after promising in a public forum that he would start selling a valid insurance product. There are additional travel agencies nationwide who are also selling these products.

Some of you who are reading this may have purchased the product, which may have been labeled as "Travel Protection" from your TA. If you did, and you took your trip without mishap, you’re among the lucky ones. However, if you’re currently holding one of these policies, and you haven’t taken your trip yet, go after your TA, and go after him hard. Don’t take No for an answer. Demand that he provide you with a policy from a reputable travel insurance company, and demand that he find a way to insure you for any pre-existing conditions that the new policy won’t cover. He created the problem, and he has to solve it. If you don’t get anywhere, get in touch with us, and we can provide information on where to complain.

Documented problems with this company began to appear on the internet and even on Cruise Critic last September, but the story could have been missed because it was posted in a place where the person seeking information wasn’t looking. Hundreds of additional customers were victimized after it was known that the company was a scam. Cruise Critic UK published an article on the Prime Travel Protection’s demise this week, but a lot of the information was outdated, since it didn’t include information on the involvement of the travel agents. Of course, publishing the information now isn’t of much use, since it represents "Close the barn door after the horse has escaped" journalism. Problems with Trip Assured began to surface in late 2003, but the company didn’t go out of business until 2006, after multiple States issued "Cease and Desist" orders against them, and all major Credit Card companies refused to accept their business. Again, most of the warnings came after the horse disappeared over the horizon.

You need to do your own due diligence. I would not purchase travel insurance from my travel agent. You may want to do otherwise, but if you make that decision, do it carefully, and demand that your agent provide all of the information that you need to make you comfortable. There are several websites which have been written about on these boards that will provide you with competitive quotes from major sellers of travel insurance. While it’s possible that you could still encounter problems when you submit a claim, I’ve yet to hear of a scam company being listed on one of these sites.

I once took a trip with an elderly lady who slipped and broke her hip while we were in the Czech Republic. The cost to do a medical evacuation was $50,000, which her travel insurance policy paid. Think of being in this situation yourself. Could you afford to pay for this out of your own pocket? It’s your money that you’re safeguarding, so as part of your cruise (or trip) planning exercise, include an item on buying the right travel insurance. You won’t be sorry.

[fideauxdon]

A good post, and one to pay attention to. I was victimized by one of these companies, Trip Assured, back in 2003, and if I was aware of the information contained in this posting, I could have avoided it.

[Cruzman]

There are reputable travel insurance consolidators that I always use and have never had a problem; often use insuremytrip.com.