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Palm Coast Travel gets more company as regulators crack down on Cruises R Us, Atlantis International

March 2, 2010

Florida regulators this morning cracked down on two more travel agencies as part of their expanding investigation into illegal travel insurance. It brings the total number of companies charged with selling fake travel insurance to seven since January. More enforcement actions are believed to be on the way.

Notices of intent to issue a cease and desist orders were filed against Atlantis International Limited, a St. Petersburg, Fla., travel agency, and Cruises R Us of Plantation, Fla., which also used the name Cruisequick.com.

Here’s the paperwork for Atlantis International (PDF) and Cruises R Us (PDF).

Cruisequick is familiar to readers of this site. A few years ago, it allegedly sold another unauthorized travel policy to reader Don Filiault. His insurance company, Trip Assured, was later hit with a cease and desist order issued by several states, including California and Florida.


If the current allegations against it are true, then Cruises R Us/Cruisequick sold illegal insurance after the cease and desist.

As for Atlantis, it hasn’t even bothered removing the references to Trip Assured from its Web site.

Tsk, tsk.

Florida’s charges against both companies are similar to those of leveled against other agencies since the beginning of the year — Ahoy Cruises of Jacksonville, Fla., JB Travel of Boynton Beach, Fla., St. Lucie West Travel of Port St. Lucie, Fla., Four Seasons Tours and Cruises in Largo, Fla., Diana’s Travel South of Spring Hill, Fla., and Sandra Demore.

And of course, there’s Palm Coast Travel, the company suing me because I had the audacity to report on its alleged involvement in the sale of bogus travel insurance.

The big questions now is: Did these agencies have something in common, other than that they were apparently selling fake insurance? Was there a middleman, and if so, who was it?

Stay tuned for the answer.

(Photo: foreverdigital/Flickr Creative Commons)

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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2 comments

  • Don Filiault

    I find it stunning that the owner of CruiseQuick would deny an association with Trip Assured. When I tried to get help for my disputed claim (see Chris Elliott’s story above), the owner told me that he dropped Trip Assured when he heard about the bad things that they were doing, and that McKinley Johnson, the CEO of Trip Assured, retaliated by refusing to pay him commissions that he had earned, and they were in the process of suing each other! Logically, then, since forewarned is forearmed, one wouldn’t expect that when Jerry Watson, the CEO of Prime Travel Protection and other illegal travel insurance products, who had learned his trade while working for Trip Assured, approached him and asked him to sell a virtually identical illegal product, with virtually identical high commissions, he’d be willing to take a chance and sell another one. Sadly, though, the evidence that I’ve seen seems to indicate that he took the chance. As with all things, though, I’d welcome any input that proves me wrong.

  • Marcia

    @Don
    I find this hard to believe. Like Palm Coast, Cruisequick and Atlantis International were also early sellers of unauthorized insurance. Why didn’t Florida act on these agents five years ago? If they did, maybe the travel agents would have known better then to continue the sale of fraudulent insurance. Granted, they should have known better and maybe did, but couldn’t stay away from the high commissions offered. Florida should put some pressure on these travel agents and make them squeal. I’m sure there is more to this then meets the eye.

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