Looks as if the unlicensed insurance scandal — that’s right, the one that got me sued for defamation earlier this year — isn’t over yet.
JERRY WATSON
Here we go again.
Colorado has issued a cease and desist order again Prime Travel Protection, the bankrupt travel insurance company based in Arvada, Colo. The move caps an extensive investigation by the state and comes on the heels of a similar action by Florida.
George Fredrickson never suspected the travel insurance he bought for his transatlantic cruise last year was fake. But it was. Here are six questions to ask if you don’t want the same thing to happen to you.
What do the recent intents to file cease and desist orders by Florida against three travel agencies — Vacation Superstore, Legendary Journeys and Palm Coast Travel — mean for travelers? I asked Barry Resnick, who has become something of an expert on the sale of unauthorized travel protection insurance plans. Resnick’s mother held a policy with Trip Assured, a Tennessee company that sold unauthorized trip protection plans, and I featured his comments in my MSNBC column last week.
We’ve already heard from Prime Travel Protection’s customers and from the agents who sold its policies. But other than a form letter from its trustee, the company and its president, Jerry Watson, have remained silent. Until now.
Authorities in two states appear poised to take enforcement action against Prime Travel Protection and travel agents who sold its policies. “There’s an ongoing investigation,” says Chris Lines, a legislative liaison for Colorado’s regulatory agencies. “We expect it will come to a head in a matter of weeks.”
Virginia Hamlin is upset. A year ago she booked a Panama Canal through Legendary Journeys, a travel agency based in Sarasota, Fla. At the time she was offered a $177 “travel insurance” policy through Travel Protection Services.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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