Three travelers who had to cancel trips
but could not collect on the cancellation coverage they bought from
Trip Assured have filed a class action against the travel insurer
in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif.
On behalf of
themselves and others in similar situations, the travelers are
seeking payments on valid claims plus refunds of all premiums paid
by those who did not have to make claims.
The plaintiffs
charged that Crossville, Tenn.-based Trip Assured misled consumers
in two ways. First, they said the
company marketed its product as insurance although it was not
licensed to sell insurance in any state.
Second, the
plaintiffs said that the company gave the impression it would pay
valid claims when it "never intended to do so," as evidenced by an
array of "unreasonable requirements, traps and loopholes" used to
avoid paying valid claims.
The plaintiffs
said these hurdles included numerous requests for documentation, a
failure to honor commitments to cover for pre-existing conditions
and an arbitration clause that required claimants to travel to
Tennessee to pursue their cases with the Better Business
Bureau.
When these
failed, the plaintiffs said Trip Assured resorted to "bullying and
intimidation," even launching a pre-emptive lawsuit against Florida
claimant David Perton, one of the three plaintiffs in the class
action.
When contacted
for comment, Trip Assured responded with copies of its recent
letters to Tennessee's Division of Consumer Affairs and Trip
Assured's merchant bank, which spelled out how the three plaintiffs
failed to comply with Trip Assured's requirements when canceling
their trips.
Six states have
issued orders demanding that Trip Assured cease selling product in
their states until it is properly licensed.
The plaintiffs
also will ask the Knoxville Better Business Bureau to cease
handling Trip Assured's arbitrations and to vacate any awards made
in favor of Trip Assured.
In addition, the
plaintiffs said that the state of Tennessee, which has issued a
cease-and-desist order, should have acted sooner but may have been
influenced by personal relationships between Trip Assured's owner
and government officials.
Therefore, the
attorneys will ask federal and Tennessee state authorities to
investigate to determine if any unethical or unlawful conduct
impeded quicker action.
Agency clients
who believe they qualify to join the class action can contact
attorney John Tiedt at (951) 343-3320.
To contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail
to Nadine Godwin at [email protected].