Remember Revelex, the Boca Raton, Fla.-based online booking company whose name came up a time or two during the Palm Coast Travel episode earlier this year?
Palm Coast Travel, you’ll recall, was fined $2,500 for selling unlicensed travel insurance through a company called Prime Travel Protection. Some observers alleged a connection between Revelex, Palm Coast Travel and Prime Travel Protection, although a link was never proven.
Well, this afternoon, a source with the state of Florida sent me a settlement agreement (PDF) that suggests there may have been a link between Revelex and Prime Travel Protection.
Florida’s Department of Financial Services has alleged that Revelex “aided and abetted an unauthorized insurer and illegally shared commissions.” It does not say who the commissions were illegally shared with.
Revelex denied the allegations. But to avoid litigation, it agreed to a consent order that includes a $12,500 bill for “investigative costs” and to cease and desist “sharing commissions with, or receiving commissions from, any person licensed as, or required to be licensed as an insurer, an insurance agency or an insurance agency, including but not limited to a travel insurance agent or travel insurance agency.”
The Revelex bill for investigative costs is the largest in the Prime Travel Protection case. Other travel agencies have been fined between $2,500 and $5,000 and were ordered to compensate customers for any damages suffered as a result of buying an unlicensed insurance product.
The agreement with Florida also stipulates that before allowing an insurer to advertise or sell its product in or from Florida through its platform, it will ensure that the company is authorized to sell insurance in Florida.
(Photo: zoute drop/Flickr Creative Commons)
