Car insurance telemarketer moves headquarters to Oklahoma City
by admin on Nov.25, 2011, under Car insurance
Insurance telemarketing firm CarSafe LLC is moving to Oklahoma City, selling extended vehicle service agreements.
BY PAULA BURKES pburkes@opubco.com Oklahoman Leave a comment
A 3½-year-old telemarketing company that sells extended vehicle service agreements is shifting its headquarters to Oklahoma City from greater St. Louis .
CarSafe and other companies in the industry are involved in a lawsuit with the state of Missouri.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed lawsuits against 12 companies, including CarSafe, on Jan. 1, 2009, said Doug Ommen, chief counsel for the state’s consumer protection division. The biggest alleged offender has been US Fidelis, Ommen said. But other defendants are charged with similar violations, he said, from failing to provide customers with contracts before cancellation dates to pinning air conditioning and other repairs to the unrelated use of certain oil additives.
Koster’s office has made no secret of its desire to push some of the companies out of business or out of state.
Ommen said his office has settled three cases, including one against Mogi for more than $100,000, which includes restitution for consumers. The case against CarSafe, Ommen said, not only names the corporation, which previously operated as Dealer Preferred Warranty, but also three individuals: Nils Flodberg, Mark Eckman and John Jacob Ehlinger.
CarSafe’s legal counsel, Don Devard of Derryberry & Naifeh LLP in Oklahoma City, declined to comment on the case because it involves ongoing litigation. However, Devard confirmed the company was formed in Oklahoma City, has operated from St. Charles west of St. Louis in Missouri — and was licensed to conduct business there and in other states.
“I fully recognize this is an ugly industry, but my company is not,” Flodberg said. He said his company in part moved to Oklahoma to “get away from badapples.”
CarSafe LLC announced it has located its corporate office at 6300 Northwest Expressway and plans to hire 55 workers over the next three years.
“We believe Oklahoma City offers our best opportunity to meet our goals of growth and market penetration,” CarSafe general manager Nils Flodberg said in a news release.
Flodberg, 32, in a phone interview last week, toldthe decision to relocate CarSafe’s operations follows a “thoughtful and rigorous review of CarSafe’s corporate operations,” and included consideration of Oklahoma ’s low cost of homeownership and living for workers, and cheap flights between Oklahoma City and St. Louis.
Flodberg said CarSafe is seeking college graduates and/or those with previous sales experience, particularly in the car or insurance industries. People can submit resumes to jobs@carsafe.com. Annual salaries range from $30,000 to $60,000, he said. He said he’s hired three Oklahomans so far.
CarSafe has about 70,000 customers nationwide who primarily call the company after direct mail or advertising on the Web, he said. Contracts are available for three to six years or month-to-month, and cost $39 to $69 a month, depending on the vehicle’s age and mileage, he said. Those with 150,000 miles or more are disqualified.
Flodberg said CarSafe has more than 50 employees in St. Charles, Mo., and may leave a small team there.
In Oklahoma, the telemarketer may also partner with insurance companies and car dealerships.
Interested consumers may view sample contracts at carsafe.com.
“A lot of our customers live paycheck-to-paycheck, and our service protects their budgets from $500 to $800 car repairs,” Flodberg said.
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