Leif Hansen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leif Christopher Hansen (b.1957) is the founder and owner of a chain of auto body shops, Leif's Auto Collision Centers, one of Oregon's largest and fastest growing automotive businesses.

Hansen was born in Hawaii where he worked as an auto body repair man since the age of fifteen. His youth was filled with drug abuse, burglary and drug dealing convictions, and a conviction for stealing vehicles by altering their VIN's. He eventually gave up his criminal life style and, in 1990, moved to Oregon with his wife and child, where he started an auto body repair business while serving five years probation.

Hanson is one of Oregon's best known personalities, driven by his ~$1,000,000 per year advertising budget. He made his fortune by appealing directly to the customer through self narrated advertisements, where he promises first rate service, unencumbered by price fixing agreements with the insurance industry.

As of 2005, Hansen has maintained a 20% annual growth rate of his business for over ten years. He relies on a combination of anti-insurance company advertising and, according to Willamette Week, lawsuits. He's had 20 lawsuits and 39 small claims filed by or against his business, and is constantly gathering evidence for new lawsuits against insurance companies, who he says are using illegal means to harm his business. Leif's Auto is the only auto body repair company in the nation to have a full time lawyer on staff. Several of the lawsuits filed by Hansen alleged defamation by various insurance companies.

Hansen's personal interaction with insurance industry personnel is similarly charged, with one police complaint by a claims adjuster alleging that Hansen shoved him, spit in his face and yelled I know where you live. Hansen was arrested for harassment but denied the allegation[1]. Several lawsuits against Hansen also allege harassment.