Business Strategy and Outlook
| Brett Horn, CFA |Progressive is one of the strongest franchises in the insurance industry and had been firing on all cylinders until recently. The auto industry had seen an uptick in costs in previous years, as a multitude of factors ranging from low gas prices to distracted driving pushed up claims. This compressed industry underwriting margins, but Progressive and the industry executed a more than sufficient pricing response. Progressive fully moved past the issue, and, prior to the pandemic, underwriting margins were at the high end of its historical range.