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Progressive has long been viewed as the best-managed major auto insurer in the U.S., with the highest returns and superior technology. Its strengths were apparent as Tricia Griffith, a Progressive lifer, and her team responded to the Covid-19 crisis and sought to support multiple constituencies. Progressive quickly had 95% of its 43,000 employees working from home, and provided $1 billion in rebates to customers after receiving a windfall, as Americans reduced driving and had fewer auto accidents. Then there were meals for truckers who had a hard time finding open places to eat on the road, and financial aid to independent body shops with fewer cars to repair but payrolls to meet.

Were based in Ohio, and the state didnt have enough people to adjudicate unemployment claims, Griffith tells Barrons. To help, Progressive lent the state 100 employees, all kept on the company payroll.

Griffith, 55, addressed employees weekly to give them a sense of calmness during the crisis. She did so via folksy videos, each about five minutes long, shot by her son in their Ohio homes library. On one, she joked that she had to pull back from eating too many unhealthy snacks, like M&Ms.

For customers, the idea was not to make auto insurance an added worry. People have all these different things coming at them, she says. When they needed it most, Progressive came through.

Data as of 6/19/20

Sources: Bloomberg; FactSet

Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.com

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How Progressives Patricia Griffith Went Beyond the Call of Duty During the Covid Crisis - Barron's