AFG American Financial Group

National Interstate Corporation Announces the Pricing of its Initial Public Offering RICHFIELD, Ohio, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Interstate Corporation (NASDAQ:NATL) announced today that it has priced its initial public offering of common shares at $13.50 per share. The Company is offering 3,350,000 common shares and selling shareholders are offering 497,000 common shares. The shares will commence trading on January 28th, on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol NATL. The selling shareholders also have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 577,000 common shares to cover over-allotments, if any. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050114/NILOGO ) National Interstate Corporation's proceeds from the offering are expected to be approximately, $40.6 million, after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses. National Interstate intends to use net proceeds from the offering to repay a loan from its majority shareholder, Great American Insurance Company, and for other general corporate purposes, including the repayment of debt and the capitalization of its insurance company subsidiaries. National Interstate Corporation will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common shares by the selling shareholders. Merrill Lynch & Co. acted as the sole book-running manager, and KeyBanc Capital Markets and Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. acted as the co-managers in the offering. Copies of the prospectus relating to the offering may be requested by contacting Merrill Lynch & Co., 4 World Financial Center, New York, New York, 10080; Phone: (212) 449-1000. This announcement shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sales of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities law of any such state or other jurisdiction. About National Interstate Corporation National Interstate Corporation, founded in 1989, is a specialty property and casualty insurance company with a niche orientation and focus on the transportation industry. National Interstate differentiates itself within its markets by offering insurance products and services designed to meet the unique needs of targeted insurance buyers that we believe are underserved by the insurance industry. Our core products include property and casualty insurance for transportation companies, group captive insurance programs for transportation companies that we refer to as our alternative risk transfer operations, specialty personal lines, primarily, recreational vehicle coverage and general commercial insurance in Hawaii. We offer our products through multiple distribution channels including through independent agents and brokers, through affiliated agencies and via the Internet. Our insurance subsidiaries are rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best Co. Ohio-based National Interstate is a subsidiary of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Nasdaq. The Company is headquartered in Richfield, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Although National Interstate Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those expectations. Important cautionary statements and risk factors that could affect actual results are discussed in materials filed by National Interstate Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: Michael Bourgon VP - Investor Relations (330) 659-8900 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050114/NILOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: National Interstate Corporation CONTACT: Michael Bourgon, VP - Investor Relations of National Interstate Corporation, +1-330-659-8900, or Web site: http://www.nationalinterstate.com/

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