AFG American Financial Group

RICHFIELD, Ohio, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Interstate Corporation (NASDAQ:NATL) announced today that its principal insurance subsidiary National Interstate Insurance Company has added a commercial vehicle product to its offering. The new product line, initially launched in Ohio, is designed to insure vehicles used by small businesses and artisan contractors and will be written exclusively through the Company's network of appointed agency partners. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050114/NILOGO ) The National Interstate commercial vehicle product offers bodily injury limits of up to $1 million. Recognizing the commercial consumers' market as one with widely varying vehicles, drivers and trade types, National Interstate is offering a broad range of coverage combinations. In addition, the product presents a competitive rate structure, customer friendly down payment options and above average agent commissions. "Given our trucking expertise and experience of being the largest writer of insurance for the passenger transportation industry, offering commercial vehicle insurance was a natural for us," stated Alan R. Spachman, Chairman of the Board and President of National Interstate Corporation. "It allows us to capitalize on our expertise while offering a specialized insurance product to small businesses and artisan contractors that can be customized to fit their individual needs." "In many instances, the lifeblood of a small business is its vehicles. Personal auto coverage is not enough to protect such a critical part of their business. Through our agent network, we are able to offer comprehensive commercial coverage specifically designed to meet each customer's specific needs," said John A. Hollar, Vice President of National Interstate Insurance Company. "The majority of commercial vehicle insurance is written through the Independent Insurance Agency channel. Customers value their expertise and so do we. Everything about our product, from our rate level and coverage options to our Internet based agency technology, was designed with input from Independent Agents," added Hollar. ABOUT NATIONAL INTERSTATE National Interstate Corporation (NASDAQ:NATL), founded in 1989, completed an initial public offering in February 2005. We are a specialty property and casualty insurance company with a niche orientation and focus on the transportation industry. We differentiate ourselves within our 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 products include property and casualty insurance for transportation companies, captive insurance programs for commercial risks that we refer to as our alternative risk transfer component, specialty personal lines consisting primarily of recreational vehicle coverage, and transportation and general commercial insurance in Hawaii and Alaska. We offer our insurance products through multiple distribution channels including independent agents and brokers, affiliated agencies and agent Internet initiatives. Our insurance subsidiaries are rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company. National Interstate is an independently operated subsidiary of Great American Insurance Company, a property-casualty subsidiary of American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFGNASDAQ:AFG). The Company is headquartered in Richfield, Ohio, which is located in northeastern Ohio between Cleveland and Akron. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050114/NILOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: National Interstate Corporation CONTACT: Product, John Hollar of National Interstate Insurance Company, +1-800-929-1500 x255, or , or Investor Relations, Tanya Inama of National Interstate Corporation, +1-877-837-0339, or Web site: http://www.nationalinterstate.com/

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