National Interstate Corporation Announces 2005 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results

RICHFIELD, Ohio, March 21  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Interstate Corporation (NASDAQ:NATL) today reported net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2005 of $7.9 million ($.41 per share diluted), compared to $6.7 million ($.42 per share diluted) for the fourth quarter of 2004.  The 19.1% increase in net income for the fourth quarter of 2005 reflects a 22.4% increase in earned premium and a 45.6% increase in net investment income, offset by a 1.1 percentage point increase in the GAAP combined ratio.  Net income for the full year of 2005 increased by $7.5 million to $30.3 million ($1.60 per share diluted), compared to $22.8 million ($1.47 per share diluted) for the same period of 2004.  The per share comparisons for both periods are impacted by approximately 23.0% more shares outstanding in 2005 from the Initial Public Offering that was completed in February 2005.

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The GAAP combined ratio was 83.2% for the fourth quarter of 2005, compared to 82.1% for the same period in 2004.  The loss and loss adjustment expense ratio of 58.6% for the fourth quarter of 2005 was 2.3 percentage points higher than the same period last year and consistent with our expectations.  The underwriting expense ratio was 24.7% for the fourth quarter of 2005, compared to 25.8% for the fourth quarter of 2004.  The decrease in the underwriting expense ratio is a result of several factors including (i) the Company continuing to monitor and control fixed expenses as the Company's business grows, (ii) increased risk retention across several product lines that contributes to a decrease in the expense ratio as the additional retained written premium is earned, and (iii) lower expenses related to charges we receive from states for guarantee funds and other fees.  The GAAP combined ratio for the full year of 2005 of 82.6% decreased 0.9 percentage points compared to 83.5% for the same period of 2004.  This combined ratio decrease reflects a 2.7 percentage point decline in the expense ratio for the same reasons noted above for the fourth quarter and a 1.8 percentage point increase in the loss and loss adjustment ratio caused by slightly higher accident year 2005 losses which were offset by $5.2 million of favorable development of prior year reserves.

"We are very satisfied with the results from both the fourth quarter and full year of 2005 and the successful completion of our first year as a public company.  Our people took advantage of the available opportunities to grow profitability and these efforts led to another record year for sales and profits," stated Alan Spachman, Chairman and President of National Interstate Corporation.

About National Interstate Corporation

National Interstate Corporation (NASDAQ:NATL), 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 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 of primarily 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 Co.  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.

Forward Looking Statements

This document, including any information incorporated by reference, contains "forward-looking statements" (within the meaning of Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). All statements, trend analyses and other information contained in this press release relative to markets for our products and trends in our operations or financial results, as well as other statements including words such as "may," "target," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "project," and other similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements. We made these statements based on our plans and current analyses of our business and the insurance industry as a whole. We caution that these statements may and often do vary from actual results and the differences between these statements and actual results can be material. Actual results may differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could contribute to these differences include, among other things:  general economic conditions and other factors, including prevailing interest rate levels and stock and credit market performance which may affect (among other things) our ability to sell our products, our ability to access capital resources and the costs associated with such access to capital and the market value of our investments; customer response to new products and marketing initiatives; tax law changes; increasing competition in the sale of our insurance products and services and the retention of existing customers; changes in legal environment; regulatory changes or actions, including those relating to regulation of the sale, underwriting and pricing of insurance products and services and capital requirements; levels of natural catastrophes, terrorist events, incidents of war and other major losses; adequacy of insurance reserves; and availability of reinsurance and ability of reinsurers to pay their obligations.

The forward-looking statements herein are made only as of the date of this report.  The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward- looking statements.

   Contact:
   Tanya Inama
   877-837-0339
   



                     NATIONAL INTERSTATE CORPORATION
                         SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
                  (in thousands, except per share data)

                                      Three months ended     Year ended
                                         December 31,        December 31,
                                        2005     2004      2005      2004
  Operating Data:
  Gross premiums written               $37,338  $32,269  $270,036  $224,984

  Net premiums written                 $33,153  $26,101  $211,106  $166,419

  Premiums earned                       51,931   42,422   194,397   156,908
  Net investment income                  3,542    2,433    12,527     8,613
  Net realized gains                      (206)     379       278     1,661
  Other income                             500      527     1,974     1,967
        Total revenues                  55,767   45,761   209,176   169,149
  Losses and loss adjustment expenses   30,408   23,876   117,449    92,008
  Commissions and other
   underwriting expense                 10,434    9,846    35,741    34,201
  Other operating and
   general expenses                      2,870    1,619     9,428     6,888
  Interest expense                         358      551     1,421     1,610
        Total expenses                  44,070   35,892   164,039   134,707
  Income before income taxes            11,697    9,869    45,137    34,442
  Provision for income taxes             3,775    3,216    14,857    11,674
        Net income                      $7,922   $6,653   $30,280   $22,768

  Per Share Data:
  Earnings per common
   share, basic (e)                      $0.42    $0.43     $1.62     $1.50
  Earnings per common share,
   assuming dilution (e)                 $0.41    $0.42     $1.60     $1.47
  Book value per common share,
   basic (at period end)                  7.32     4.69      7.32      4.69
  Weighted average number of common
   shares outstanding, basic            19,041   15,530    18,737    15,171
  Weighted average number of common
   shares outstanding, diluted          19,244   15,686    18,975    15,480
  Common shares outstanding
   at period end                        19,055   15,530    19,055    15,530
  Cash dividend per common share         $0.04       NA     $0.08        NA

  GAAP Ratios:
  Losses and loss adjustment
   expense ratio                         58.6%    56.3%     60.4%     58.6%
  Underwriting expense ratio             24.7%    25.8%     22.2%     24.9%
  Combined ratio                         83.2%    82.1%     82.6%     83.5%
  Return on equity (b)                   23.2%    38.2%     28.5%     37.2%
  Average shareholders' equity        $136,380  $69,639  $106,161   $61,235

                                   At December 31,    At December 31,
                                        2005               2004
  Balance Sheet Data (GAAP):
  Cash and investments                $320,220           $238,951
  Reinsurance recoverable               77,834             63,128
  Total assets                         523,003            401,236
  Unpaid losses and loss
   adjustment expenses                 223,207            171,031
  Long-term debt (a)                    16,297             32,547
  Total shareholders' equity          $139,533            $72,789

  Statutory Data: (c)
  Policyholder Surplus
   (Statutory) (d)                    $122,825            $92,124

  (a) Long-term debt at December 31, 2004 includes a $15 million loan from
      Great American Insurance Company that was paid in full in February
      2005.
  (b) The ratio of net income to the average of shareholders' equity at the
      beginning and at the end of the period.
  (c) While financial data is reported in accordance with accounting
      principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP, for
      shareholder and other investment purposes, it is reported on a
      statutory basis for insurance regulatory purposes. Certain statutory
      expenses differ from amounts reported under GAAP. Specifically, under
      GAAP, premium taxes and other variable costs incurred in connection
      with writing new and renewal business are capitalized and amortized on
      a pro rata basis over the period in which the related premiums are
      earned. On a statutory basis, these items are expensed as incurred. In
      addition, certain other expenses, such as those related to the
      expensing or amortization of computer software, are accounted for
      differently for statutory purposes than the treatment accorded under
      GAAP.
  (d) The statutory policyholder surplus of National Interstate Insurance
      Company, which includes the statutory policyholder surplus of its
      subsidiary, National Interstate Insurance Company of Hawaii.
  (e) Earnings per share are computed independently for each quarter and the
      full year based upon respective average shares outstanding. Therefore,
      the sum of the quarterly earnings per share amounts may not equal the
      annual amounts reported.


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DATASOURCE: National Interstate Corporation



CONTACT:  Tanya Inama of National Interstate Corporation,

[phone], or  



Web site:  http://www.nationalinterstate.com/ 

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