In recent editions of your magazine, we believe that National Interstate Corporation (Nasdaq: NATL) and our insurance subsidiaries, specifically National Interstate Insurance Company, may have been inadvertently portrayed in an unfavorable light, including a recent mention of an SEC shelf registration that simply allows certain shareholders to fulfill stock registration related procedures.

I have received questions and concerns from several of our customers and business partners regarding our financial stability that were based on impressions they gained from reading the magazine.

However, rather than focus on specific articles, I would like to provide some straight-forward facts.

National Interstate is celebrating its 20th year in business. Since our inception we have been a leader in our markets and our results have consistently outperformed the property and casualty insurance industry as a whole. We have always maintained a strong and conservative balance sheet, especially in regards to our investments and claims reserves.

Our financial strength was recently confirmed by A. M. Best with an A Excellent rating, stable outlook.

National Interstate began exclusively as a passenger transportation insurer and we have since expanded our product offerings to other areas including trucking and specialty personal lines. Today we believe that we are the largest writer of insurance for passenger transportation companies and one of only a few insurers who have consistently remained in this market.

We offer both traditional and captive programs providing superior customer service including claims expertise that can only be achieved through the consistency that we have demonstrated throughout our 20-year history.

I am fortunate to lead a financially stable and growing insurance company. We believe our strong and loyal customer base, along with our employees and shareholders, have benefited from the financial stability that National Interstate has maintained throughout our history.

We continue to support our insurance markets with the innovative, cost effective products that our business partners have grown to expect from us.

To see how we can help you with your insurance needs or to contact us, please look us up at www.nationalinterstate.com.

Dave Michelson
President and C.E.O.