National Interstate Corporation announced higher preliminary earnings estimates for 2006 and a 65 percent jump in fourth-quarter premiums, sending shares of the transportation insurance specialist's stock up nearly 25 percent this afternoon.

The Richfield, Ohio-based specialty insurer of trucks and personal recreational vehicles said that gross premiums for the fourth quarter soared to $61.5 million from $37.3 million for the comparable quarter in 2005. For the full year, the company said gross premiums were $305.5 million–up 13.1 percent over full-year 2005.

The company anticipates 2006 fourth-quarter net income in the range of 54 cents to 60 cents per share, compared with 41 cents for fourth-quarter 2005. For the year, net income is expected to come in the range of $1.80 to $1.86 per share, more than 20 cents above the 2005 level of $1.60 per share.

In a statement, Alan Spachman, chairman and chief executive officer of National Interstate Corporation said, “It is not our normal practice to release preliminary results, but we felt it was prudent to share these preliminary results prior to our normal quarterly earnings release, scheduled for late February.”

The company will release its complete 2006 fourth-quarter and full-year results on Monday after the market closes.

Today's announcement sent shares of the company's stock up more than 5 points at midday to $25.69.

The firm is an independently operated subsidiary of Great American Insurance Company, which is a property-casualty subsidiary of Cincinnati-based American Financial Group.

National Interstate was one of two transportation insurers to make an announcement in the past 24 hours. Separately, Kingsway Financial of Toronto said it is acquiring Mendota Insurance, a nonstandard auto writer, from The St. Paul Travelers Companies.

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National Interstate Gives Positive 4Q Preview

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