National Interstate Insurance celebrates events, but its people matter most: Top Workplaces 2024

RICHFIELD, Ohio -- Every year, National Interstate Insurance celebrates Thanksgiving with a full turkey lunch in its cafeteria. To celebrate the Guardians home opener, it hosts a baseball lunch for employees and their families. There’s an annual summer party, wellnewss events, trivia challenges and Generational Jeopardy games.

“The energy and camaraderie of these company-sponsored days are always special,” said Vice President of Human Resources Tony Prinzo. “The organization focuses on engaging the entire workforce, both at our Richfield headquarters and remotely.”

But it’s not the special events that make National Interstate the No. 1 large business in cleveland.com’s 2024 rankings. Employees say it’s the people and the culture they have created as a team.

The company, founded in 1989, is one of the leading specialty property and casualty insurance companies in the country. The privately owned business has 801 employees and offers more than 30 product lines with a focus on commercial transportation, Alternative Risk Transfer, and specialty vehicle insurance.

National Interstate has been named a Top Workplace nine years consecutively.

“No one in our company wants to let their teammates down and we’re always there to pick each other up when someone needs help,” Prinzo says. “That is powerful financial objectives are certainly important, but the commitment and care we have for each other, and our customers is the gamechanger.”

For the 2024 Top Workplaces list, cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer compiled more than 200 stand-out Northeast Ohio employers based on employee surveys. Find the full list and stories on the top three winners in each of four categories at cleveland.com/top-workplaces.

President and Chief Operating Officer Shawn Los said he is proud and humbled by the employee responses that earned National Interstate its slot on Top Workplaces. The organization takes its feedback seriously and turn it into action to continually enhance employee engagement.

“Our people and their commitment to each other, as well as our customers, make National Interstate a great place to work,” Los said. “The insurance business is driven by relationships, and we understand that across our entire organization. We win together, we learn together, and we grow together.”

The company invests time and resources in making roads safer and preventing accidents, Prinzo said. “Whether it’s a school bus operator transporting children, a truck delivering goods or a waste hauler picking up from our tree lawn, we take the safety of those operations very seriously and have a team throughout the country dedicated solely to this aspect of our work. We take great pride in the protection we provide and work we do to improve the overall safety of our community and roadways.”

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Julie McGraw says that the company lives by their values and focuses on excellent customer service. The company prioritizes employee training and develops leaders with long tenures at the company.

“I have seen so much growth and change throughout my 18+ years at National Interstate, but one thing that has not changed is the passion, technical expertise and integrity of our workforce,” McGraw said. “I take pride in who we are as an organization.”

Prinzo says the employees genuinely enjoy working with one another and continue to focus on having meaningful employee events.

Through corporate and employee giving, volunteer opportunities, blood drives, and food and donation drives, National Interstate remains committed to the community. They support and participate in many community organizations including the American Heart Association, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the Akron Marathon Series and Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

They also hold a yearly Whole LIFE Conference which is designed to inspire employees through meaningful work and culture. The company offers multiple employee benefits including a yoga studio, fitness classes and three fitness centers. And, an office in Hawaii doesn’t hurt either.

Colleen Shepherd is president of Vanliner, a subsidiary of National Interstate. “I am routinely asked why I choose to invest in my career with National Interstate/Vanliner, and it is undeniably because of our people and our employee centric culture. From family inclusive social events on campus, to surprise deliveries across the country welcoming a new baby or mourning a lost loved one, this company cares.”