Exhibit 99




HARTFORD,  CT,  February 24, 1997 --The  Hartford  Steam Boiler  Inspection  and
Insurance Company  (NYSE-HSB)  announced today that Simon W. Leathes,  49, group
finance  director of Hambros PLC, has been elected a new director for a one-year
term. Hambros PLC is an international merchant banking and investment group.

Before joining  Hambros in the United  Kingdom in 1996,  Leathes served as chief
financial officer of Caspian  Securities Ltd. (U.K.).  From 1980 to 1995, he was
with  S.G.   Warburg  Group  PLC  (U.K.),   most  recently  as  chief  financial
officer/group finance director.

A fellow of the  Institute of Chartered  Accountants  in England and Wales and a
member of the American Institute of Certified Public  Accountants,  Leathes is a
director of HSB Engineering  Insurance  Limited,  a subsidiary of Hartford Steam
Boiler that provides equipment insurance and specialized engineering services to
locations outside the United States and Canada.