EXHIBIT 99.1


PR NEWSWIRE


09:09  EXEL Limited Completes Tender Offer For More Than 90
      Percent of GCR Holdings Limited

HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 12/PRNewswire/-- EXEL Limited (NYSE:XL) announced today
that the cash offer made by its wholly owned subsidiary, Exel Acquisition Ltd.,
for all of the outstanding ordinary shares of GCR Holdings Limited (Nasdaq:
GCREF) expired, as scheduled, at 12:00 midnight on Wednesday, June 11, 1997. 
Based on information provided by the Depositary, a total of 23,071,143 shares of
GCR Holdings Limited were validly tendered pursuant to its cash offer.

EXEL Limited, through its subsidiary making the offer, has accepted for purchase
all shares validly tendered prior to the expiration of the offer.  The
acceptance of these shares in the tender offer results in EXEL Limited's owning
of in excess of 90 percent of GCR's outstanding ordinary shares.

In the next step of the acquisition, pursuant to a compulsory acquisition of
shares under Cayman Islands law, Exel Acquisition Ltd. intends to give notice to
all holders of the then outstanding shares (other than shares held by EXEL
Limited or any of its subsidiaries) that Exel Acquisition Ltd. intends to
acquire compulsorily such shares at $27.00 per share in cash.  In addition,
pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Amalgamation between EXEL and GCR, members
of GCR's board of directors, other than two outside directors, have tendered
their resignations and are being replaced by designees of EXEL, which will occur

as soon as practicable.  Further, the ordinary shares of GCR will be
deregistered under the United States securities laws and delisted from the
Nasdaq National Market as soon as practicable.

EXEL Limited, through X.L. Insurance Company, Ltd., X.L. Europe Insurance and
X.L. Reinsurance Company, Ltd. is a




leading provider of general liability, directors and 
officers liability, employment practices and professional 
liability, X.L. Risk Solutions, political risk, excess 
property insurance and reinsurance coverages to 
individual, commercial and professional service firms and 
other enterprises on a worldwide basis.

CONTACT:  Gavin R. Arton of EXEL, 441-292-8515