The history of HSB

Now, over 150 years later, those same values of loss prevention are still at the forefront of much of what we do. The company’s founding premise of dealing with “matters relative to everyday life” is also very much alive in the company’s culture.

It’s not surprising, because some very unique influences and values laid the foundation upon which HSB was founded:

• Steam Power and the Industrial Revolution   
• Polytechnic Club Tackles Boiler Explosions    
• Insurance Incentive for Boiler Inspections

During the mid-to-late nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution sprang up in America. Boilers, used to drive industrial machinery, locomotives and steamboats, were everywhere.

Though the potential of steam power seemed infinite, controlling the power was still crudely developed. As applications for steam power became more complex, the dangers also became more severe.

With thousands of boilers in operation throughout the country, there was also widespread ignorance about the properties of steam and the causes of boiler explosions. During the 1850’s, explosions were occurring at the rate of almost one every four days. And, in 1865, the worst boiler disaster in history occurred when the Mississippi River steamboat Sultana, took over 1,800 lives.

Most dismissed these incidences as “acts of god.” Those who ran industrial concerns simply assumed that their boilers would explode, and they would lose one or two workers. Others, namely members of the Polytechnic Club, which included future founders of HSB, had other ideas.

The Polytechnic Club spent much time debating about an idea that combined insurance with a boiler inspection. They reasoned that inspections would increase boiler safety and the insurance would function as an incentive to inspect and a guarantee of a quality inspection. Though the insurance offered financial interests, it was secondary to safety and loss prevention – a totally new concept for an insurance offering.

Under that premise, The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company was founded in 1866.

Today that premise is applied to equipment beyond boilers. From water supply systems, to heating and cooling, to electrical power, to refrigeration, to telecommunications, we insure and provide engineering services that touch almost every aspect of work and life.