At Your Own Risk.

Managing risk is like breathing. It's instinctive. It starts at an early age. Toddlers scamper across playgrounds, fall and scrape their knees. They get up, brush themselves off and then they're off again, risking more cuts and bruises. But perhaps this time they'll avoid the patch of gravel that caused the fall.

For adults, even routine tasks, such as driving to work, are fraught with numerous risks--winding roads, aggressive and inattentive drivers, mechanical failures and slippery road conditions, to name a few. But millions of motorists manage these risks by driving defensively and wearing seat belts.

Professional risk managers deal with risk in a more thoughtful and less intuitive manner. They, too, are concerned with safety, but they also must protect companies and institutions from legal liability and financial loss. Risk managers are facing a whole slate of new and unfamiliar risks. (See "Overexposure," page 25.) Globalization, technology e-commerce, new laws and labor concerns are among the issues to be discussed at the 39th annual Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc.'s conference and exhibition April 29-May 3 in Atlanta. Nearly 10,000 people--13% of them from other countries--are expected to attend, making it the largest such marketplace in the United States.

For school risk managers, the risks aren't always as readily identifiable as school violence and slippery stairways. They also have to protect the schools from potential lawsuits and, in some cases, administer health benefits, negotiate union contracts and perform a host of other duties. (See "Reading, 'Riting and Risk Management," page 35.)

In the corporate world, proper risk management can be the difference between making a profit and taking a loss. Prakash Shimpi and his colleagues at Swiss Re New Markets have devised a new model for managing risk that gives it the same importance as managing capital. Details of their "Insurative Model" are spelled out in a new book. (See "A New Model for Managing Risk," page 43.)

In the office, the classroom or on the playground, risk management has become risky business.