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JUST PLAY BALL

Baseball is competitive, and therefore the liability insurance for players' injuries should be carried by the pension fund of the Players' Association or the agents who handle the financial side of their clients. Each and every player knows the risk of injury exists, for they have all been in lower levels and subjected to damage. At the lower levels, the owners of the fields, the municipalities, and the little or minor leagues are liable for injuries caused by maintenance. This possibility has been eliminated through the efforts of the owners in professional baseball, basketball and football. (See "Bases Covered," Risk & Insurance®, October 15, 2006, p. 35.)

In professional sports the players' unions know the normal rules of the game imply risk to their membership. This is unlike any service industry or manufacturing industry, for in these cases regulations are designed to prevent injuries and coverage is withheld if no actions are taken to reduce risk.

Here's only one example. Let us say a pitcher hits the opposition player in the head. This hit player sees his career end. Or, let us say a player tries to run out a hit and strains his hamstring. How is this the fault of the owner? The players are trained, nurtured and disciplined by the players' union; thus, they should provide insurance for their membership that includes disability insurance for each and every member according to their earning potential.

WILLIAM CORMENY

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

PROJECT ERM

Dear Editor,

I read your article on Building Information Modeling (Risk & Insurance®, November 2006, p. 50) and see BIM as beneficial software used to detect design errors before constructing. I thought your article was on target. Personally, I don't find the software to be an all-end risk management tool capturing overall project risks that feeds the design process. Although BIM can be used as a risk mitigation instrument to avoid or limit the impact of design errors, my approach has been to implement a projectwide risk management program overlaying the entire project's initiative from conceptual planning to operations--similar to an ERM but designed for that specific project. This approach encompasses a host of risk outside of BIM, such as contract language, delivery methods and project finance, to name a few.

RALPH KNEISLEY

Principal, Capital Project Risk Group

Integro Insurance Brokers

New York

FEELING THE HEADACHE

Dear Editor,

That was a nice article on the cost of comp (Peter Rousmaniere's column, "Ranking the Cost of Comp," Risk & Insurance®, November 2006, p. 16).

I have been saying the same things for years and beating my head against the wall, while the companies say that it is a part of doing business.

JAMES J MOORE

President/Founder

J&L Risk Mgmt Consultants Inc.

Raleigh, N.C.

January 1, 2007

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