Assembling 60,000 people in a stadium to watch a sports event is a daunting prospect. Natural disasters, a terrorist attack and crowd control are just a few of the hazards that come to mind. Now multiply these threats by 22—the number of stadiums in the property insurance program of Major League Baseball.

Anthony Avitabile is the risk manager tasked with handling these spine-stiffening hazards. On his bench is FM Global, the giant international property insurer that absorbs the lion's share of the financial risk. Five years ago, when Avitabile sought an insurance partner to simplify his patchwork quilt of an insurance program and provide vital engineering risk services, FM Global stepped to the plate.

The league's previous program involved more than 20 different insurers, each taking a little piece of the action. The multiple moving parts created vast unpredictability from year to year as carriers moved in and out of the program or absorbed different layers of risk. "It was extremely cumbersome and time-consuming, especially when there was a claim, given all the parties and their respective locations," says Avitabile, Major League Baseball's director of industry risk management, who's pictured at right.