The Houston Astros were thrilled to finally win their first World Series last year, but that victory complicated the team’s risk profile, according to its risk manager.

The relatively young Astros players were mostly unknown prior to winning the title, but with their World Series rings came increased security risks, Monica Rusch, senior director, risk management, Houston Astros L.L.C., said at the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc.’s annual conference on Wednesday.

“It’s a new risk,” she said. “It’s employees who got their rings the first night and want to show them to everyone, but you have to look at the security aspects. And we have players who are more recognizable than before. They’re just terrific people and everyone wants to get close to them.”

Security related to terrorism and active shooter events is another key risk for organizations such as the Astros that operate in ballparks, arenas and conventions, Ms. Rusch said, noting that the San Antonio convention center hosting the RIMS conference had a notable security presence with bomb-sniffing dogs and staff checking attendee badges.

“It’s the more awareness – if you see something, say something,” she said. “You can’t say it enough.”

Injuries to guests and fans are an ongoing risk for sports and entertainment venues, experts say. Baseball has always had language on the back of tickets advising people of the risk that they are assuming by entering the ballpark, but the language “has gotten stronger every year it seems like,” Ms. Rusch said.

It is unknown exactly how many fans are injured by baseballs, bats or other equipment flying into the stands, but in 2015, Major League Baseball recommended – but did not mandate – that all teams lengthen the protective netting at the ballparks to shield fans within 70 feet of home plate.

“We get complaints on both sides,” Ms. Rusch said. “You’re not protecting the fans because the netting doesn’t go far enough and then you get the complaint ‘I brought my glove, I’ll never catch a foul ball.’ You have to find that happy medium.”

It is critical for risk managers to keep up with social media trends to learn about and prepare for emerging risks, she said. For example, a trend called escalator surfing in which people, usually teenagers, are filmed sliding down escalators has resulted in numerous social media videos and injuries.

“The first person that’s going to call and say ‘that’s your fault’ is going to be the parent,” she said. “It’s not taking responsibility.”

“It’s trying to get ahead of what those trends are,” Ms. Rusch continued. “You want to know about it before you hear about it.”

Risks can increase depending on who the Astros are playing and how many people are in attendance, especially if it’s a rivalry game against the Texas Rangers, she said.

“Always remember that the emotional aspect … can flare up in a second,” Ms. Rusch said.

Preparation and communication is critical to managing these risks, she said.

“Written polices – those are terrific, if anybody reads them,” she said. “By being in risk management, you have to have a thick skin, I think. A lot of our employers are like … ‘she’s going to say no.’ Written policies are put in place for a reason. It’s the communication and understanding. You have to educate your employees, you have to educate your players, you have to educate everyone so they can’t come back and say ‘well, I didn’t know.’ That’s one way to reduce or mitigate potential claims: everybody being on the same page.”

“What makes it nice about written policies is that if someone is in violation of something, you already know what the recourse is,” she added.

The organization conducts pre-game briefings with staff to go over any potential issues such as heightened security threats and post-event briefings to discuss what went well and what didn’t, Ms. Rusch said.

“We want them to know as much as they can to better prepare themselves and the crowd we’re about to get to walk into the gates,” she said.

But even the best preparations don’t mitigate all risks, she noted. The catastrophic flooding caused in Houston by Hurricane Harvey highlighted both personal and professional risks for Ms. Rusch, who packed a small bag even though she and her husband were not expecting to have to evacuate their home, which they did when the opening of a nearby reservoir led to major flooding within 30 minutes.

“It doesn’t matter how much you prepare,” she said. “There’s still going to be unexpected things.”

For venues, it is important to consider options for dealing with catastrophic events, whether they occur in advance of the scheduled event, during the event or after it, as well as options to deal with loss of access if the venue has to be closed for a period of time, Ms. Rusch said.

Insurance solutions exist for many of these risks, said Tamara Bruno, counsel, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman L.L.P. in Houston. Disability insurance specific to athletes, for example, covers risks such as loss of value for both the team and the athlete.

“Injuries during the negotiation period are going to be really bad for the athlete,” she said. “All of a sudden, their value has plummeted.”

But there are key issues to consider when negotiating disability coverage. For example, there was one situation where a hockey player was injured during a fight and the insurer denied coverage because fights are expected during hockey games so the injury was foreseeable – and the insurer won the dispute, Ms. Bruno said, adding that organizations should try to negotiate such exclusions out of their policies.

While fans voluntarily assume risk by showing up at the ballparks, per the ticket language, “claimants may try to allege intentional conduct to get around that,” she said, adding that this could also result in disputes with insurers who may argue that the policy excludes coverage for intentional torts.

“Despite our best efforts, there can be incidents and end up being claims,” she said.