- Howard T. Weber, 1978

"We're making contributions to the bank, and now more and more inquiries are coming in. What we do is more valuable if people come to us early, or if we can get to them with ideas."

- Edith F. Lichota, 1987

"You have to go beyond the technical insurance programs to ask yourself what's going on in the company, what management is thinking about. This is where risk managers make mistakes, in the absence of communications with people in top management about the business environment, about the way they want things done."

- Thomas V. Hallett, 1980

On spreading the message of risk management:

"We tell the operations people, we tell the product people, we tell the business units that they are really the risk managers. At the end of the day, they are responsible for inherent risks."

- Richard C. Heydinger, 1993

"The message is that to have an effective risk management department, you don't need direct control over all these areas if you have responsible, competent people running these areas and you work together as a team. Your product-an effective risk management program-can sometimes be superior than if it is all combined."

- Stephen M. Wilder, 1990

On improvement:

"You are never finished improving safety and claims administration. I am always looking to do it differently-and always asking: 'How can we do it better?'"

- Donald Nelson, 1983

Risk financing programs "can become a dinosaur if you don't look" at them. What is good today has to be looked at tomorrow, because you may be able to improve upon it. Or, you confirm that it is good."

- Richard M. Inserra, 1984

"When I first came to Harrah's, one of the things I did was remove the risk management department's rearview mirror. I believed and still believe that you can't move forward if you are always looking backward."

- Lance J. Ewing, 2007

On the rewards of risk management:

"We work together as a team in this company to accomplish what we need to protect our corporation from human loss, property loss and financial loss. One of the reasons that I have stayed here for so long is that I think we really make a difference."

- Lucille A. Gallagher, 1994

"I'm a creative person, and risk management gives you more of an opportunity to be creative." As a risk manager, "you have to think about what you can do to make things better. I like that challenge."

- Millicent Workman, 1992

On why a department should be called risk management:

The name change was "a recognition of the fact that some of the responsibilities we had were not specifically insurance. It was erroneous to call us the corporate insurance department when we had responsibility for loss control."

- William L. Mather, 1988

On communicating with other departments:

"Most of the people I'm dealing with are in real estate or in the finance function. You don't want to take up a lot of their time. So you look for information that's readily available but may be in a different format" than what risk management might use.

- Merritt W. Fabel, 1999

On delegating:

"You have to guard your own mental and spiritual resources. You cannot spend all day and night solving material problems. You'll be left with no center, no personality. You (would be unable to ) deal with the complexity of the human side of the business."

- Eckart Russell, 1982

On team-building:

"We're not just consulting with risk coordinators. We're training them to solve problems, whereas my counterparts in cities and counties are the only risk manager in the whole organization. Here, we've got a confederation."

- Dan Hartman, 2001

On building trust:

"You have to win their confidence first. In the first visit, they just listen to you and size you up. The next time, if they trust you, they ask for the details."

- Duane C. Allen, 1981

"Zero recognition is a cheap way to buy other people's confidence and trust. Your rewards come later."

- Scott K. Lange, 1995

On serving customers:

"Hopefully, (Snap-on Inc.'s dealer insurance program) shows our focus on providing services and value to whatever customer we've identified. What this helps me do is build credibility with Snap-on operating units for buy-in on traditional risk management products."

- Daniel H. Kugler, 2002

"In golf as in life, it's the follow-through that makes the difference."

- Lance J. Ewing, 2007

On renewals:

"The best person to present your case to the markets is you. To not take advantage and be part of the renewal process, I think, is foolish."

- Brian D. Casey, 1996

On reaching solutions:

"I push and I push and I push and I don't take no for an answer."

- Paul F. Buckley, 2000

"Risk management innovations and accomplishments emerge from ideas and concepts that are already there, but need to be discovered, polished and shared with the world."

- Jeffrey W. Pettegrew, 1989

On market cycles:

"There will always be insurers willing to properly underwrite a risk. There will always be reinsurers willing to reinsure. Although they may become extremely selective, with proper underwriting information and our extremely good safety record, I want to be out there as a leader for my company."

- Harold C. Lange, 1985

A CEO's perspective on his risk manager:

"He understands risk. He understands people. He understands organizations. He knows how to present an issue so you don't spend hours having to listen to boring discussions."

- Maurice R. Greenberg, speaking on AIG's Merritt W. Fabel, 1999