It's usually in October that the stock market decides to go haywire. This year, it chose September. With the demise of the Lehman Brothers, the disappearance of Merrill Lynch into Bank of America Corp., and the sudden crash of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), one wonders if anyone in Washington, D.C., or our state insurance departments for that matter, even knows where the store is or who is managing it. Of course, like all aspects of life, it boils down to one word: risk. As adjusters, we know all about risk. We witness the monumental losses that risk can produce on a daily basis. Yet we can do little about it except pay the claims. Wouldn't a bit of mandated risk management be a good idea?

The financial world has suddenly been turned upside down. AIG, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, is now owned by the government. How could that be? Your resident image-smasher has been dealing with AIG for more than 40 years. In fact, early on in my career, the third claim I settled was for AIG. I've visited its New York headquarters; dined with an AIG representative in Beijing; handled claims for and against the company; met old Maurice (Hank) Greenberg several times; and always thought of AIG as the solid gold standard insurer of the world.

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