But in today's litigious society, liability has become a high-stakes game of "keep-away," and you need to be an involved player if you don't want to end up the loser.

"Exposition management has become a high-profile profession," says Atlanta attorney John Foster, who specializes in contracts and risk management. "And exposition managers are held to a higher standard of care in their business activities because if they hold themselves out as a professional, then they are expected to understand the legal implications of the business they're in. It's not necessary to be an attorney to be a show manager, but you have to know someone who is."

Next, make a list with the show itself in mind. You know you have a specialized ceiling treatment -- it could fall. You've given permission for an exhibitor to bring a live animal into her booth -- it could bite someone. You'll be using a golf cart to survey the show floor -- you could knock down an exhibit.

All these lists become your master checklist of risks you want to insure against. A simple premise to keep in mind -- "if it's not listed, it's not covered." If, for instance, you did knock down an exhibit with your golf cart, the insurance company could refuse to pay for damages because, although you are covered for negligence, the policy says nothing about your intent to operate a motorized vehicle.

The next step is to determine what kind of insurance your organization has -- and who makes the decisions about the amount of coverage required. As show manager, your insurance needs generally reflect only a portion of the organization's overall coverage. How -- and where -- does show insurance fit into this picture? Insurance experts say it's not a good idea to buy liability insurance on a one-show basis. It's more expensive, and -- for some organizations -- harder to obtain. Including the show protection under an overall organization umbrella policy makes far more sense.

Convention centers, exposition halls and hotels require that you have proof of liability insurance before you use their premises. The average minimum coverage for most facilities is $1 million per event, but these limits are creeping up, particularly in large halls in New York and California. "Very few conventions and trade shows carry much less than $3 million to $5 million in liability insurance," says Huntington Block, President of Huntington T. Block Insurance in Washington, D.C.

Some organizations add the extra liability coverage to their existing policy. "The insurance for our public shows are riders to our main policy," explains Carleton Rogers, President of TEAM Expositions in Elgin, Illinois. "Each specific show goes on as a rider because the amount of coverage the halls require are different in many cases."

Attorney John Foster advises show managers to make sure their organization's liability insurance includes trade shows and expositions. "And then they need to make sure that the policy covers them out of state," he adds. "Sometimes insurance will cover the organization only in the state where they are located or incorporated."

Even more common are insurance policies that only cover you within the continental United States. If your show is in Hawaii, Alaska, Canada or Puerto Rico you need to let your insurance broker know as early as possible.

Shop around. "Don't take the first quote you get," advises Turner Madden, General Counsel for the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. "If show managers check around, they can find good rates. Depending upon the show, they could save thousands of dollars."

Insurance brokers who are experienced in the show management field are a valuable addition to your show management team. Use them as sounding boards when it comes to insurance questions you don't understand. Ask them to look over the insurance requirements of the exhibit hall or hotel before you sign them. Brokers don't give legal advice, but they can make suggestions and recommend when you need to consult an attorney.

After checking the facility contract and reviewing your checklist, you should have an idea of the type of liability coverage you need. Sit down with your broker and discuss the risks involved, the additional coverage you might need and the clauses in the contract that you might want your attorney to negotiate.

As you decide on the liability coverage needed, discuss with your broker circumstances which could cause you to lose your coverage. For example, although you've included extra coverage for the live animal in the exhibitor's booth, does this coverage only extend to the edges of the booth? Are you covered if the animal gets loose and harms someone in the lobby, or will the insurance company consider this negligence and refuse to pay? Be as specific as possible.

Once you get your insurance policies, read them carefully. Look for escape clauses and "weasel-words." If that seems too daunting a task (they aren't exactly bedside reading), ask your broker or attorney to check them against the coverage you requested.

The Washington Convention Center, for example, requires show management to have a certificate of insurance for $1 million in personal injury and property insurance. It also asks show management to have $500,000 coverage for fire legal liability and theft. "The enabling legislation for the Center requires this," explains Madden. On the other hand, host insurance for serving liquor isn't necessary because the facility has an exclusive contract with a catering firm that carries this type of insurance.

In North Carolina hall, the Charlotte Convention Center requires $500,000 in liability coverage and you must obtain your own host liability if you are serving alcohol.

Using your attorney or insurance broker as expert advisors when reviewing facility contracts is critical. "The biggest mistake show managers make is not reading the contract with the hall to learn what liability is being shifted to them," says attorney John Foster. "A lot of times they may have a general liability policy that covers trade shows, but they may not know that such policies don't cover fire damage, for instance. This is where they need separate fire legal liability. Also, general liability insurance sometimes may not include theft coverage."

In addition to the facility's insurance requirements, you may be planning outside events that aren't covered in your regular policy. If you are taking attendees on a bus to a nearby attraction, you may need additional insurance. Or you may want to ask the bus company to add you to their liability policy for the duration of the trip. In any case, you need to make sure the transportation company provides you with a certificate of insurance to prove they are protected.

If your event involves water, such as a boat ride, or flight, such as balloon rides, you'll need special coverage. If you know this in advance -- and how much it will cost -- then you can determine whether you want to keep it on your agenda. Here again, the supplier needs to prove they have good insurance coverage and agree to hold you harmless for their negligence.

Some attorneys advise show managers to use a standard "supplier indemnification form" whenever they contract for services. It can be used with a transportation company, a decorator, an audio-visual supplier, a drayage company or hotel. This form, which can be a separate document or added to a contract, performs two functions. First, the supplier, as an independent contractor, agrees to be responsible for his or her own negligence. Second, the supplier agrees to purchase liability insurance in a specific dollar amount, and to provide you with a certificate of insurance as proof that the insurance is in effect during the dates of your function.

Such an agreement needs to be written by an attorney. The idea may be simple, but the actual wording is not. There is no way you can guarantee you won't be sued -- even if it's over something for which you weren't responsible. And, on the other hand, a contract isn't going to save you from liability for your own negligence. "It's a dicey subject, and the specific words in such agreements are important," says Jed Mandel, an attorney with the Chicago law firm of Neal Gerber & Eisenberg, and a recognized expert in convention and trade show law.

"First is to avoid the risk. Take hanging signs, for example. They can be an enormous risk. To eliminate this, you can have a rule prohibiting hanging signs at your show.

"Another way to deal with potential danger is to manage the risk. This means if there are hanging signs, they must be hung from structural beams, with strong chains, in order to mitigate any damage that might occur from them.

"The third way to deal with them is to pass on the risk. Any exhibitor who has a hanging sign agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the show, and all other exhibitors, from any loss that the hanging sign should cause. You can back up this indemnification by insisting that the exhibitor purchase separate insurance to cover any damage caused by the hanging sign.

"And finally, you may decide to purchase your own insurance to cover your organization from any damage caused by hanging signs."

"Show managers make a big mistake by not making sure that various exhibitors come in with adequate insurance coverage and are not just relying on show management's insurance to do the job," says TEAM Exposition's Carleton Rogers. "As it gets closer to show date and things get more hectic, this tends to get shoved aside. If nothing happens, that's fine, but if something does, you're on the ropes."

An alternative is to buy additional liability coverage under your policy for all exhibitors and add the cost to the booth fee. This ensures that everyone is covered, and makes it easier for you to manage this important protection.

"Some convention centers have contracts that would indicate that during the period of time that you are using the hall for your function, you are legally responsible for anything that occurs in that facility," says Brenda Ewing, Vice-President of Smith, Sternau Organization in Washington, D.C. "Exposition managers need to read the contract and be sure they understand what they are being held responsible for."

"We get calls on these hold harmless clauses every day," says Patricia Conley, Property Casualty Account Executive for Albert H. Wohlers & Co. in Park Ridge, Illinois. "They can open you up to a real can of worms.

"We advise people to negotiate these clauses with hotels and convention centers at the beginning. The closer you get to the event, the harder it is to negotiate, because they can say, 'If you don't sign, you're out.'" Conley continues.

It also helps if you are a large show. The more muscle you have in terms of the space you rent or the number of attendees, the more leverage you have in negotiating contracts.

Even if you are a smaller show, you should still have an attorney or insurance broker check over all contracts and negotiate those parts which are unacceptable.

These blanket "hold harmless" clauses from facilities are a growing trend, according to Huntington Block. "We thought we'd stopped it for a while, but every time you sit on your hands, it grows. In my judgment, it's important not to sign contracts which ask you to assume more liability than you'd intended, because every time you hold somebody harmless you are, in effect, assuming their liability."

Block credits the National Association of Exposition Managers with developing a model indemnification clause that can be used as a substitute for language in the facility lease contracts. Remember, however, that any changes must be initialed by all parties, and the language you are taking out must be crossed through and initialed as well. This is not a do-it-yourself project. You'll need an attorney to review the modified contract before you sign it.

Attorney John Foster has seen these negotiations from both sides. Before becoming an attorney specializing in association and exposition management, he was a director of sales for large hotel chains. "Hotels put these clauses in there, but they are just the rules of the game of negotiation. It's up to the exposition manager to say, 'OK, if you're going to ask me to indemnify you, then you are going to have to indemnify me as well.' What you don't want to do," he adds, "is have one party or the other shift all the liability."

That's why it's important to become skilled at the game of liability insurance "keep-away."