Insurance Policies for the Business - Case Study Example

Insurance Policies for the Business Name Tutor Course Institution Date Insurance Policies for the Business Robert Mathews formed Webhair Company in Sydney, Australia in 2005 and it is planning to open a franchise business in United States Emirates. Most of the sold products are used in applying on hair and face. Most of the products are from synthetics and natural sources. The products provided by the company include post lasr lotion, wound care products, Trielite conditioner, hydrating Gel, internal repair crème, Trielite follicle therapy (Burlando, Verotta, Cornara and Bottini-Massa 2010). Moreover, other products in the company include eye shadow, mascara, lipstick, skin lotions, cologne, perfume, hairstyling products like spray, hair and gel, shampoo, skin cleansers, and skin lotions (Schaffer 2006). The company has more than 50 brands sold worldwide. The company also produces moisturizers, which include the lotions and creams, which hydrate a person skin healing in moisture retention. They have essential herbal extracts, oils, and chemicals, which assist with irritation reduction and oil control (Schaffer 2006). There is also exfoliates that help the dead cells of the skin enhance the appearance of the skin. Such is normally achieved through the use of chemicals and mild acids which loosen old cells and may later remove the abrasive cells (Burlando, Verotta L., Cornara and Bottini-Massa 2010). They include acetic acid, citric acid, salicylic acid, glycolic acid, malic acid, and others. Moreover, there are facial masks that entail treatment that is normally applied to a person’s skin and can be removed later. The Webhair Company sells products, which includes the facial and hair ones. The price of the products based on place, size, quality, and packaging. Moreover, Webhair Company offers different services to the customers, which include customer service. This entails refrigeration equipment, requests from customers, ordering products from both modern and traditional outlets among others matters, which are related to the sale of distribution (Berg 2010). Secondly, there is customer service that includes product quality, product information, product promotion, packaging, and others (Colletts 2014). Thirdly, there is frequently asked a question that includes, practice or internship research, job vacancies, offering products and services. Risk Evaluation The five components of the risks control entail control environment, risk assessment, communication and information, and monitoring. Control environment can be defined as the setting tone for the organization through the influence of the people's control consciousness (Segal 2011). Risk assessment can be defined as a practice of management to identify analyses and respond to the risks, control activities refers to the policies and procedures, which helps in ensuring that the directors of the management are carried out, information is required are every level of the organization to help the management to meet the objectives of the company. Monitoring is a process of assessing the internal control performance quality, the communication and information in the company are weak, and the top executives were in a position to get involved in fraud by bypassing the current accounting system (Sadgrove 2014). The top managers may have an opportunity of recording fictitious entries manually and same employees are excluded from manipulation to reduce the fraud likelihood being discovered (John 2007). The factors which could impact the operations of financial results of the company include, water quality and scarcity, skin problems concerns, increased competition, changes in the businesses environment of cosmetic industry, and the inability of expanding operations in emerging and developing markets (Segal 2011). Similarly, other risks exist including the inability of maintaining better relationships with cosmetic partner’s strikes or work stoppages, interest rate increases, deterioration of the financial position of the business partners (John 2007). Also, there are risks like increased cost, disruption of supply/ shortage of packaging and raw materials, warning requirements/additional labeling, unfavorable political and economic conditions in the US and international markets, and changes in regulations and laws that relate to the business (which include the ones that regard packaging and beverage containers). Moreover, there is changes in the market and commercial practices within the European economic region, adverse weather conditions, the inability of maintaining product issues or brand images such as product recalls, changes in the regulatory and legal requirements in different countries where the company operates, changes in the taxation and accounting standards including tax rates increase (Segal 2011). Similarly, there is the inability of achieving overall long-term objectives inability of protecting information systems, the inability of managing company’s bottling operations successfully, regional orb global events, changes in taxation and accounting standards, and others (McShane, Nair and Rustambekov 2011). Webhair Company understands that the meaning of human resource management and the need for insurance covers (Sadgrove 2014). The company holds to the philosophy that people creates the company, not machines. Because the company is a global entity, it does not have specific procedures or policies instead it has a culture that caters for differences in political, cultural, and social differences (McShane, Nair and Rustambekov 2011). Similarly, the main concerns for company’s human resource management include career development, performance management, job analysis, recruitment and selection, work design, performance appraisals, employee relationships, medical and staff welfare, succession planning and career development, compensation, and employee relationships. The cosmetics care products industry is always characterized by authorities who highly regulate the businesses, which in turn increases costs of treatment. Such containment of costs measures is normally structures in a several ways such as reimbursement, regulation of prices, or having to engage in resource consuming or lengthy market access processes in every country (Segal 2011). Moreover, in the United States, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic products are keenly observed which can be a big blow to the company. More than half of the US states levies a tax of about 5 percent, and the municipal governments are considering introducing a municipal tax to reduce consumption of skin care products to curb complications that may arise from such and increase more revenues for the local administration. Recently, the company has experienced customers and data of some products that are established running out when the company is launching new products at the same time. Webhair is currently in a transition phase where it must strike a balance between market access to the new products and optimizing efforts of the established and current products portfolio while obtaining approval simultaneously (McShane, Nair and Rustambekov 2011). The company must work with the authorities of healthcare across the world to document the value of the products through the assessment of health economic among other initiatives. Likewise, there is management override whereby the managers intervenes in the handling of information of finance and make decisions different to internal control policy (Segal 2011). Additionally, the control activity and monitoring were represented by the reason that the management approved payments based on invoices only. As such, the fraud team bypassed internal controls. The external controls are also insufficient in detecting manipulation of the accounts and sales (McShane, Nair and Rustambekov 2011). Webhair Company does not have the required quality of top management who are in charge of decision-making. For instance, the committee does not have at least one person who qualifies as the financial expert. For this company, no indication that one of the individuals has a financial accounting background. Moreover, the audit committee as only met 2 times in five years and did not sufficiently and efficiently oversee and monitor financial reporting. This is dangerous to the stability of the company. Despite the fact that the company can insure against the loss of money as a result of employees, the insurance may decline to issue compensation when there a risk has occurred claiming that the company was ignorant to not follow the required rules in appointing the audit committee (Stonesoft Corporation 2012). Therefore, before insuring against the risk of losing money against fraudulent activities, Webhair companies has a responsibility to make sure that the employed workers have met all the minimum requirements before they resume work. It is clear that the employees are under pressure or have an incentive that provides them with reasonable grounds to commit fraud (Segal 2011). Secondly, circumstances exist in the company—for instance, ineffective controls, the ability of management to fully override controls, and absence of controls—which provide a good opportunity for individuals to perpetrate fraud (Stonesoft Corporation 2012). Thirdly, the people involved have an opportunity of rationalizing the fraudulent acts. Some individuals have ethical values or character attitude, which allow them to knowingly and intentionally commit undesirable acts. The incentive that made the company perform fraud is the day the company went public, and it required increased profits on income statement so that it can attract more investors and increase stock rice (Phyper and MacLean 2009). The company’s internal controls were insufficient. 3 executives did have a lot of authorities to getting access to different accounts. They have control of both accounts payable and checks that enable them to fake the recording of equipment purchasing. Because Webhair quarterly filings were not audited, the executives succeed in manipulating the financial statements. After they had done so, they were convinced that their actions were not going to be discovered by external auditors and they recorded fictitious sales frequently. In the supply chain management of the company, there are several risks involved: firstly, political risks (Phyper and MacLean 2009). Because Webhair Company is one of the biggest brands in the cosmetics industry and has enormous influence in numerous countries, it still has some political risks such as any sanctions or actions of the government and shifts in legislation that may have a huge effect on the process of the supply chain of the company. Secondly, there is an operational risk. Webhair Company has bigger operations and probability to has the latest technology, but there is nothing perfect and machinery may breakdown causing a lot of harm. There are risks that are always related to the breakdown or failure of machinery or the technology change with time may affect the process of the supply chain in the company (Sadgrove 2014). Thirdly, there is the probability of demand risk. The demand risks are normally uncertain and high and it dependents totally upon the customer likeness (Phyper and MacLean 2009). In case the customer loves the product the demand will be high, and when the customer starts disliking the products, the demand reduces and the company will have to single-handedly bear the losses. Such is one of the biggest risks compared to the rest since the goal of any company is maintaining customers and increasing their number for higher profit margins. Fourthly, according to Spedding & Rose (2008), there is an economic risk, which can be caused by the labor costs, economic shifts, and recession/change in customer policies, which may negatively affect the process of the supply chain of a company. Overcoming such risks requires the company to have proper measures and adopt good managing risks. Because the shareholders have little access to enough information, they find it difficult to monitor the daily management and transactions of the business (Colletts 2014). As such, they delegate their responsibilities to the board of directors. The board of directors needs inside directors who will provide enough information so that they can tackle decisions that will enhance maximum profitability (Spedding & Rose 2008). Nonetheless, in case the directors have bad motives and loopholes, it is normally easy for them to use their positions as tools of manipulation. The audit committee must ensure that the financial statement of the company are accurate and use reasonable and fair estimates (Sadgrove 2014). Specifically, it is the responsibility of overseeing disclosure process financial reporting, monitoring accounting policies and principles choice, overseeing performance, and the external auditors’ independence, monitoring the internal process of control, oversight of the regulatory compliance, discussing policies of risk management, and others (Asefeso 2012). The effectiveness of the audit committee and board of directors influence controlling environment significantly. This will depend on the stature and experience of the members and independence of the members. Furthermore, the cosmetics industry is governed to make sure that there is effectiveness, safety, and quality of products (Burlando, Verotta , Cornara and Bottini-Massa 2010). The nutritional supplements are always subject to various laws such as food and sanitation law that prescribes the addictive food standards, business permissions, and sanitation surveillance (FDA 2015). The laws prescribe standards of displaying of the caloric and nutritional values. The products also are subjected to the regulations of the heath care systems that enable the selection of the requirements products and foods to be used. The laws also prevent wrongful labeling, and violations of these laws are dealt with severely (FDA 2015). Moreover, currently, different lobbyists have come out to demand that the cosmetics products be labeled with explicit messages and warnings the same way it is done with the tobacco products (Schaffer 2006). They hold that ingredients used in manufacturing the skin care products are leading to lifelong dangers to the population including the unborn following absorption through the skin into the fetal blood. They, opponents of skin care products, further say that the cosmetic products sold on the shelves contain toxic ingredients such as endocrine or hormonally disruptive allergens and penetration enhancers, frank carcinogens, and precursors of hidden carcinogens (Burlando, Verotta , Cornara and Bottini-Massa 2010). Additionally, with increasing number of women becoming health consciousness and having sensitive skin, new entrants have tapped into this industry to provide cosmetics for the sensitive skins to hurt growth potential and the capabilities of earnings of the cosmetics products (FDA 2015). This means that the business should step up its efforts to fight this bad advertising and collaborate with other companies to assure customers of the products safety (Schaffer 2006). Moreover, because this fight against the cosmetic products can jeopardize the operations of the businesses, there is need of having a proper insurance policy to prevent any possibility of the business stopping operations. Insurance covers in United States Emirates UAE or Unites Arab Emirates is federation having seven Emirates: that is, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah, and Sharjah, (Asefeso 2012). Across the United Emirates, there is numerous range of products of insurance as the administration strives to have modern financial systems and ensure that all citizens in particular employee are safe in companies they work for. The market share of insurers who are foreign owned has been rising over the past decade meaning that most insurance cover for businesses will be provided by the foreign companies such as AON. Insurance authority regulates the insurance company in the UAE to make sure that the relevant stakeholders are compliant with the rules and requirements of the insurance and the insurance companies do not exploit their clients. From the beginning of business activities, an enterprise finds itself exposed to the certain risks. Even before the hiring of the first worker, a business finds itself to risk, which makes it critical to have the correct insurance plan in place (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). One catastrophic or laws suit event may be enough to end the operations of the business before it even begins. In the current market, most companies are affected increasingly by the international competitors and demanding rapid technological change and maintaining a customer base. Such is leading to a dynamic and complex supply networks. The company needs to be self-insured from bad employment practices, worries compensation, medical claims and vehicle accident claims, risk reduction strategy for minimization of the catastrophic loses (Ellul and Yerramilli 2013). Losses should be provided for procurements and assumptions followed in the industry of insurance adjusted for the firm’s specific expectations and history. In other words, a detailed and stringent approach to the identification of risks and management should be a continuous activity in the businesses (Asefeso 2012). Fortunately, a business has access to the numerous insurance types for protection against risks. There are several insurance kinds, which a business should have in place. Professional liability insurance The type of insurance policy is optional for businesses in the United Arabs Emirates, but it is important for businesses to have it and avoid the problems that might arise as a result of unprofessionalism at the workplace making the company incur huge losses. This can also be called errors and omission insurance, which covers an enterprise against the claims of negligence because of harm arising from the failure of mistakes to perform. Different industries have their various assets of concerns, which will be addressed in the customized policy that is written to an insurance company (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). This insurance policy is important to the cosmetics company, which handles toxic and risks substances that may affect the workers and other stakeholders (Asefeso 2012). For a cosmetic company like Webhair, this insurance policy is mandatory, and all companies in the industry must make sure that they have covered the businesses and its employees. This insurance cover always ranges from 1000—3000 yearly in the UAE. In the case of an unprofessional behavior by the workers, the business is compensated the amount the is lost meaning that this insurance cover is only interested in bringing the businesses back to its financial position, but not benefit or profit it in any way. Property insurance Whether a business rents or owns a space, property insurance is mandatory. The insurance policy covers signage equipment, furniture in case of fire, theft, or storm, and inventory (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). However, events of mass destruction such as earthquakes and floods cannot be covered, generally under the standard property insurance policies. For property liability insurance policy costs about 5000 US dollars every year depending on risks associated with the business, the professional liability is normally in the same category. When a risk occurs, the insurance companies indemnify the business, meaning that it will only pay the amount of the money that the business has suffered (Asefeso 2012). Usually, insurance companies are not into the business of profiting anyone or any enterprise. Moreover, in case there is no risk that took place, the business cannot claim any compensation from the insurance company. Business interruption insurance/ Product liability insurance If a catastrophic or disaster occurs the operations of business will be interrupted, most likely. The insurance cover is optional in the UAE region, but it is vital for a business that wishes to continue operations and make profits without any disruptions. At this time, the business is going to suffer from income loss because of the inability of the staff to work in the office, make sales claim, or manufacture products (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). Such insurance type is mostly available to companies such as Web hair that need a physical location to operate. The businesses interruption operations will compensate the business for loss of income during such events. Manufacturers are required to open itself to liability because being in business; it could lose everything easily in a single liability case (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). Therefore, it is vital for it to hold a product manufacturing insurance cover to protect itself. Despite the fact that companies have the option to operate without a product manufacturing insurance, they may risk losing assets in a lawsuit (Asefeso 2012). All businesses should always believe that worst may happen, but there are risks linked with the manufacturing, which needs to be examined when organizing for an insurance policy. The likeliness that products are going to be unsafe for the end users is always common. The production process may malfunction, and such may not be realized until a consumer is harmed. Even though businesses are proactive about prevention of such, it is a big risk that should be insured (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). Insurance will allow the people who are harmed by the products are compensated for losses or medical expenses without the business being hurt. The used equipment may pose a danger to workers during the occurrence of a malfunction (Spedding & Rose 2008). Failure of following safety procedures may cause death or industry, and the businesses can be held liable if the safety training efforts prior to the occurrence were inadequate. Insurance will protect against liability in this case (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). Lastly, product insurance will help in protecting against liability that may result from pollution. The agencies of environment can claim that the business violated the regulation, which are related to emissions produced by plants (Asefeso 2012). Fines might be hefty, and insurance will help in protecting the company from being hurt financially. In case a business manufacturers of different products for sale on the market, it is mandatory for it to have product liability insurance. A business may find itself in a lawsuit because of the damages that are caused by its products (Asefeso 2012). This kind of insurance cover will protect the business in such cases. The protection may also cover the third parties, promote damaged by manufacturing activities, or products. This type of insurance policy costs about 4,000 US dollars yearly. Workers compensation insurance In United Arab Emirates, any business with employees must have a workers insurance policy; such will cover disability, medical treatment, death benefits when the worker dies or is injured because of his or her work with the company. Even when the workers are performing low-risk work, medical conditions and slip and fall injuries could lead to a claim (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). The insurance policy will make sure that the workers are in good health and have a high quality of lie to continue producing products for the company. The employer in UAE is required to have a health cover for his or her staff, which must meet the minimum requirements of the law. That law holds that all employers should not fail to have a health insurance cover for their employees and the Dubai health authority treats such attempts seriously (Asefeso 2012). The employees should have basic health coverage with yearly payment between 500-700 Dh and maximum cover per individual per annum of 15000 Dh. The insurance cover is not covering the dependents of the employees. In UAE, the employees have a responsibility of organizing or sponsoring an insurance cover for their spouses, domestic workers, and dependents and should pay the premiums to the insurer directly. The plan should have yearly minimum of 15000 Dh per individual on every claim yearly Cost of medicine should be not less than 1500, Dh per individual Maternity services—inpatient treatment covered up to 7000 Dh for Normal delivery and 10000Dh for the medically required C-section among complications. Every maternity service must be covered with an excess of 10 percent. Outpatient treatment is covered with an excess of 20 percent. Inpatient treatment should be covered with an excess of 20 percent up to a maximum of 500 per encounter and not less than 1000 Dh every year. Failure to have an insurance cover may lead to a maximum fine of 50000 Dh. Vehicle insurance All the vehicles in the companies must be insured for the protection of businesses against any liability if by any chance an accident occurs. Most businesses should make sure that they insure against the third party injury (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). Also, comprehensive insurance is not bad as it covers the vehicle in case of an accident. Motor vehicle insurance requires that accident that will cause damage to property should be covered by 545,000 US dollars (Asefeso 2012). Moreover, the provision requires that the motorist who will be involved in an accident have the right of receiving a daily amount of 300 AED for about 10 days is that they can rent a vehicle. The policy has deductible amounts, which are decided by the insurance company that can be set 10 percent maximum of the compensation value in case the driver is below 25 years old, a maximum amount of the compensation value for taxis and public vehicles and a maximum of 20 percent of modified vehicles and sports vehicles. In case a member of the insured family dies, or the driver of rented vehicle or driving learning vehicle or public vehicle, the insurance company will be able to pay 200,000 AED for every fatality. In the case of injury, the insurance company will pay based on the extent of disability or the harm caused to the physical body of the employee. The insurance company has an obligation of repairing the damaged vehicle and compensates the market value for the vehicle if the repair of the vehicle is more than 50 percent of the market value of the car, provided the insurance liability company is not exceeding 2 million AED. Wives, husbands, parents and children are included in insurance coverage. A passenger will be defined as in an individual who was in the vehicle or off the vehicle or getting in. The maximum limit for a liability insurance company to all claims arising from a single accident will be the value determined by the court of law. (AED 10= US 2.72). The insurance policies are mostly valid for 1 year after the issuance date and must be renewed yearly. It is flexible to shift from one policy to another provided the difference is paid by the insured (Klinger, Judd & Bachrach 2008). The policies have excluded services, basic health care services, maximum coverage, copayment that must be paid by the insured productive of the guidelines of complaints, and others. Conclusion The work of the risk manager should be a strong balance between value creation and risks exposure. The company needs to be adapted and updated continually so that it can match the external and internal requirements. Such will give the company complete and accurate overview of the resources and activity and a good basis for decision making concerning risk exposure. Webhair is focused on the developing innovative products. However, there exist risks, which are involved in treatment and developments of the products for different skin diseases and problems. There are risks that new products are going to be delayed or may not reach the market. It is, therefore, important to give additional support to the ongoing studies and so that the products will be successful. Mitigating and understanding the strategic risks linked with new products development is a critical element of Webhair overall strategy of risks management. It is clear that Webhair Company has been experiencing numerous problems or risk which might end its operations if effect oversight and risk management practices are not adopted. The risk manager has ensured risks such as risk assessment, risk analysis, risk management, and risk evaluate. It is so important to establish a managerial committee that will encourage the required behavior; the managers should strive to communicate such values thigh official policies, code of conduct, and lead by example. The employees are supposed to possess the knowledge and skills that are necessary for performing their work, especially when performing significant control functions. Audit committee or board of directors should be controlled environment that must be influenced significantly by the effectiveness of the objectiveness of the organization. Moreover, it is important for the company to protect priority knowledge, which underpins its success. It must increase its focus on the information security and intellectual property rights and avoid infringement by the third party. The company evaluates continually the risks linked to the ownership, use, involvement, incorporation, addition of IT, influence, and others. Sensitive data and information should be needed solid security strategy to avoid unnecessary losses of financial and intellectual property rights. The company should have the required employees with necessary competencies and have correct insurance policies to protect them against any risks and perils that might arise during the process of production. It should motivate, retain employees through employee benefits, competitive remuneration, and through the development of opportunities and individual recognition. Overall, it is important for consumers to access the required products. As a manufacturer, the company has to ensure supply reliability. It must monitor carefully the results of the products and try to maintain inventory so that it can respond to interruptions in the production process. The company should have several independent sites for production across the globe to increase production flexibility and respond to the market demand that may be volatile. In some instances, the company is required to recall products from the market because of the quality of safety issue. Therefore, there is a need for insurance policies and systems in place that will make sure that an effective and first response is adapted to such a situation. Reference List Asefeso, A. (2012). Ceo guide to doing business in middle east. [Place of publication not identified], Lulu Com. Berg, H. (2010). Risk Management: Procedures, Methods and Experiences. RT&A # 2(17), Vol.1, 2010 June. Burlando, B. Verotta L., Cornara, L. and Bottini-Massa, E. (2010) Herbal Principles in Cosmetics, CRC Press Colletts, J. (2014). Adopt the Proper Risk Management Approach. Credit Union Directors Newsletter. Jan2014, Vol. 40 Issue 1, p4-4. Ellul, A. and Yerramilli, V.(2013). Stronger Risk Controls, Lower Risk: Evidence from U.S. Bank Holding Companies. The Journal of Finance, Vol. LXVIII, No. 5, 2013, pp.1757-1803. FDA. (2015). Cosmetics: Guidance & Regulation; Laws & Regulations. Prohibited & Restricted Ingredients. [website]. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD.. Hampton, J. J. (2009). Fundamentals of enterprise risk management: how top companies assess risk, manage exposures, and seize opportunities. New York, American Management Association. John H. (2007) The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) released its Enterprise Risk. Available from: https://na.theiia.org/aboutus/Public%20Documents/Sawyer_Award_2007.pdf [Accessed 15 Feb 2016] Klinger, M., Judd, G., & Bachrach, G. J. (2008). The surety's indemnity agreement: Law and practice. Chicago, IL: Tort Trial and Insurance Practice, American Bar Association. McShane, M., Nair, A. and Rustambekov, E. (2011). Does Enterprise Risk Management Increase Firm Value? Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 2011, pp.642-658. Phyper, and MacLean. (2009). Good to Green: Managing Business Risks and Opportunities in the Age of Environmental Awareness, Epub Edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc. Sadgrove, K. (2014). The complete guide to business risk management. http://site.ebrary.com/id/11047778. Schaffer, S.(2006), Reading Our Lips: The History of Lipstick Regulation in Western Seats of Power, Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, retrieved 2014-06-05 Segal, S. (2011). Corporate value of enterprise risk management: the next step in business management. http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=40624. Sobel, P. (2008) Risk Management-based auditing; A new guidance framework can help enhance auditors' contributions to organizational governance. Available from: http://0-eds.a.ebscohost.com.brum.beds.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ab82ea76-dddf-4f07-885d-7f4b23f48c8c%40sessionmgr4005&vid=7&hid=4202 [Accessed 10 November 2016] Spedding, L. S., & Rose, A. (2008). Business risk management handbook: A sustainable approach. Oxford: CIMA. Stonesoft Corporation (2012) Risk Management, Internal Control and Internal Audit (Available from: http://www.stonesoft.com/en/company/investors/corporate_governance/risk_mgmt_and_internal_control/ (Accessed 10th January 2014) Read More