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High Taxation Tops the List of Biggest Business Risks

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High taxation is the number one risk faced by North American businesses, according to a new survey from Lloyd’s of London.

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Lloyd’s Risk Index 2013, which was also published in 2009 and 2011, surveyed more than 500 C-suite and board-level executives to determine the threats that they were most concerned with. High taxation, which only came in 13th in 2011, took the top spot. Lloyd’s Chief Executive Richard Ward pointed to the increased debate around economic issues and the perception of how corporations pay their taxes as one reason for the increase in concern:

The public scrutiny given to corporate taxation has become increasingly intense over the last two years, with governments and the taxpayer alike demanding greater transparency and changes to legislation. Since 2011, this pressure has clearly been felt by respondents, who now rank the risk of high taxation as their highest overall risk, up from number 13 in 2011. In the U.S., the priority scores given to this risk are particularly high.

After high taxation, the rest of the top five risks cited were:

  • loss of customer/cancelled orders
  • cyber risk
  • price of material inputs
  • excessively strict regulation

Of these, only the loss of customers was a top 5 risk in 2011:

The survey findings seems to indicate that large companies are more prepared for these risks than their smaller counterparts. But since the balance sheets of smaller companies are more vulnerable, they especially need to find ways to address these issues. Overall however, Ward warned against taking a short-term outlook and said it will take “expert risk management” to insulate companies from these threats.

“With business tax in the spotlight and rising up the political agenda, executives are understandably concerned. Yet the danger is that an emphasis on near-term, operational issues comes at the expense of significant, strategic decisions that have previously exercised business leaders.

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With the timetable for global economic recovery likely to be much longer than we hoped, a focus on long-term sustainability and effective risk management should be a priority for boards across the world.

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Talent Shortage: A Top Risk Facing Businesses

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No, it’s not the credit crisis or the looming threat of cyber crime or business continuity during a natural disaster or the overall state of the national economy that keeps American business owners awake at night. It is, according to most, the shortage of talent and skills.

This may seem strange, seeing as were are still experiencing record unemployment numbers — meaning the pool of seemingly qualified employees should be vast to say the least. But in fact, the 2011 Lloyd’s Risk Index found that talent and skills shortage ranked as the number two risk facing American business leaders — shooting up from the number 22 spot in 2009.

“These findings show that talent is now firmly part of the risk lexicon — high levels of unemployment have boosted the quantity of candidates, but employers are still wrestling with the quality. Our own Global Talent Index echoed these concerns and highlighted two factors underscoring this risk: population demographics and skills gaps,” said Kevin Kelly, CEO of Heidrick & Struggles the leadership advisory firm providing executive search and leadership consulting services worldwide.

Are business leaders prepared to handle not only the number two risk on the list, but all 50 in the index? Apparently they are. Respondents said they are more than adequately prepared for 48 out of the 50 risks listed. That is in comparison to 2009, when leaders said they were not adequately prepared for eight of the 40 listed risks. Leaders cited “boosting talent retention” as one of the most overall effective risk management actions taken over the last three years, showing how eager businesses are to retain the staff they have.

Speaking of risk management, when respondents were asked to identify the most effective risk management action their organization had taken over the last three years, they cited the introduction of formal risk management strategies and systems, stating that “risk management is now one of the most important roles in the business community.”

Finally.

It may have taken the collapse of the U.S. housing market, a worldwide recession and the continuous uncovering of massive fraud to push the idea of risk management to the forefront of global business programs, but at least the discipline is now moving to where it belongs.

And it is apparently now focused on retaining the talent and skills that are greatly needed in a business world full of continuously evolving risks.

Lloyd’s Could Lose $15 Million from Tour Cancellation

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Lead singer and vocalist Caleb Followill -- exhaustion or alcohol?

When the band Kings of Leon scheduled their international tour, they covered the far flung possibility of event cancellation with Lloyd’s of London, taking out a $15 million policy, according to Rolling Stone. And now, Lloyd’s may have to pay up.

At a Dallas, Texas, show just a few days ago, lead singer Caleb Followill announced mid-concert that he could not finish the show. In his own words, he was drunk and needed to leave to stage. The rest of the band members (consisting of two brothers and one cousin) apologized to the booing crowd. But those weren’t the only people to be upset and maddened by the lead singer’s actions.

Three days later the band cancelled their remaining 29-city American tour, citing Followill’s “vocal issues and exhaustion,” though it had been long rumored that he struggled with a serious drinking problem. And his bandmate’s statement on Twitter that read “I can’t lie. There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade” did not help quell suspicions. From PropertyCasualty360.com:

“If he is truly sick, he’ll probably need a doctor to medically diagnose him,” says Paul Bassman, president of Doodson Insurance brokerage, the U.S. arm of U.K.-based Doodson Broking Group.

Though this is the most recent case of event cancellation, it is most definitely not the only instance. Big-name artists such as Mariah Carey, Britney Spears and Billy Joel have cancelled all or some of their tours due to various excuses, whether true or false. And in June, Lloyd’s filed a lawsuit requesting to nullify a policy it had with promoters of Michael Jackson’s canceled comeback tour.

Taking steps to insure an event or tour is a smart move for artists and promoters, but a sometimes risky and costly one for insurers.

For more on concert and festival risk, check out the June issue of Risk Management.

Lloyd’s of London Doesn’t Want to Pay for Michael Jackson Concert Cancellation

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Just days ago we unveiled the June issue of Risk Management featuring a “Behind the Music” cover story on the many — and sometimes deadly — risks of music festivals written by the infinitely talented Emily Holbrook. While the sex, drugs and rock and roll dangers are more sensational, the possibilities of event cancellation are always logistical nightmares.

Concerts can be called off for any number of reasons.

One died when Michael Jackson did.

And ever since, there has been a behind-the-scenes fight between promoters and insurers about who will foot the $17.5 million bill for the concert that never happened. The promoters had an insurance policy for such a contingency so they think insurers need to pay out. But the Lloyd’s of London underwriters who placed the policy argue that they were never informed of the King of Pop’s prescription drug abuse.

Thus, the dispute.

The insurance policy was taken out to cover the cancellation or postponement of the London concerts in the case of the death, accident or illness of Jackson.

The lawsuit claimed that AEG, who hired Jackson’s physician Dr. Conrad Murray, failed to disclose the singer’s medical history to the insurers “including, but not limited to, his apparent prescription drug use and/or drug addiction.”

The lawsuit further states that [concert promotors] AEG or Jackson or his company knew but did not disclose that Jackson was taking propofol — an anesthetic that is usually restricted to hospital use ahead of surgery.

It adds that attempts to resolve the dispute with AEG Live outside the courts have failed. “Underwriters therefore request that the policy be declared null and void.”

A policy is a policy, right? So maybe Lloyd’s should pay regardless? Then again, full medical disclosure was probably a discussed caveat to the insurance given Michael Jackson’s history. So the concert promoters should be on the hook?

Since resolution attempts have reportedly failed, it will likely come down to policy language and stated/presumed medical disclosure mandates for this type of policy.

But in your opinion, who should pay?