Saudi Arabia's Hajj and Umrah Ministry is set to welcome foreign pilgrims to Makkah again from November 1 with an expanded set of safety requirements to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Saudi Arabia closed its borders and suspended Umrah in March amid the global pandemic. But in October, it began allowing a limited number of pilgrims to return to the great mosque in Makkah and to undertake Umrah.
Pilgrims aged between 18 and 50 wishing to undertake Umrah must have an up-to-date PCR Covid-19 test issued by a reliable laboratory within the last 72 hours before travel to enter the kingdom.
They must also have a confirmed round-trip booking and reserve a time slot for Umrah at the Great Mosque and Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, the website of the Hajj and Umrah Ministry.
Pilgrims must also quarantine for three days upon arrival and take out comprehensive insurance.
Tens of thousands of Saudis have now undertaken Umrah since it began again on October 4 and no confirmed Covid-19 cases have been detected among the faithful.
But, on Monday, the ministry also announced a number of arrests for people violating the Covid-19 health regulations.
The ministry reiterated the importance of following all the health guidelines while preforming the rituals - wearing masks, sanitising hands regularly, maintaining social distancing and keeping to allotted time slots.
Saudi Arabia has recorded 345,232 confirmed infections to date, the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the GCC, So far, 331,691 people have recovered and 5,313 have died.
The kingdom implemented strict measures to try and cut the infection rate but in recent weeks has eased up travel restrictions and removed curfews.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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