ABU DHABI // Motorists are warned of a series of road closures over the next few days for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Tour cycling race.
The event, which runs from Thursday until Sunday, will feature 108 competitors over a four-stage, 555-kilometre course around the emirate.
Motorists are advised to avoid roads the race will pass through and to seek alternative routes.
› Check out a map of the race here.
The event starts in Liwa in the Western Region tomorrow and some roads will be closed to traffic between noon and 5.30pm. Roads along the route will be closed and reopened in stages.
The Liwa stage starts among sand dunes surrounding the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, leading to two circuits around Liwa and the nearby oasis. The cyclists then head north for 55km towards Madinat Zayed, followed by a 15km loop of the town.
Partial road closures were announced this week by the Abu Dhabi Safety and Traffic Solutions Committee. Drivers are advised to drive safely and follow instructions, it said yesterday. Col Jamal Al Ameri, head of public relations at Abu Dhabi traffic police, urged motorists to be patient and to exercise caution on the roads this weekend.
For the capital stage on Friday, some roads will be partially closed to traffic from 1.15pm to 5.15pm.
The stage starts at Yas Marina Circuit and heads towards the south of the city. After passing by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre, competitors will take a U-turn back to Yas Island. The riders then race along the Corniche to Emirates Palace, where they will turn back to Yas Island to the finish line near Yas Mall.
The Al Ain stage is held on Saturday, with cyclists starting at Al Qattara Souq before climbing up Jebel Hafeet mountain. Road closures will take place between 12.30pm and 5.15pm.
The final stage on Sunday night will not need any road closures as the peloton will complete 20 laps of Yas Marina Circuit.
More than 13 police departments, the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and RCS Sport, have worked to ensure the smooth flow of cyclists and traffic.
rruiz@thenational.ae
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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.
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