A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck near the coast of Italian beach resort Fano on Wednesday, shaking several cities, including Rome.
The quake occurred at a depth of 7 kilometres, about 28km north-east of the town, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.
It was followed by two tremors of 3.1 and 3.4 magnitude at around 7am local time.
The quake caused no serious damage or injuries, according to initial reports. But cracks have reportedly been seen in buildings.
“No injuries at the moment,” a spokesman for Italy's Civil Protection told Reuters, as the agency tweeted that checks on the ground were continuing.
The main quake was reportedly felt across northern Italy in Bologna, Romagna and Rome, as well as other countries including Croatia and San Marino.
“Shaking was felt over 300km by approximately 16 million people in Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vatican,” tweeted EMSC.
EMSC warned further aftershocks may occur in the following hours and days.
“Unless it is necessary, stay away from damaged areas for your safety. Be careful and follow national authorities' information,” it tweeted.
As a precaution, schools in Pesaro and other nearby cities were closed, and rail traffic passing through Pesaro along the Adriatic coast was suspended.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said she was “in constant contact” with Civil Protection authorities and the head of the Marche region to follow developments.
— This is a developing story.
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
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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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