Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
Social media activists are attempting to circumvent Russian censorship by using Google Maps to call for an end to the violence amid the invasion of Ukraine.
Activists are using the platform to find Russian cafes and restaurants and leave reviews to deliver anti-war messages to Russian citizens.
“Five thousand Russian soldiers died in Ukraine … Your president deceived you. There was no genocide in Ukraine. It was a pretext for attacking a sovereign and democratic Ukraine,” reads one translated review of a Starbucks in Moscow.
“[President Vladimir] Putin lied to you!!! He sent young boys to the war, who did not know that they were going to die there … Russian people, wake up!!!”
One user, leaving a review for Maestrello, a pizzeria, wrote: “Russia attacked Ukraine. Your soldiers are bombing my city. My country!”
Another added: “The pizza is the bomb!! Due to military sanctions, this restaurant will soon be closed! What a pity!”
Twitter and Facebook have both been restricted in Russia as the country attempts to limit the flow of information, with Russians telling The National they are unable to communicate through Facebook's Messenger app.
The Russian rouble plummeted on Monday, falling to a record low against the dollar, after the US and European nations placed a series of harsh sanctions on Moscow in response to the assault.
“Your government lies, you are bombing innocent people. Nobody want to attack Russia, we want peace. Your president is [a] war criminal,” a review of Boston Seafood & Bar, a restaurant in Moscow, said.
Russia on Sunday for the first time stated that some of its forces had been killed or wounded in Ukraine, though it did not provide any numbers.
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday claimed 4,500 Russian troops have been killed.
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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.