Israel Insurance Information

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Scroll down to see Updates & Additional Information

General Israel Insurance Information

• Compulsory Insurance:
  
  1. Workers’ Compensation;
  2. Third Party Automobile Liability;
  3. Aviation Liability;
  4. Yacht and Pleasure Craft Liability.
• Non-Admitted Insurance:
  Not prohibited except for compulsory coverages which must be placed with locally licensed Insurers.
• Policy Wordings & Rates / Tariffs Controlled:
  Rates, terms and conditions are not controlled except for compulsory coverages and Automobile Liability insurance.
• Policy Language:
  Hebrew.
• Types of Insurance Restricted to Government Institutions:
  Workers’ Compensation.
• Policy Currency:
  Israeli Shekel. U.S. $ insurance is available.
• Currency Restrictions / Exchange Controls:
  None known.
• Policy Period:
  Annual.
• Cancellation Provisions:
  60 or 90 day notice is standard.
• Premium Tax, etc. paid by Insured:
  Stamp duty is currently a legal requirement. A stamp duty of approximately 1.5% of gross premium is levied on non-life insurance. Premium paid by the policyholder is split between risk premium and fees; however, is only payable on the risk premium element. It has been announced that the stamp duty will be abolished – so double check. Other charges payable by the insured to the insurer are registration fees, policy fees and credit/collection fees. These vary between insurers and in 2002 policy fees across the non-life market amounted to an additional 20% of gross written premium.
• Insurance Companies:
  Only Insurers licensed locally can conduct business in Israel.
• Brokers:
  Brokers operate locally but the market is dominated by Agents
• Brokerage Commissions:
  Brokerage commissions follow closely Agents fees:
  Fire - 42.5-45%;
  Automobile - 20-22.5%;
  Marine Cargo - 25%;
  Personal Accident - 42-45%.
  (Note: Commission paid to intermediaries is subject to VAT at the rate of 17%.)
• Broker of Record Letters:
  Not required.
• Reinsurance:
  
• Local Natural Hazards:
  Earthquake, Flood.
• Other Information:
  

Property Insurance

• Fire:
  Standard fire perils include - fire, lightning, aircraft, explosion. Earthquake, flood, storm / tempest, burst water pipe, riot / civil commotion, malicious damage, windstorm / hurricane, vehicle impact are available in the market for an additional premium charge.
• All Risk:
  Available.
• Coinsurance:
  100%.
• Blanket Insurance:
  Available for Property Coverages.
• Business Interruption:
  UK Loss of Profits and U.S. Gross Earnings.
• Replacement Cost:
  Available (usual practice is Replacement Cost).
• Discount for fire protection equipment / systems: Available through rating mechanism.

Boiler & Machinery / Machinery Breakdown / Engineering

• Wordings:
  UK and U.S. General / Public Liability
• Available Wordings:
  General / Public Liability. Product Liability (Product Recall not available). Contingent Automobile Liability.
• Comments:
  Occurrence policies are written for General / Public Liability. Product Liability must be written on a Claims Made basis.

Automobile / Motor

• Compulsory Limits:
  Bodily Injury - Unlimited; Property Damage: not compulsory.
• Comments:
  Insured and any licensed individual driving with Insured’s permission are covered under the Automobile policy. Passengers are deemed to be Third Parties and therefore, covered.

Workers’ Compensation

• National Insurance Law.
• Comment:
  Coverage is provided under the National Insurance Law Scheme. All workers fall under the scope of coverage (with the possible exception of certain public employees). Extra-Territorial, Medical Expense and Occupational Disease benefits are provided under the Law. Employees have the option to sue.

Marine

• Available Wordings:
  Terms and Conditions follow the Institute of London Underwriters. War Risks rates follow London scale.

Crime

• Available Coverages:
  Various usual UK and U.S. forms.

Updates & Additional Information: 

Worldwide Risk Solutions (www.worldwiderisksolutions.com) provided the following Spotlight Report:

www.worldwiderisksolutions.com/downloads/SpotSep08_Israel.pdf