Home insurance in Israel: everything you need to know

First of all, it is worth remembering that in Israel the "Insurance" budget of a household represents on average 20% of the family's income, but among so-called "secular" Israelis the emphasis is mainly on health and protection insurance, or car insurance, and much less on home insurance.

The reason is simple. Israelis, who have often seen their loved ones suffer from the shortcomings of the public health service, or be plunged into hardship overnight after the sudden death of a spouse, prefer to protect themselves with health and life insurance, and as a result do only the minimum when it comes to home insurance.

When they are owners, Israelis most often just insure what is called " the walls ", as required by the bank that granted them the loan needed to buy their home, but neglect other important points to insure properly their home, which is nevertheless the main part of their wealth...

We offer particularly attractive discounts that will allow you to insure your property in the best possible way, with all the covers.

There are several levels of home insurance cover:

The walls: this insurance concerns the owners of the property, whether they live in it or not.

This cover makes it possible to restore part or all of a home in which a claim has occurred, whether it is linked to a plumbing problem, a short circuit, or a partial or total fire INSIDE THE APARTMENT OR HOUSE ITSELF.

You should know that the reconstruction value is absolutely the same whether the property is in Mitspé Ramon in the south of Israel or in the upmarket Tsahala neighbourhood of Tel Aviv. The reconstruction rate used to range from 6,500 to 9,000 shekels per square metre, depending on the finish, when this article was written (2021). According to the economic press in 2026, the values used are rather around 8,000 to 12,000 shekels, and many policies are still calculated on old amounts. This means, for example, that a 75 m² apartment is insured for the value of the walls for at least 487,500 shekels, wherever it is located.

As for bad weather, read the contract: rain is covered when it comes with a strong wind (over 30 knots with some insurers), and rainwater seeping through the walls or the ceiling is generally excluded.

The earthquake cover is GENERALLY included de facto in the home insurance policy by Israeli companies because of the high risk of earthquakes. If a policyholder does not want this cover, they must sign a waiver, but there is then no guarantee that an insurance company will agree to issue a contract, because these companies consider that in Israel the probability of such an event is very high.

The land value: this insurance also concerns owners, whether they live in the property or not.

Unfortunately, this cover is very rarely mentioned by insurance firms, who are above all concerned with offering competitive prices, because of course it has a cost, even though it is particularly important.

This cover does not concern detached houses , since the land belongs de facto to the owner and they can be rebuilt identically even if the neighbours have not taken out this insurance. It concerns only apartments in buildings which, in the event of a fire or gas explosion devastating the whole building, have little chance of seeing their building rebuilt, and therefore of getting back their apartment as it was before the loss. Indeed, since few owners take care to take out this insurance, when a gas explosion completely destroys a building, as happened in Natanya about ten years ago, or in Raanana following a fire two years ago, it is not possible to rebuild the building as it was originally. Owners who did not insure the land value are left with nothing but tears on TV talk shows, since they will be compensated only for the value of the walls and not for the real value of their property.

You should know that the land value is generally calculated on a basis of 3 times, or even 4 times, the value of the walls. That is, if an apartment has an area of 120 m², the value of the walls, for a standard construction, will be 780,000 shekels (120 times 6,500 shekels), and the land value will therefore be a maximum of 3,120,000 shekels. It is important to point out that this additional sum is added to the compensation for the structure (the walls) and is calculated from the value of the walls.

Obviously, it is not possible to keep up with speculation. If a 3-room apartment measures 80 m², in the event of total destruction of the building, its owner will be compensated, thanks to this cover, up to a maximum of 4 times the value of the walls, but this compensation cannot follow the speculative market if it is in the Ein Kérem neighbourhood of Jerusalem or Névé Tsédek in Tel Aviv...

Allow a minimum of 6 months for the compensation procedure for this cover to start, the time the company needs to make sure that the building will not be rebuilt.

Even though the total destruction of a building remains rare, the risk exists and when such a disaster happens, owners cannot buy another property if they have not taken care to take out this cover beforehand.

As its name indicates, this insurance covers the value of furniture and jewellery in the event of a loss or burglary.

If the amount to be insured is at least 200,000 shekels, it is important to ask the insurance company to send an expert at least every 4 years to draw up a detailed list of the value of each piece of furniture or jewellery, which will be essential if something goes wrong. The cost of this valuation will be paid by the insurance company and not by the policyholder.

In any case, it is always advisable to take photos and short videos of the apartment or house with all the furniture, and to keep the purchase invoices safe.

Finally, the more floors a building has, the higher the risk of a claim, and as a result home insurance premiums are higher.

There are still many points to cover, such as third-party liability , cover for terrorist acts such as rockets , or excesses (deductibles) that should be checked carefully .

For any further information, please contact me directly on 054 307 0916 or by filling in the form below.