Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services

Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services Ltd. is an Israeli public financial group active in insurance, long-term savings, asset management and credit. Its shares trade on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the symbol HARL, and its main operating subsidiary is Harel Insurance Company Ltd., one of Israel’s largest composite insurers.^[1][2]

Overview

Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services Ltd. functions as a holding and management company for a broad financial-services group. The group operates in three principal areas: insurance, asset management and credit. Its insurance activities include health insurance, non-life insurance, life insurance, credit insurance and mortgage insurance. Its asset-management activities include pension funds, provident funds, education funds, mutual funds, portfolio management and exchange-traded funds. Its credit activities include business credit, mortgage and reverse-mortgage activity, real-estate developer finance, mezzanine loans and financial guarantees connected to mortgage portfolios.^[2]

The company is important in Israel’s financial system because it is both an insurer and an institutional investor. Like other large Israeli insurance groups, Harel collects insurance premiums and long-term savings contributions and invests large pools of policyholder and member assets across public and private markets. These functions connect it to Israeli capital markets, government and corporate debt markets, retirement savings, household insurance and health-risk coverage.

Harel’s shares have traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since 1982.^[2][3] The TASE classifies the company in the finance-insurance sector and lists it as an insurance, pensions, capital-market and finance group.^[1] As of TASE data published in 2026, Harel was included in major Israeli equity indices, including the TA-35 Index and the TA-125 Index, as well as sector indices such as TA-Insurance & Financial Services and TA-Finance.^[1]

History

The group traces its insurance heritage to Hamishmar Insurance Agency, founded in 1935 by Ernst and Margot Hamburger after they immigrated to Israel from Germany.^[2] The family established Harel Insurance Company Ltd. in 1975 and merged Hamishmar’s activity into it.^[2] Harel Insurance Investments was established and listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 1982, raising capital as a public company.^[2]

Harel grew through a long sequence of acquisitions, restructurings and expansions. In 1984, it acquired full ownership of Harel Insurance under its then name, Shiloah Insurance Company Ltd.; at that time Shiloah was active in health and life insurance.^[4] In 1985 Shiloah acquired half of the life-insurance portfolio of Yardenia Insurance Company Ltd.; in 1989 Harel acquired a controlling stake in Sahar Israel Insurance Company Ltd.; in 1993 it acquired control of Dikla Insurance Company Ltd.; and in 1999 it acquired control of Zion Holdings Ltd., which held Zion Insurance Company Ltd.^[4] Over time, according to Harel’s 2024 periodic report, First Harel, Sahar and Zion were concentrated in Shiloah, which later became Harel Insurance.^[4]

The group’s expansion into financial asset management was influenced by the structural changes in Israel’s financial system associated with the Bachar Reform, which reduced the banks’ role in managing provident and mutual funds and opened space for insurance groups and investment houses.^[2] Harel’s own history describes the 2000s as the period in which it entered financial asset management and acquired pension and provident funds while continuing to expand its insurance operations.^[2]

Major transactions in that period included Harel Mutual Funds’ 2006 acquisition of the mutual-fund activity of Bank Leumi and Leumi-Pia Mutual Fund Management Company Ltd., and Harel Insurance’s 2006 acquisition of five provident funds from Bank Leumi, including Otzma and Taoz.^[4] In 2013, Harel Insurance acquired the life-insurance and health-insurance activity of Eliahu Insurance Company Ltd., while Harel Finance acquired the portfolio-management and mutual-fund management activities of Clal Finance Investment House.^[4]

Business segments

Harel’s insurance business is centered on Harel Insurance Company Ltd., which the group identifies as its main operating company and a wholly owned key subsidiary.^[2] Harel Insurance is active in health, life and non-life insurance.^[2] The broader group also has credit-insurance activity through ICIC, mortgage-insurance activity through EMI - Ezer Mortgage Insurance Company Ltd., and overseas insurance businesses through Turk Nippon in Turkey and Interasco in Greece.^[2]

Health insurance is a central part of the group’s franchise. Harel’s investor-relations materials state that, according to its third-quarter 2025 financial reports, the group had a 37.2% market share in Israeli health insurance and was the largest insurer in that category.^[2] The same materials report a 21.6% market share in total premiums, 14.4% in non-life insurance, and 20.2% in life insurance for the same reporting context.^[2] These market-share figures are company-reported and should be read as of the reporting date specified by Harel rather than as permanent rankings.

The group’s long-term savings and asset-management arm includes pension funds, provident funds, education funds, mutual funds, portfolio management and ETFs.^[2] Harel Pension and Provident Ltd. is listed by the group as the company managing Harel’s pension funds, provident funds and education funds.^[2][3] Harel Finance Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries are identified as the group’s capital-market and financial-services arm.^[2]

Harel also has a credit segment. The group describes this segment as including credit for medium-sized businesses through Hamatzpen, mortgages and reverse mortgages through Harel 60+, credit to real-estate developers, mezzanine loans for real-estate developers through Gamla Harel, and financial guarantees for third parties related to mortgage portfolios.^[2] These activities extend the group beyond traditional insurance underwriting into non-bank credit, a field that in Israel is supervised through a combination of capital-market, securities, banking and consumer-credit regulatory frameworks depending on the exact activity and legal entity.

Scale and assets under management

Harel’s scale is usually measured through premiums, contributions and assets under management rather than only through insurance revenue. The group’s investor-relations page states that in 2025 total premiums, benefit contributions and amounts received for investment contracts were NIS 45.7 billion, and that total assets under management in insurance, pension and provident funds, mutual funds and financial services were NIS 582 billion as of 31 December 2025.^[2] It also reported equity attributable to shareholders of NIS 12.2 billion at the same date, comprehensive income to shareholders of NIS 2.954 billion and return on equity of 27% for 2025.^[2]

The company’s 2024 periodic report gives earlier comparative asset-management data. It reported total assets managed by the group of NIS 509.5 billion at 31 December 2024, compared with NIS 427.7 billion at 31 December 2023.^[4] The 2024 total consisted of NIS 143.3 billion in insurance assets, including yield-dependent assets; NIS 184.9 billion in pension funds; NIS 75.4 billion in provident funds; NIS 87.9 billion in mutual funds; and NIS 18.0 billion in portfolio management and other activity.^[4]

These assets make Harel a significant allocator of capital in the Israeli market. Insurance-company balance sheets, pension funds and provident funds are typically invested across government bonds, corporate bonds, equities, deposits, funds, real estate, infrastructure and other instruments, subject to regulation, fund mandates, insurance-liability needs and internal risk policies. Harel’s specific asset allocation changes over time and is reported in its periodic and financial reports.

Listing and market position

Harel is a listed company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. TASE’s security page identifies the ordinary share by symbol HARL and security number 585018.^[1] The TASE description summarizes the company as an insurance, pensions, capital-market and finance group and places it in the finance-insurance-insurance sector.^[1]

TASE data from July 2026 showed Harel included in a wide range of indices, including TA-35, TA-125, TA-Insurance & Financial Services, TA-Finance, TA-Insurance, TA-125 Fossil Free, TA-AllShare and Tel-Div.^[1] The TA-Insurance & Financial Services index composition page listed Harel with a 15.07704% weight as of 28 July 2026, making it one of the largest constituents in that sector index at that time.^[5]

Index inclusion is relevant for market structure because index-tracking funds, institutional portfolios and benchmarked mandates may hold or monitor Harel shares as part of Israeli equity exposure. However, index membership and weights change with share prices, free float, index methodology and periodic rebalancing.

Governance, ownership and subsidiaries

Harel Investments is the listed parent company. Its separate activity, according to the group, is management, control and supervision of subsidiaries, ongoing planning of group operations, and initiation of business activity and investments directly or through group companies.^[2] This structure is typical of diversified insurance and financial-services groups, in which regulated operating companies conduct insurance, pension, asset-management or credit business under separate licenses and supervisory regimes.

The main operating subsidiary is Harel Insurance Company Ltd., which the group identifies as 100% owned and active in life, non-life and health insurance.^[2] Other named subsidiaries and associated companies include EMI - Ezer Mortgage Insurance Company Ltd.; ICIC - Israel Credit Insurance Company Ltd., in which Harel reports a 50% holding; Interasco in Greece; Turk Nippon Sigorta in Turkey; Harel Pension and Provident Ltd.; Tzva Hakeva Saving Fund - Provident Funds Management Company; Leatid - Pension Funds Management Company; Harel Finance Holdings Ltd.; Ha-Mazpen Ltd.; Harel 60+ Ltd.; and Gamla Harel.^[2]

Because Harel operates through many regulated entities, its governance includes both public-company duties and sector-specific requirements. As a TASE-listed issuer it is subject to Israeli securities-disclosure obligations and the public-reporting infrastructure associated with the Israel Securities Authority and the MAGNA disclosure system. Its insurance, pension and provident activities fall under the Israeli long-term savings and insurance supervisory framework led by the Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority and the Supervisor of Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings.

Regulation and supervision

Harel’s regulatory environment is multilayered. The insurance company, pension-fund managers and provident-fund managers operate under licensing, solvency, governance, investment, consumer-protection and reporting requirements administered by Israel’s capital-market regulator. Long-term savings products such as pension funds, provident funds and education funds are especially important in Israel because they combine household retirement and tax-advantaged savings with institutional investment in the domestic and international capital markets.

As a public company, Harel must also publish periodic and immediate reports to the market. Its annual and quarterly reports provide information on results, capital, risk factors, segment performance, investment portfolios, corporate governance, remuneration, related-party matters and significant events. These disclosures allow investors, policyholders, analysts and regulators to compare Harel with other Israeli financial groups such as Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings and Menora Mivtachim Pension Ltd..

Harel is also affected by macroeconomic policy and market conditions. Interest rates set by the Bank of Israel, inflation measured by the Israel Consumer Price Index, equity-market performance, credit spreads, foreign-exchange movements and real-estate conditions can all influence insurers’ investment income, liabilities, solvency ratios and demand for financial products. Harel’s 2024 periodic report identified currency risk as one type of market risk affecting foreign-currency exposure in its investment portfolio.^[6]

Credit ratings and financial strength

In July 2026, AM Best assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) to Harel Insurance Company Ltd., the group’s main operating subsidiary, with a stable outlook.^[7] AM Best stated that the ratings reflected very strong balance-sheet strength, strong operating performance, a neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.^[7]

AM Best also described Harel as a diversified Israeli financial group with insurance, asset-management and credit activities and noted that insurance service revenue was geographically concentrated in Israel, with more than 95% of overall insurance service revenue sourced from Israel.^[7] The rating agency reported that Harel had generated net profits in each of the six years from 2020 through 2025 and cited a 2025 return on equity of 27.0% and a net-net combined ratio of 87.1%.^[7]

Credit ratings are opinions of rating agencies, not guarantees of performance or solvency. They are relevant for counterparties, bond investors, policyholders and regulators because they summarize an agency’s view of capital adequacy, leverage, profitability, risk management and business profile at a point in time. They may be revised if financial conditions, operating results, market conditions or the agency’s methodology change.

Role in Israeli finance

Harel’s significance in Israeli finance derives from the combination of household insurance, retirement savings and institutional investment. Through health, life and non-life insurance, the group provides risk-transfer products to households and businesses. Through pension funds, provident funds and education funds, it administers long-term savings products used by employees, self-employed persons and employers. Through mutual funds, portfolio management and ETFs, it participates in the securities-investment market and competes with banks, investment houses and other insurance groups.

This combination makes Harel part of Israel’s non-bank financial intermediation system. It competes with banking groups such as Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Israel Discount Bank and Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank in some adjacent financial-services areas, while also being a major investor in instruments issued or arranged by banks and corporations. Its institutional portfolios may hold Israeli government debt, corporate bonds, equities and other assets, linking policyholder and saver outcomes to capital-market performance.

Harel’s activities also illustrate a broader feature of Israel’s financial system: large insurance and pension groups are not merely insurers but multi-line financial conglomerates. Their assets under management, product distribution, investment decisions and credit activities affect household savings, market liquidity and corporate financing. For that reason, Harel is relevant not only as a listed company but also as a participant in the structure of Israeli financial intermediation.