{"id":43193,"date":"2026-10-26T15:19:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T12:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/blog\/assurance-auto-israel"},"modified":"2026-10-26T18:05:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T15:05:25","slug":"car-insurance-israel-hova-makif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/blog\/car-insurance-israel-hova-makif","title":{"rendered":"Car insurance in Israel: compulsory, third-party or comprehensive"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"jab-bref\"><span class=\"jab-bref__ic\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\"><path d=\"M13 2 4 14h7l-1 8 9-12h-7z\" fill=\"#0C111D\"\/><\/svg><\/span><div><strong>La r\u00e9ponse en bref<\/strong><p>In Israel, compulsory car insurance (bituach hova) only covers bodily injury. Damage to property falls under a second policy, which you choose: third-party (tzad gimel), for damage you cause to others, or comprehensive (makif), which also covers your own car.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<p>In many countries, a single policy covers your liability to others. In Israel, car insurance is made up of two separate policies, and many olim find out after a minor collision that their compulsory insurance pays nothing for the bodywork. Here is how it works.<\/p>\n<h2>The three levels of insurance<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>What is covered<\/th>\n<th>Compulsory (Hova)<\/th>\n<th>Third-party (tzad gimel)<\/th>\n<th>Comprehensive (Makif)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Injuries to the driver, passengers and pedestrians<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"jab-ok\">Yes<\/span><\/td>\n<td>No (already covered by Hova)<\/td>\n<td>No (already covered by Hova)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Damage caused to someone else\u2019s car<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"jab-non\">No<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"jab-ok\">Yes<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"jab-ok\">Yes<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Damage to your own car (accident, theft)<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"jab-non\">No<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"jab-non\">No<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"jab-ok\">Yes<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Required to drive<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"jab-ok\">Yes<\/span><\/td>\n<td>No<\/td>\n<td>No<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Compulsory insurance: injuries only<\/h2>\n<p>Compulsory insurance is required by the Motor Vehicle Insurance Ordinance. It compensates injuries to the driver, passengers and pedestrians, regardless of who is at fault. Its policy terms are set by the insurance regulator: from one insurer to another, the cover is the same, and only the price and service differ. It never pays for damage to property.<\/p>\n<h2>Third-party or comprehensive?<\/h2>\n<p>Third-party insurance pays for the damage you cause to others. Comprehensive cover also protects your own car: accident, theft, and sometimes broken glass depending on the policy. For a new car, and especially a financed one, comprehensive is the most common choice.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"jab-retenir\"><strong>\u00c0 retenir<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hova alone is not enough: without third-party or comprehensive cover, you pay yourself for the damage you cause.<\/li>\n<li>Compare the excess, not just the price.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/aside>\n<h2>What affects the price<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>the driver\u2019s age and how long they have held a licence (a converted licence counts according to the insurer\u2019s rules);<\/li>\n<li>the authorised drivers (you only, you and your partner, any driver);<\/li>\n<li>the model, its value and its safety systems;<\/li>\n<li>your past claims: ask your insurer abroad for a claims history letter, as many Israeli insurers take it into account.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<aside class=\"jab-attention\"><strong>Attention<\/strong><p>For a car bought with the olim benefit, only the oleh and their spouse are allowed to drive it: declare the drivers accordingly.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<h2>Insured from delivery day<\/h2>\n<p>A new car must be insured before it goes on the road. For a car bought with John Auto, we can put you in touch with an insurer so the car is insured on delivery day; you can also choose your own insurer.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jab-faq\"><details><summary>Does compulsory insurance renew every year?<\/summary><div><p>Yes, like the car\u2019s annual licence (rishayon rechev): without valid compulsory insurance, the car must not be driven.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Does my no-claims record from abroad count in Israel?<\/summary><div><p>Not automatically. Ask your insurer abroad for a claims history letter: many Israeli insurers take it into account.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Do I need an anti-theft device for comprehensive cover?<\/summary><div><p>Some insurers require one depending on the model and value of the car. Ask before you sign.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Does compulsory insurance renew every year?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes, like the car\u2019s annual licence (rishayon rechev): without valid compulsory insurance, the car must not be driven.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Does my no-claims record from abroad count in Israel?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Not automatically. Ask your insurer abroad for a claims history letter: many Israeli insurers take it into account.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Do I need an anti-theft device for comprehensive cover?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Some insurers require one depending on the model and value of the car. Ask before you sign.\"}}]}<\/script>\n<p class=\"jab-sources\"><strong>Sources<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/he.wikisource.org\/wiki\/\u05e4\u05e7\u05d5\u05d3\u05ea_\u05d1\u05d9\u05d8\u05d5\u05d7_\u05e8\u05db\u05d1_\u05de\u05e0\u05d5\u05e2\u05d9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Motor Vehicle Insurance Ordinance<\/a> (compulsory insurance); 2010 regulations on the terms of motor insurance policies (standard policy); <a href=\"https:\/\/he.wikisource.org\/wiki\/\u05d7\u05d5\u05e7_\u05d4\u05e4\u05d9\u05e7\u05d5\u05d7_\u05e2\u05dc_\u05e9\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u05dd_\u05e4\u05d9\u05e0\u05e0\u05e1\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd_(\u05d1\u05d9\u05d8\u05d5\u05d7)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">1981 Supervision of Financial Services (Insurance) Law<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.il\/he\/pages\/guide-for-immigrants-and-foreign-residents?chapterIndex=8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Tax Authority, guide for new immigrants<\/a> (authorised drivers). Practical points to be confirmed with your chosen insurer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Compulsory insurance (Hova), third-party or comprehensive (Makif): what each covers, what affects the price, and how to be insured from delivery day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jet_sm_ready_style":"","_jet_sm_style":"","_jet_sm_controls_values":"","_jet_sm_fonts_collection":"","_jet_sm_fonts_links":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[792],"tags":[1639],"class_list":["post-43193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-paperwork","tag-insurance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43194,"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43193\/revisions\/43194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-auto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}