Financial Services Supervision Law (Insurance), 5741-1981
חוק הפיקוח על שירותים פיננסיים (ביטוח), תשמ"א-1981
Published: 1981-04-23Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-07-26 · Last amended 2026-07-22✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More
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Chapter III: Licensing
Section A: Insurance Branches
Classification into Branches§
13.
Insurance business shall be classified into insurance branches as determined by the Commissioner, after consultation with the Committee; notice of such a determination shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
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Contact Us →Section B: Licensing of Insurers
Prohibition on Engaging in Business§
14.
(a)No person shall engage in insurance unless he holds a licence under section 15 and in accordance with the conditions of the licence.
(b)An insurer shall not engage in business other than in the insurance branches specified in his licence.
(c)A person whose principal activity is insurance outside Israel, and who does not engage in Israel other than in reinsurance, shall not be regarded as engaging in insurance for the purposes of this Law unless he is a company incorporated in Israel.
Insurer's Licence§
15.
(a)The Commissioner may, at his discretion, grant –
(1)to a company as defined in the Companies Law – an Israeli insurer's licence;
(2)to a foreign corporation registered in Israel that engages in insurance in a foreign state and is subject to the supervision of the authorities of that foreign state – a foreign insurer's licence.
(a1)The Commissioner shall not grant an insurer's licence to a company applying to manage a pension provident fund that is not an insurance fund and is not a savings provident fund, unless, in addition to the condition in subsection (a)(1), the condition set out in section 4(a)(4) of the Provident Funds Supervision Law is met in respect of that company, and the following conditions are met:
(1)its exclusive activity is the management of provident funds that are not insurance funds; however –
(a)it may not hold means of control in an insurer that has received a licence as referred to in this subsection;
(b)it may hold means of control in a corporate agent holding a licence to engage in insurance branches approved by the Commissioner, subject to the conditions approved by him, provided that it holds all of the means of control in that corporate agent;
(c)it may engage in another activity approved by the Commissioner, subject to the conditions approved by him, provided that the said activity satisfies the requirement of section 4(a)(2) of the Provident Funds Supervision Law;
(2)with respect to a company applying to manage a pension provident fund – it shall not manage more than one new comprehensive fund.
(b)An insurer's licence shall specify the insurance branches in which the licence holder is authorised to engage.
(c)Notice of the grant of an insurer's licence and of the branches in which the insurer has been licensed to engage shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
(d)The Minister may prescribe provisions with respect to exclusive activity as referred to in subsection (a1)(1).
Application for a licence§
16.
(a)An application for an insurer's licence shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the Commissioner for that purpose, and shall also include the following particulars:
(1)the branches of insurance in respect of which the licence is sought;
(2)details of the proposed insurance plans and insurance terms;
(3)details of the proposed insurance premium rates and other payments to be collected from the insured;
(4)specimens of policies, insurance proposal forms and other forms that the applicant will use;
(5)particulars concerning the proposed reinsurance arrangements;
(6)a certified copy of the current incorporation documents;
(7)a list of office holders;
(8)a list of holders of means of control, including the office holders and holders of means of control in them – if they are corporations, or the persons on whose behalf they act as agents or trustees – if they are individuals;
(9)particulars concerning the financial resources of the applicant.
(b)An application for a foreign insurer's licence shall include, in addition to that stated in subsection (a), particulars as aforesaid in paragraphs (6) to (8) in respect of the corporation that will represent it in Israel.
(c)The Commissioner may require the applicant to provide additional particulars and documents as he deems necessary for the purpose of deliberating on the application.
Considerations in granting an insurer's licence§
17.
(a)The Commissioner shall take into account the following matters when considering an application for an insurer's licence:
(1)the applicant's plans of action and the prospects of their realisation;
(2)the suitability of the office holders in the applicant corporation, and in the case of a foreign insurer – of its managers and authorised representatives in Israel, for their positions;
(3)the financial resources of the applicant corporation;
(4)the financial resources and business background of the holders of means of control in the applicant corporation;
(5)the applicant's plans with respect to reinsurance and with respect to a professional staff of employees, and the prospects of their realisation;
(6)the contribution of granting the licence to competition in the capital market, and in particular to competition in the insurance industry and to the level of service therein;
(7)the economic policy of the Government;
(8)reasons of public interest.
(b)The Commissioner shall not refuse to grant an insurer's licence to a corporation that satisfies the conditions set out in section 15, except after consultation with the Committee and after the corporation has been given an opportunity to present its arguments before the Committee, in the manner directed by it.
Conditions in a licence and amendments§
18.
An insurer's licence may include conditions and restrictions, and conditions and restrictions prescribed therein may be amended and branches of insurance in which the insurer is authorised to engage may be added, provided that an amendment to conditions and restrictions as aforesaid, otherwise than at the insurer's request, shall be made after consultation with the Committee and after the insurer has been given an opportunity to present its arguments before the Committee in the manner directed by it.
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Contact Us →Section C: Deposit
19.§
(Repealed — תשס״ה־4)
20.§
(Repealed — תשס״ה־4)
21.§
(Repealed — תשס״ה־4)
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Contact Us →Section D: Revocation of Insurer's Licence
Revocation of an insurer's licence§
22.
(a)The Commissioner may revoke an insurer's licence, in whole or in respect of a particular branch of insurance, in any of the following cases:
(1)the insurer has requested the revocation of its licence;
(2)the insurer has resolved upon its voluntary winding up;
(3)an order has been made for the winding up of the insurer or for the appointment of a receiver over it;
(3a)a condition of the conditions for granting the licence has ceased to be satisfied in respect of the insurer;
(4)the insurer has breached a material condition of the licence or such a condition has ceased to be satisfied in respect of it;
(5)the insurer has breached provisions of a legislative enactment or an administrative directive issued under this Law in a manner liable to impair its reliability;
(6)two years have elapsed from the date of the grant of the licence and the insurer has not commenced conducting business on a scale that justifies, in the Commissioner's opinion, the continued holding of the licence, or the insurer has ceased to conduct business on such a scale for a period of two years;
(7)reasons of public interest of the insured persons justify the revocation of the licence.
(b)The Commissioner shall not revoke an insurer's licence on the grounds listed in subsection (a)(4), (5) or (7), except after consultation with the Committee and after the insurer has been given an opportunity to present its arguments before the Committee in the manner directed by it.
(c)Notice of the revocation of an insurer's licence shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
Supervision of a corporation whose licence has been revoked§
23.
(a)A person whose licence has been revoked is obliged to comply with all the provisions applicable to an insurer under this Law for as long as obligations that it undertook to insured persons prior to the revocation of the licence remain in existence.
(b)The Commissioner may give directions to a person whose licence has been revoked regarding the conduct of its business to the extent that he considers necessary in order to protect the insured persons; nothing in such a direction shall exempt a person whose licence has been revoked from its liability in respect of an obligation it undertook prior to the revocation of the licence.
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Contact Us →Section E: Licensing of Insurance Agents
Insurance brokerage§
24.
(a)A person shall not engage in Israel, by himself or through another, in brokerage for the purpose of insurance between any person and an insurer (hereinafter – engagement in brokerage) unless that person is one of those listed in paragraphs (1) or (2) below, and in accordance with the conditions set out therein:
(1)the person holds a licence under this Section – in accordance with the conditions of the licence;
(2)the person is a pension adviser – provided that the engagement in brokerage is carried out as part of, and in continuation of, the pension advice, pursuant to a pension advice agreement within the meaning thereof in section 27 of the Pension Advice and Marketing Law, entered into in accordance with the provisions of that Law.
(b)(Repealed)
Individual agent§
25.
(a)The Commissioner may grant an insurance agent's licence (hereinafter – agent's licence) to an individual.
(b)An individual is eligible to receive an agent's licence if the following conditions are satisfied in respect of that individual:
(1)the individual is a resident of Israel;
(2)the individual is of full age;
(3)the individual has completed an internship period and passed the examinations;
(4)the individual has not been convicted of an offence which, in the Commissioner's opinion, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders the individual unfit to serve as an insurance agent.
(c)The Commissioner shall not grant an agent's licence to an individual, notwithstanding that individual's eligibility –
(1)if the individual has been declared bankrupt and has not yet been granted a discharge;
(2)if the individual has been declared legally incompetent;
(3)if the individual is an investment adviser;
(4)if the individual is a pension adviser.
(c1)The Commissioner may refuse to grant an agent's licence to an individual, even if the conditions of subsection (b) are satisfied in respect of that individual, if any of the following applies to that individual:
(1)an indictment has been filed against the individual for an offence as referred to in subsection (b)(4) and a final judgment has not yet been given in the matter, or a criminal investigation is being conducted against the individual on suspicion of committing such an offence, provided that the applicant has been given an opportunity to present arguments before the decision is made;
(2)the Commissioner is of the opinion, after consultation with the Committee and after the applicant has been given an opportunity to present arguments before it, in the manner directed by it, that there exist circumstances by reason of which the individual is unfit to serve as an insurance agent, having regard to the requirements of the profession.
(d)The Minister of Finance may make Regulations regarding the training, internship and examinations of insurance agents, regarding the provision of guarantees for their liability, and, with the approval of the Finance Committee of the Knesset – regarding exemption from the obligation of internship or examinations.
Corporate agent§
26.
(a)The Commissioner may grant an agent's licence to a corporation.
(b)An application for a licence for a corporation may be submitted by a person in whom the following conditions are fulfilled:
(1)the person is a corporation registered under the law in Israel;
(2)the name of the corporation indicates that its business is insurance agency;
(3)those engaging in brokerage on its behalf, and in a partnership – all partners who are not limited partners, hold an agent's licence;
(4)the business manager and every manager of an office or branch of the corporation hold an agent's licence and their primary occupation is the management of the corporation, office or branch.
(c)The Commissioner shall not grant an agent's licence to a corporation, notwithstanding its eligibility, if it is an investment adviser or a pension adviser.
(d)When considering the grant of an agent's licence to a corporation, the Commissioner shall take into account, inter alia, the contribution of granting the licence to competition in the insurance industry and to the level of service therein.
(e)A decision by the Commissioner not to grant an agent's licence to a corporation even though the conditions prescribed in subsection (b) are satisfied in respect of it, other than such a decision by reason of that stated in subsection (c) or in section 28a(a), shall be made after consultation with the Committee, and after the applicant has been given an opportunity to present its arguments before the Committee, in the manner directed by it.
Trainee agent§
27.
(a)The Commissioner may, at his discretion, grant a trainee agent's licence to a resident of Israel who has attained the age of 18 years, for a period not exceeding three years; the provisions of section 25(c) and (c1) shall apply to the grant of a trainee agent's licence.
(b)A person who has received a trainee agent's licence may perform a brokerage transaction if his trainer has given prior approval for the transaction.
(c)The provisions of sections 28, 29, 55 to 59, 85(c) and 99 shall also apply to a trainee agent.
The licence by branches§
28.
(a)
(1)An insurance agent's licence is a licence to engage in one of the following branches of insurance: pension insurance, marine insurance or general insurance, and an insurance agent's licence may include more than one branch of insurance;
(2)An insurance agent's licence in the general branch shall specify the areas of insurance in which the insurance agent is authorised to engage from among the areas within the general insurance branch;
(3)In this section –
"pension insurance branch" – engaging in brokerage in insurance in respect of a type of pension product; for this purpose, "type of pension product" – as defined in the Pension Advice and Marketing Law, with the following modification: paragraph (8) of that definition shall be read as if, in place of the proviso beginning with the words "and which is included in a provident fund", it stated "and also a life insurance plan with a savings component that has not been approved as a provident fund and a plan of insurance against the risk of accident, illness or disability";
"marine insurance branch" – engaging in brokerage in marine insurance;
"general insurance branch" – engaging in brokerage in insurance in any of the following:
(1)insurance not included in the pension insurance branch or the marine insurance branch;
(2)insurance against the risk of accident, illness or disability.
(b)An insurance agent shall not engage in brokerage other than in the branches of insurance specified in the agent's licence.
Restrictions on granting an insurance agent's licence in the pension branch§
28a.
(a)The Commissioner shall not grant an insurance agent's licence in the pension insurance branch, as defined in section 28(a), to an individual or a corporation that is any of the following:
(1)a pension adviser;
(2)an investment adviser;
(3)a workers' organisation or an employers' organisation;
(4)a banking corporation, except a bank or a foreign bank as referred to in section 27i of the Banking (Licensing) Law, 5741-1981;
(5)a person who controls any of those listed in paragraphs (1) to (4), except a person who controls a micro bank as defined in section 27f(c) of the Banking (Licensing) Law, 5741-1981 (in this section – micro bank);
(6)a person who holds more than ten percent of a particular type of means of control in a pension adviser or in an investment adviser;
(7)a person who is controlled by any of those listed in paragraphs (1) to (6);
(8)a person who is employed by any of those listed in paragraphs (1) to (7);
(9)a person in whom any of those listed in paragraphs (1) to (3), or a person who controls any of them, holds an interest, except a person in whom a banking corporation holds an interest even if the banking corporation is a pension adviser or an investment adviser;
(10)a consumer club; for this purpose, "consumer club" – a corporation, partnership, or organisation whose purpose is to conduct negotiations on behalf of its members for the purpose of entering into an agreement with a supplier of a commodity or service.
(b)Notwithstanding that stated in subsection (a), if a bank ceases to be a micro bank, the provisions of paragraphs (5) and (7) of that subsection shall apply, as the case may be, to a person who controls it or to a person who is controlled by a person who controls it, upon the expiry of the transitional period as defined in section 27f(c) of the Banking (Licensing) Law.
Corporate agent licence holder and banking corporation controlled by the same person§
28b.
A holder of a corporate agent's licence shall not engage in brokerage, marketing or sale of products of a banking corporation, if the holder of the corporate agent's licence and the banking corporation are controlled by the same person.
Revocation and suspension of an agent's licence or imposition of conditions thereon§
29.
(a)The Commissioner may revoke an agent's licence, in whole or in respect of a particular branch of insurance, suspend it for a period to be determined by him, impose conditions on it or amend a condition of its conditions, in any of the following cases:
(1)the holder of the licence has requested the revocation of the licence;
(2)if the holder of the licence is a corporation – an order has been made for its winding up or for the appointment of a receiver over it, or it has resolved upon its voluntary winding up, and if the holder is an individual – a receiving order or a bankruptcy order has been made in respect of the individual and the individual has not yet been granted a discharge, or the individual has been declared legally incompetent;
(3)the holder of the licence has breached a material condition of the licence or such a material condition has ceased to be satisfied in respect of the holder;
(4)the holder of the licence has breached provisions of a legislative enactment or an administrative directive under this Law in a manner liable to impair the holder's reliability or professionalism;
(5)the holder of the licence has breached an agreement as referred to in section 30 in matters prescribed in that section or pursuant to it;
(6)the holder of the licence has been convicted of an offence which, in the Commissioner's opinion, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders the holder unfit to serve as an insurance agent, or an indictment has been filed against the holder for such an offence and a final judgment has not yet been given in the matter;
(7)the Commissioner is of the opinion that there exist circumstances by reason of which the holder is unfit to serve as an insurance agent, having regard to the requirements of the profession.
(b)An agent's licence shall not be revoked unless the agent has been given a reasonable opportunity to state arguments, and in the case of revocation of a licence under paragraphs (4) and (7) – after consultation with the Committee and after the agent has been given an opportunity to present arguments before it, in the manner directed by it.
(c)If the Commissioner considers that the circumstances of the matter and the public interest so require, the Commissioner may suspend an agent's licence for a period not exceeding 30 days; the Commissioner may, after the agent has been given a reasonable opportunity to state arguments, extend the period of suspension for an additional period not exceeding 30 days.
(d)If an agent's licence is revoked or suspended – the former holder shall immediately cease to engage in brokerage.
(e)The Commissioner may, if the Commissioner considers it necessary in order to safeguard the interests of the insured persons, direct an agent whose licence has been revoked to act to wind up his insurance business, in the manner directed by the Commissioner.
Agreement between an agent and an insurer§
30.
An agent shall not act as broker between any person and an insurer unless there exists between the agent and that insurer a written agreement one of whose conditions is an obligation of the agent in respect of the following two matters:
(1)to hold monies collected from insured persons in a separate account to be managed by the agent as trustee of the insurer, as the Commissioner shall direct;
(2)to transfer to the insurer by the 15th day of each month, or by an earlier date that the Commissioner has directed in respect of types of insurance contracts as directed, monies collected from insured persons in the previous month.
Brokerage with a foreign resident§
31.
(a)A person shall not engage in Israel in brokerage for the purpose of insurance between any person who is not an insurer and a foreign resident or the foreign resident's agent who do not hold a licence under this Law.
(b)That stated in subsection (a) shall not apply to brokerage in branches of insurance or types of insurance that the Minister of Finance has prescribed by Order, after consultation with the Committee; the provisions of section 96 shall apply to a person engaging in such brokerage.
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