Harel Group

Harel’s history has more than one documented starting point. The company’s account traces its insurance activity to 1935, when Ernst and Margot Hamburger, who had immigrated to Israel from Germany, founded the Hamishmar Insurance Agency; it says the family established Harel Insurance Company in 1975 and merged Hamishmar’s activity into it.[1] A 2024 periodic report instead dates the beginning of the Group’s insurance operations to 1933, when the subsidiary then called Shiloah Insurance Company was incorporated.[2] The dates refer to different descriptions of the business’s origins and should not be collapsed into a single founding date.

Harel Investments and Financial Services was established in 1982. The company’s account says it was listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that year; its 2024 report specifies that it issued 25% of its stock to the public and became a public company.[1][2] A 2013 Israeli government committee presentation characterized the group’s growth as a process of acquisitions and mergers.[4]

A 2004 account of the group’s expansion says it acquired Shiloah in 1984 and half of the life-insurance portfolio of the bankrupt Yardenia the following year. It reports that Yair Hamburger acquired Sahar in 1989 and control of health insurer Dykla four years later, and that Harel acquired Zion in 1999. The account says the merger process began with Sahar and Zion and was completed in 2003, forming the group’s structure at that time.[5] A 2002 report, however, gives a different year for the Sahar acquisition; the available accounts therefore do not support a single uncontested date.[6]

In October 2002, Harel announced a plan to merge its Shiloah and Sahar-Zion subsidiaries into Harel Insurance at the beginning of 2003. The company said regulatory changes in life insurance, competition in health insurance and deteriorating stock markets had led it to conclude that consolidation could enable more focused management and maximize profits. Dykla, then owned 65% by Harel Investments and 35% by Clalit Health Services, was to remain a separate company and the group’s second insurer.[6]

The Hamburger family’s control evolved alongside the group’s expansion. After a 20% share sale involving Discount Bank and the Sampoerna family in 2006, Sampoerna representatives joined Harel’s board while Yair Hamburger retained effective control. In May 2009, the Hamburger family bought back the foreign partner’s holdings and resumed exclusive control.[7] A 2024 Competition Authority document described ownership as approximately 48% for the Hamburger family, 45% for the public and 7% for institutional entities.[8]

Harel’s principal areas are insurance, asset management and credit. Its 2024 periodic report lists Israeli insurance operations through Harel Insurance, EMI and ICIC; overseas insurance through Interasco in Greece and Turk Nippon in Turkey; pension and long-term-savings management through Harel Pension and Provident and related companies; and financial services through Harel Finance and its subsidiaries.[2] Harel identifies Harel Insurance Company as its main operating company, wholly owned by Harel Investments, and says it operates in life, non-life and health insurance.[1]

The group’s products include health and long-term-care insurance, dental and overseas-travel coverage, motor, home, business, liability, mortgage and credit insurance, and life insurance. Its savings and investment activities include pension and provident funds, advanced-training funds, mutual funds, portfolio management and exchange-traded certificates.[9][10] A 2013 corporate-structure diagram also identified Harel Finance Holdings, insurance agencies and subsidiaries or affiliates including the Israeli Credit Insurance Company, EMI Mortgage Insurance, Dikla, Interasco and Turk Nippon.[4]

The group expanded beyond traditional insurance into financial asset management after the implementation of the Bachar Reform in the 2000s, acquiring pension and provident funds, according to its own historical account. It says that in more recent years it developed credit activities, including mortgages and lending to medium-sized businesses.[1] The 2024 report records the completion of Harel’s acquisition of all shares of Gamla Harel on December 12, 2024; Gamla Harel finances construction developers, principally by supplementing the equity needed to obtain financing for building projects.[2]

Harel’s activities also include investments beyond its core products. In 2020, Harel Insurance acquired a 5.4% stake in cybersecurity company Tufin, valued at $28 million. It was described as the first Israeli institutional body to become a stakeholder in Tufin, and the report suggested the investment may have followed a fall in Tufin’s share price after an earnings warning.[11]

Harel’s reported scale has grown substantially, although figures from different years and measures are not directly comparable. A 2013 government presentation reported approximately NIS 13.9 billion in earned premiums and contributions in 2012, and approximately NIS 152.7 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2013. It ranked Harel first in health and general insurance, second in mutual funds, and fourth among insurance groups in provident funds, life insurance and pensions for that period.[4]

For 2024, Harel’s periodic report called the group Israel’s largest insurance company by premium volume, reporting a 21.9% market segment based on third-quarter financial statements. It gave Harel shares of 33.9% in health insurance, 14.6% in general insurance and 21.8% in life-insurance premiums, where it ranked second. The report also listed approximate market segments of 18% in new pension-fund management, 8.9% in provident-fund management and 14.8% in mutual-fund management.[2] These dated company-reported figures describe different business lines and should not be treated as current rankings beyond their stated period.

Harel’s 2025 full-year results release reported NIS 45.7 billion in gross earned premiums, benefit contributions and amounts received for investment contracts, a 7.6% increase over 2024. Comprehensive income was NIS 2.954 billion, compared with NIS 1.619 billion in 2024, while reported return on equity rose from 17% to 27%.[3] Profit from the insurance business rose 97% to NIS 3.76 billion. The company attributed the broader increase in annual income to a NIS 554 million underwriting improvement, higher profits in asset management and credit, and increased investment and finance income.[3]

At December 31, 2025, Harel reported NIS 582 billion in assets under management and equity of NIS 12.2 billion. Its asset-management breakdown included NIS 218.7 billion in pension funds, NIS 88.1 billion in provident and education funds, NIS 101.4 billion in mutual funds, and NIS 93.4 billion in yield-dependent insurance and investment contracts.[3] The same release said its credit portfolio reached NIS 7.1 billion, up from NIS 6.1 billion a year earlier, mainly because of growth in its Harel 60+ mortgage portfolio.[3]

In August 2026, Globes reported that Harel’s second-quarter profit rose 30% year-on-year to NIS 1 billion, the highest quarterly profit among Israel’s five largest insurance companies, with return on equity of 37%. First-half profit rose 19% to NIS 1.6 billion. The company attributed the increase to investment gains and growth in core profits, particularly in asset management, credit and capital activities.[12]

Other reported indicators illustrate the changing scale of the business. A 2013 presentation said Harel’s health-insurance operation covered more than three million people and had annual growth above 10%, while describing relationships with medical institutions in Israel and abroad.[4] A 2022 report described Harel as having more than four million customers and over 80 years of experience in insurance and finance.[13] The company’s profile likewise states that its main insurer serves about four million customers.[1]

Harel has used investments and acquisitions to broaden its activities. In April 2013, Harel Finance completed the acquisition of Clal Mutual Funds Management and Clal Finance’s portfolio-management activity.[4] In May 2021, Harel said it had signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire Shirbit Insurance’s business activities. The proposed transaction remained subject to due diligence and regulatory approvals; a report citing Calcalist put its estimated value above NIS 100 million.[14] Harel’s 2024 periodic report says the acquisition of Shirbit’s insurance activity was completed in December 2021 and transferred to Harel Insurance.[2]

A 2022 report said Harel planned to invest up to NIS 300 million in an LCN fund focused on sale-and-leaseback transactions, with most investments expected in Western Europe. It put Harel’s real-estate portfolio at approximately NIS 18 billion and its assets under management across insurance, pension, provident-fund and financial-services activities at approximately NIS 350 billion at that time.[13] The stated strategy was to diversify by geography and sector and seek relatively stable returns for long-term savers. Harel’s real-estate and credit department manager described sale-and-leaseback investing as “a hybrid credit/equity instrument with a proper return-risk equation.”[13]

In July 2025, Clal Insurance agreed to buy 1% of Harel from the Hamburger family for NIS 200 million. The report said the family’s stake would fall to 45.3%, following a sale of 2.5% to financial institutions at the end of 2024.[15] In September 2025, Israel Discount Bank agreed to sell its 72% stake in credit-card company ICC-CAL to Union Investments and Harel. The reported agreed company valuation was NIS 3.75 billion, with NIS 2.7 billion to be paid for Discount’s stake; First International Bank, which held the remaining 28%, had an option to join. The report described an agreement, not a completed acquisition.[16]

Harel’s position in insurance markets has figured in regulatory review. In 2024, the Israel Competition Authority opposed a proposed Isracard-Harel merger and discussed Harel’s position in private health insurance as part of its reasoning. The Authority characterized Harel as a leading company in that market, including by premiums; this was an assessment made in the context of that specific merger review.[8]

The group’s products operate alongside public services and are shaped by long-term financial obligations. A 2013 presentation described private health insurance as complementing public or statutory coverage and argued that it could reduce budgetary pressure on the public health system. It also highlighted uncertainties for insurers whose policies may involve commitments lasting decades, including possible increases in life expectancy, the cost of new medicines and technologies, medical staff compensation and use of private care.[4]

Harel’s insurance coverage is subject to stated geographic limits in some contexts. A Hebrew Union College student handbook says that the Harel health insurance discussed for its students did not cover travel to Areas A and B; the statement is specific to that student program and does not establish the scope of Harel policies generally.[17] The group also appears in cultural and educational institutional records: the National Library of Israel’s donor list names “Harel Insurance & Finance” among its associates, without providing further detail about the contribution.[18]

Two historical details differ among the available accounts. Harel’s historical webpage dates the Hamburger family’s Hamishmar agency to 1935, whereas the 2024 periodic report dates the start of the group’s insurance operations to Shiloah’s incorporation in 1933. These accounts describe different named entities and milestones, so neither date alone resolves the distinction.[1][2] Accounts also differ over when Sahar was acquired: a 2004 Globes article gives 1989, while a 2002 Ynet report gives a different year.[5][6]

The Competition Authority’s characterization of Harel’s private health-insurance position should likewise be understood within the scope of its specific opposition to the Isracard-Harel merger, rather than as a general finding detached from that proceeding.[8] Historical rankings and market shares cited elsewhere in this article are tied to their reported years and measures.