Harel Group

Harel Group is one of Israel’s largest insurance and financial-services groups. Its activities include life insurance, health insurance, general insurance, pension products, provident and mutual funds, investment management, and related financial services. The group’s commercial roots date to 1935, when German Jewish immigrants Ernst and Margot Hamburger established HaMishmar, a small insurance agency in Tel Aviv during the British Mandate period. That family business later developed into a broader insurance holding structure and ultimately into the publicly traded company known as Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services Ltd. The Hamburger family established the first insurance company using the Harel name in 1975. In 1982, Harel Insurance and Finances, then called Harel Hamishmar Investments Ltd., was formed to hold the family’s insurance interests, and the company completed an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Through acquisitions during the 1980s and 1990s, Harel added Israeli insurance businesses including Sahar, Zion, Shiloach and Dikla. This consolidation helped it become one of the country’s leading insurance groups. During the 2000s, Harel broadened its business beyond traditional insurance by entering pension and mutual-fund markets and expanding its investment-management capabilities. The company adopted its current corporate name, Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services Ltd., in 2007. Its strategy reflects the structure of Israel’s financial-services market, in which large groups commonly combine risk protection, long-term savings, retirement products and asset management. Harel also developed activities outside conventional insurance. In 2008 it established the Israel Infrastructure Fund with Yehuda Raveh and Yaron Kestenbaum. The fund focuses on infrastructure projects involving water, energy and transportation, including railways and roads. In December 2009, Harel acquired EMI, an Israeli mortgage-insurance unit of American International Group. The deal expanded Harel’s position in mortgage-related insurance and demonstrated its approach of using acquisitions to add specialized financial products. The group remains associated with the Hamburger family, which has historically exercised control through holding structures, while its shares are also held by the public. Its primary market is Israel, serving households, employers, institutional investors and businesses. Harel positions itself as an integrated financial-services provider: it combines insurance underwriting with retirement savings, investment products and institutional asset management rather than operating solely as a general insurer.

Harel Group traces its origins to 1935, when Ernst and Margot Hamburger, German Jews who had moved to Tel Aviv, founded HaMishmar, a small insurance agency operating in Mandatory Palestine. The business provided the foundation for a family-owned insurance enterprise that later became one of Israel’s largest financial groups. In 1975, the Hamburger family established its first insurance company under the Harel name. Seven years later, in 1982, the family created Harel Insurance and Finances, then known as Harel Hamishmar Investments Ltd. Ownership of Harel and Hamishmar was transferred into this structure, creating a more formal holding company for the group’s insurance interests. The company also carried out an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 1982. During the 1980s and 1990s, Harel pursued an acquisition-led expansion in the Israeli insurance market. It acquired or incorporated insurance businesses including Sahar, Zion, Shiloach and Dikla. These transactions increased the group’s scale and helped consolidate its position as one of Israel’s leading insurance groups. The expansion also broadened the range of insurance products and distribution capabilities available through the organization. In the 2000s, Harel moved beyond its traditional insurance base. It entered pension and mutual-fund markets and expanded its investment-management activities, reflecting the increasing importance of long-term savings and managed assets in Israel’s financial system. In 2007, the corporate name was changed to Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services Ltd., signaling the group’s wider role beyond insurance underwriting. Harel expanded into infrastructure investment in 2008 by establishing the Israel Infrastructure Fund with Yehuda Raveh and Yaron Kestenbaum. The fund’s target sectors included water, energy and transportation infrastructure, such as rail and road projects. This initiative connected Harel’s institutional-investment capabilities with long-term infrastructure assets. In December 2009, Harel acquired EMI, an Israeli mortgage unit of American International Group. The acquisition added mortgage-related insurance capabilities and was another example of the group’s use of transactions to strengthen specialized product areas. The Hamburger family has remained the controlling shareholder group, while Harel has operated as a publicly traded company with public investors also holding shares. The group’s core activities continue to center on insurance, retirement and savings products, investment management and related financial services in Israel. Its development illustrates the transformation of a family insurance agency into a diversified, listed financial-services group.

• 2009

  EMI acquisition

  [1]Harel Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Harel acquires EMI, an Israeli mortgage-insurance unit of AIG.

• 2008

  Israel Infrastructure Fund established

  [1]Harel Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Harel joins Yehuda Raveh and Yaron Kestenbaum to establish an infrastructure investment fund focused on water, energy and transportation.

• 2007

  Corporate name changed

  [1]Harel Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The company adopts the name Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services Ltd.

• 1982

  Holding company formed and listed

  [1]Harel Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Harel Insurance and Finances, then known as Harel Hamishmar Investments Ltd., is formed and completes an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

• 1975

  First Harel insurance company established

  [1]Harel Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The Hamburger family establishes its first insurance company operating under the Harel name.

• 1935

  HaMishmar is founded

  [1]Harel Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Ernst and Margot Hamburger establish HaMishmar, the insurance agency that becomes the foundation of the Harel Group.

A diversified Israeli insurance and financial-services group serving retail, corporate and institutional customers.

• Insurance

  Life insurance

  Life-insurance products designed to provide financial protection to policyholders’ beneficiaries and households. They form part of Harel’s core insurance activities alongside health and general insurance.

• Insurance

  Health insurance

  Health-insurance coverage serving Israeli individuals and families, complementing the group’s life and general-insurance operations.

• Retirement and savings

  Pension and long-term savings

  Pension and related long-term savings products introduced as Harel expanded into retirement and institutional savings markets during the 2000s.

• Asset management

  Mutual funds and investment management

  Investment products and asset-management services for individual and institutional investors. These activities broadened Harel from an insurance group into an integrated financial-services provider.

• Specialty insurance · 2009

  Mortgage insurance

  Mortgage-related insurance capabilities associated with EMI, the Israeli mortgage unit acquired from AIG in 2009.

• Alternative investments · 2008

  Infrastructure investments

  Infrastructure investment exposure through the Israel Infrastructure Fund, covering projects in water, energy and transportation, including rail and road infrastructure.

• 2009

  Acquisition of EMI from AIGM&A

  Background

  Harel pursued expansion in specialized insurance services, including mortgage-related coverage.

  Action taken

  Harel acquired EMI, an Israeli mortgage unit of American International Group.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition added mortgage insurance to Harel’s portfolio and strengthened its position in a specialized Israeli insurance segment.

  Source

• 2008

  Entry into infrastructure investmentStrategy

  Background

  Harel sought to broaden its institutional investment activities beyond insurance and conventional financial products.

  Action taken

  The group established the Israel Infrastructure Fund with Yehuda Raveh and Yaron Kestenbaum, targeting water, energy and transportation projects.

  Aftermath

  The initiative gave Harel exposure to long-duration infrastructure assets and expanded its investment platform.

  Source

• 1982

  Creation and public listing of the Harel holding structureOther

  Background

  The family’s insurance interests had grown beyond the original agency and required a formal corporate structure.

  Action taken

  Harel Insurance and Finances, then called Harel Hamishmar Investments Ltd., was established, the operating businesses were transferred into it, and the company went public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

  Aftermath

  The transaction created the listed holding-company platform through which the Harel insurance and financial-services businesses expanded.

  Source

1. 1Harel Groupen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Harel Group official websiteharel-group.co.il