score:3
@DarkLight answers's is indeed accurate in describing the Israel law requirements.
That being said - the only obligatory insurance is the first one - listed as , well - 'Obligatory'.
I have rented cars in Israel ( and many other countries ) on multiple occasions, and there is no Problem on insisting to get only the simplest insurance policy as required by law .
The fact that the sales personnel is so eager in persuading you to get higher insurances is that they usually get a cut of it.
Another factor is that In some countries ( Israel included ) taking a lower coverage insurance will almost automatically trigger a higher Deposit on a known and accepted credit card. ( Hence their request for a CC of known origins )
Another issue i would like to remark on is that in most places I have rented a car, Israel included, the prices are wildly open to changes based on local demand or local holidays / periods. you might want to check that the prices you see on any given websites are for the exact period and also read the small print .
Upvote:4
The law in Israel requires a rental car to equip each lease with three kinds of insurance:
Obligatory ("Bituch Hova") - protects bodily harm for driver and all passengers.
Collateral ("Bituch Makif") - Theft (or attempted theft), fire, water damage etc.
Only the third kind can be (by negotiation) to be converted to LSI or other types of foreign insurance. I assume that the Collateral insurance might also be negotiated - but I never heard of anyone that made it... The Obligatory ("Bituah Hova") cannot be converted in any way - it's actually a hidden tax... We (Israeli) all pay it.