Tel Aviv-Yafo Travel Forum

I'm from the US and will be traveling with friends in Israel for 2.5 weeks in Sept. We'll be traveling all over from Tel Aviv to the Galilee area, to Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Eilat. So we're thinking about renting a car. I was just reserving one on a rental site and there are all sorts of insurances mentioned. Also it talks about license requirements, but it wasn't too clear.

So...my 2 questions are:
(1)what are the insurance requirements? (my credit card will cover the CDW/LDW insurance)
(2) Do I need to get some sort of temporary license or will my US license be ok?

*Always* get an international license when you plan to travel abroad. It is *always* recognized. You are spending a lot of money on your trip. Why jeopardize it for a few paltry dollars? I don't know what they cost in the USA, but in Israel they cost the equivalent of about US$ 4, and are issued on the spot.

The rental company will almost always rent you a car when showing a valid license from your hometown. Whether the insurance is valid in the event of an accident is another matter. They are in the rental business, not the insurance business. International licenses are always valid for insurance purposes. That is why they are issued.

As someone (American) who has rented vehicles in Israel at least 3 times a year for the last 16 years I am going to disagree with the previous respondent.

a. Your American License is fine. ( are you over 25--not all agencies rent to people younger.

b. are you POSITIVE the credit card will cover the CDW/LDW insurance. Unless you have a WORLD CARD it WILL NOT!! Visa, Mastercard and American Express exclude Israel from their list of covered countries.

c. The extra insurance offered covers the roughly $400 deductible on the regular insurance. I don't take it--your choice.

d. Make sure that you register both of you as drivers. There is an extra charge but if you get in an accident and someone not listed is driving you have big problems.

e. Try to plan your trip so you are not driving in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. Parking there is a horror ( to non-existant) and traffic is worse. Public transportation works best in these locations. ( and I drive in NYC)

*"Your American License is fine. ( are you over 25--not all agencies rent to people younger."*
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Have you used only your American license, been in an "insurance incident", and the insurance company accepted your claim? Is there a formal agreement between the USA and Israel on mutual recognition of local driving licenses? On what do you base your opinion? If I am incorrect, please explain why, so I'll know better next time. :)

As I said, the rental firm will almost always rent you a car no matter what, whereas insurance validity is an entirely different matter.

Hi there
will dont take rent car if you want cheaper let me know with out cc

Ok....well the debate here made me do some more research and I found this.

http://www.koshertravelinfo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98

http://www.aaci.org.il/ak/ak3_2.htm
"New immigrants, temporary residents and returning residents are permitted to drive in Israel with their foreign or international driver's license for one year following their date of entry into Israel. The category of vehicle driven must match the category stated on the valid license and the age requirement must comply with the Israeli requirements for that category"

It sounds like a foreign license is good for one year in Israel with full insurance coverage.

Ramot,

My wife is American and drove here using her American driving license until she converted it to an Israeli one. An Merican tourist can drive here using his/her American driving license up to a year. After that, you need an Israeli license. As we visited the Israeli DMV several times during the process and they were fully aware of her driving using an American license there must be an agreement between Israel and the US. Also, I had to give a Xerox copy of my wife's license to AVIS so she could drive my company leased car. Again, they had no problem with that.

Your license wil be okay. The optional insurance is up to you.

Ramot--you seem to misunderstand what an international license is. An international license does not prove you can drive.There is no road test or proof of driving ability required to get one. It is basically a translation of the local license. It is offered for a small fee and a new picture. Hebrew is a language that isn't understood by most of the world--thus Israelis need an international license. English ( the language of my American license) is understood here in Israel, thus no need for an iternational license.

You keep saying that rental companies rent cars not sell insurance. The insurance policies that you pay for when you rent a vehicle are policies designed to be utilized by renters. It is different than the policy on your private vehicle. Rental companies are very much interested that their vehicles have adequate insurance when they are on the road. If not, there is a risk that an individual would have to pay out of pocket. The companies do not place a hold on $50-90,000(the cost of the vehicle) when they take your credit card. They would have to do that if they didn't know the car was covered. Since most people dont' have those credit limits--no one would be renting cars.


Finally, unfortunately about 15 years ago I was involved in an accident in Israel and the companies insurance covered all but the deductible. ( $200 at the time, if I remember correctly)

First of all, I qualified what I said in the case where there is a formal agreement between the USA and Israel on mutual recognition of local licenses. I don't know if there is such a thing, but there very well can be.

Secondly, Israel drivers' licenses are in English and Hebrew, so there is no language problem. However, there is a qualification in the small print at the bottom which says (translated freely from the Hebrew): "Permission to drive abroad with this license is according to the laws of the country in which you are driving." In other words, some countries recognize it, others don't - that is, you need an official international license. Since I occasionally drive in various countries in Europe and North America (Canada and USA), I just take out an international license (I always have a valid one in my possession) and don't worry whether my local license is recognized. I had been warned by my travel agent on more than one occasion that the laws of the country of my destination do not recognize the local one and the rental companies will rent you a car anyways. And everything is fine if you aren't in an accident and aren't stopped by an overzealous policeman. :)