Reservists: Insurance for lost work capability not renewed by IDF

The Israel Defense Forces and the defense establishment has not insured reserve soldiers for loss of work ability due to service-related injuries, reservists' organizations say.

Groups representing battalion and brigade commanders as well as non-commissioned officers say reservists have been uninsured since May, and that the defense establishment has not asked the Knesset to renew the regulation allowing greater compensation for reservists who cannot achieve their pre-injury income by compensating them for functional - rather than medical - disability. The groups pushed these reforms through five years ago.

One example is a pianist who loses two fingers in reserve duty, says Roi Ron, chairman of Baltam, a reserve soldiers rights group. "He'll receive a low medical disability, although he has a 100 percent functional disability," Ron says.

In a recent letter to 100 reserve company commanders, Ron, who is a deputy company commander in the reserves, wrote, "I am very close to declaring that until the insurance issue is resolved, I will not report for reserve duty.

Attorney Ophir Tal, who is advising the commanders' representatives, says, "Some members of the organizations are talking about going to court."

The defense establishment responded: "The statement that reservists are not insured during their service is not correct. For five years, reservists injured during service and families of reservists killed in service have received their full compensation, on a level equal to or exceeding the accepted arrangement for the standing army. The Defense Ministry used to purchase an insurance policy to cover such expenses. It has now been decided that there is no need for such secondary insurance, and all expenses are paid out of the defense budget, within the framework of the law."

Defense establishment sources also said the lack of insurance does not damage reservists' rights.

Soldiers' Forum Chairman, Aleh Mikanovsky says reservists will have no choice but to personally pay for insurance before undertaking military operations when called for reserve duty. "We have learnt from our experience assisting disabled soldiers that without personal insurance covering loss of ability to work, anyone who suffers injuries is faced with a future filled with uncertainty," he said.

"The system ignores the problem and puts every reserve soldier in the problematic position of choosing whether to turn up for service or take care of the family," he added.