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Clal Insurance is offering discounts on health insurance plans for vegans, announced finance company Lavi, which is spearheading a wider vegan- friendly initiative, on Sunday.The company has established a Vegans Pay Less (VPL) initiative, developing specific life and health insurance plans for vegans, which include a significant discount.Clal Insurance is the first of the country’s leading insurance companies to join the initiative.The discounted health insurance will only be available to members of vegan associations who provide a signed declaration of health.Uri Eshel, the co-CEO of Lavi, said: “VPL’s ultimate goal is to promote the declaration that vegan is healthier, and the establishment of this declaration will result in the greatest wave of veganism seen in Israel until now. Because of this, we are committed to promoting the growth of special services for vegans.”Daniel Cohen, the deputy CEO and director of the Health Division at Clal Insurance, said the company is dedicated to investing in the needs of its diverse range of customers.“With the understanding that veganism is a global trend that is developing especially here in Israel, we decided to provide a solution to this segment of the market too,” he said.“Many studies reinforce the claim that a vegan lifestyle is healthier, prolongs life expectancy and contributes to health and the environment,” Lavi said in a press release, referencing studies that have found that vegans are less likely to contract diseases such as hypertension, less likely to develop all cancers and less likely to suffer from diabetes.With 5% of its population identifying as vegan, Israel boasts the highest percentage of vegans per capita in the world. Likewise, 8-10% of Israelis are vegetarians and about 40% of Israelis say they have reduced their consumption of animal-based food, according to the group Anonymous for Animal Rights.Tel Aviv has recently been dubbed the “vegan capital of the world” by British newspaper The Independent, which praised the city’s 400 vegan- friendly restaurants.