What is "self-insurance"

n. insuring yourself by setting aside money to cover possible losses rather than by purchasing an insurance policy

Self-funded health care (also known is self-funded insurance, self-insurance, or, more colloquially, self-funding) is a type of insurance coverage that is accomplished without the risk transfer by which traditional insurance is defined. Self-funded health care is a concept involving an employer providing certain benefits – generally health benefits or disability benefits – to its employees and funding claims from a specified pool of assets rather than through an insurance company, as the term is traditionally used. In self-funded health care, the employer ultimately retains the full risk of paying claims, in contrast to traditional insurance, where all risk is transferred to the insurer.