What is a “self-insured” employer?

A self-insured employer does not contract with an insurance company to insure their employees. Instead they have enough employees to do their own risk pooling like an insurance company would. These employers are called “Self-Insured.” During the past couple of decades, the number of employers who have become self-insured has increased dramatically, starting with large employers and spreading to those with fewer employees. Some examples of self-insured employers are: Walmart, Microsoft and IBM.