The concept of assuming a financial risk oneself, instead of paying an insurance company to accept the risk. Every policyholder is a self-insurer in terms of paying a deductible. Large firms will often self-insure frequent small losses, such as damage to their fleet of vehicles. For group health insurance, self-insured means the employer assumes the risk of paying the benefits itself. An insurance company may provide administrative services to a self-insured plan, such as claims administration, but does not assume any risk to pay claims for benefits.