In some cases, employers can save money by self-insuring popular options
Traditionally, employers have purchased group benefits plans — including life, disability, health, travel, medical and dental coverage — through insurers. This arrangement made sense for potentially catastrophic claims, such as life insurance or disability insurance, where the large claim amounts necessitated insured coverage. However, large employers in particular began to question the value of insuring relatively predictable claim amounts for items such as dental checkups and routine medical exams.