self-insure
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of self-insure
First recorded in 1930–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
This isn’t crazy money for them, even if they self-insure the cost of someone winning.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026
Companies choose to self-insure because it gives them more control over benefits and can lower costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Or it may be better to self-insure and plan to use savings for long-term care needs if insurance is too expensive.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2024
The government prefers to self-insure against financial risk rather than pay a fee to profit making third parties.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2022
Other oil firms have tax-haven subsidiaries through which they self-insure their facilities.
From Reuters ● Dec. 9, 2020
Yet if drug companies sell drugs to insurance companies or to employers who are self-insured, two problems arise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
Insurers administering plans for self-insured employers — large companies and institutions — are probably responding to their clients’ directives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2024
Thungela told Reuters it intends to become fully self-insured in future, without specifying the timeframe.
From Reuters ● Aug. 31, 2023
The company offers technology that self-insured organizations such as for-profit and not-for-profit corporations, states, and local governments can use to reduce lofty health-care costs.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 1, 2023
The Mormon church is largely self-insured, leaving it especially vulnerable to costly lawsuits.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2022
Interestingly, from what I have read, the $2 million–to–$4 million range is also around the point where many financial planners consider self-insuring for long-term care instead of purchasing long-term-care insurance.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Other consumer advice bodies warn self-insuring options can also be risky, as savings may still not cover a big bill.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
As the company’s sole owner, he was willing to make big bets with his money—buying the Little Birds, for example, and then self-insuring them when no one else would.
From BusinessWeek ● Nov. 21, 2013
Bank of America is an example of a self-insuring company, and it has voluntarily extended under 26 benefits early to its employees as well.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2010
Still, it seems that people would be better served by self-insuring, i.e. putting $15.99 per month into a savings account and earning interest, rather than paying for such coverage and then possibly never getting divorced.
From New York Times ● Aug. 6, 2010
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
