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You fund the claims. A captive shares the risk.
Instead of paying fixed premiums to a carrier, you pay claims as they come, plus administration and stop-loss insurance that limits your exposure. Go fully self-funded and you carry that risk alone. Join a captive, and you share it with a group of similarly sized employers, so one bad year doesn't fall on you by yourself, while a good year still saves you money.
It comes down to your size and your appetite for risk.
Self-funding rewards groups with predictable, lower-than-pool risk, and it asks for more tolerance for month-to-month variation. A captive is the middle ground: enough scale to self-fund, not quite enough to comfortably go it alone. Ignition prices your workforce against both structures and shows you the range before you commit.
Step 1 · Share the basics. A short form and your census.
Step 2 · See your workforce risk. Projected claims, stop-loss pricing, and whether you fit better solo or in a captive.
Step 3 · Review and choose. Fully insured, self-funded, and captive options side by side. You decide.
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AWM Capital — $156,914 saved in 30 minutes.
Light Labs — A finished renewal turned into $113,115 in savings.
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FAQs
What is a self-funded plan?
You pay employee claims directly as they happen, using a third-party administrator to run the plan and stop-loss insurance to cap your exposure.
Is self-funding riskier than level funding?
Not with proper stop-loss in place. The total exposure is similar. The difference is that you manage the risk directly instead of the carrier managing it for you.
What is stop-loss, and how much do we need?
It's the ceiling on what you pay. It comes in two pieces: specific stop-loss covers any one person who has a catastrophic year, and aggregate stop-loss caps total claims across the whole group. Where you set those limits is the decision that matters.
Can a company our size self-fund?
Sometimes. With the right stop-loss and admin support it can work from as few as 25 to 50 employees, but it depends on your claims history and your cash reserves.
What do we have to manage ourselves?
More than on a level-funded plan. You choose and oversee a third-party administrator, source stop-loss each year, plan cash flow around claims as they land, and take on the plan's compliance obligations. It works when someone competent owns it.
Do we get our own claims data?
Yes, and it's the main long-term reason to self-fund. You can see exactly what's driving cost, which means every future renewal runs on facts rather than the carrier's word.
If we can't find a better setup than what you've got, we'll tell you on the call.
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