If an employer elects to self-insure all or part of his employee benefit plan, he may choose to protect against an excessive amount and fluctuation in claim exposure by purchasing Excess Risk Insurance.

The Excess Risk Insurance, available through a number of insurance and reinsurance companies, are offered in two forms:

1. Specific Stop Loss insurance provides protection when covered claims during the policy year on any one individual exceed the Specific Deductible. Specific Deductibles are available starting at $20,000. Deductible levels are usually determined by group size.
2. Aggregate Stop Loss Insurance provides protection when covered claims during the policy year on the entire plan (all covered employee and dependent expenses combined) exceed the annual Aggregate Stop Loss limit. Only claims that are not in excess of the Specific deductible may be counted toward the Aggregate deductible. That is, any claims reimbursed under Specific coverage are not eligible to count as claims under the Aggregate coverage.