A captive insurance company (Captive) is designed to insure the business and related risks of a small (and usually related) group of insureds. Captives can be formed either in the United States or in a foreign jurisdiction. Captives are typically formed by companies for 3 reasons:
What Makes a Captive from ServeCo Different?
Should I Be Concerned About Risk?
Aftermarket programs that contain risk are actuated, insured by 3rd party Contract Liability Insurance Policies (CLIPS) and have a profile of profitability for BOTH the retailer and the Captive.
When you create insurance for risk that you do not have policies to protect yourself from, you are already self-insured. With a Captive, you get to use the dollars associated with that risk in a dollar saving way.
The risk that you assume by raising commercial insurance deductibles is typically offset in multiples by the financial benefits that you achieve when those deductibles are not reached. You also get to define that risk within your comfort level.