Self-insured plans have been around for a longtime, but have received more attention in recent years as employerslook for ways to keep their health care costs in check.

Whether your client is a longtime participant or new to thegame, self-insured plan sponsors need to obtain or renew a stop-loss insurance policy, a policy placedon a self-insured medical plan that reimburses the plan sponsor forclaims exceeding specified levels.

Related: Top 10 catastrophic claims for self-fundedemployers

While straightforward on the surface, getting the details rightin a stop-loss coverage can save or cost millions. There are twoprimary forms of stop-loss policies:

Specific stop-loss reimburses the plan sponsorfor individual claims that exceed a specific level, called theattachment point or deductible, during the policy period. Forexample, a policy with a $250,000 attachment point wouldessentially cap an employer's cost for each member at $250,000 in ayear.

Aggregate stop-loss reimburses the plan sponsorif total claims in the plan exceed a specified level in a year.This level is usually expressed as a percentage of expected plancosts (e.g., 125 percent). As an example, a plan that is expectedto have claims totaling $10 million in a year with 125 percentaggregate stop-loss would be reimbursed for claims above $12.5million in the year. These policies typically have a maximumreimbursement level ($1 million is common).

Here is a quick checklist to review when looking at stop-lossrenewals.