self insured retention
self-insured retention. Insurance. The amount of an otherwise-covered loss that is not covered by an insurance policy and that usu. must be paid before the insurer will pay benefits (the defendant had a $1 million CGL policy to cover the loss, but had to pay a self-insured retention of $100,000, which it had agreed to so that the policy premium would be lower). — Abbr. SIR. Cf. DEDUCTIBLE. [Cases: Insurance 2283.]
