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FDIC Insurance Basics
The FDIC insures deposits in most banks and savings associations located in the United States. The FDIC protects depositors against the loss of their deposits if an FDIC-insured bank or savings association fails. FDIC insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.
For simplicity, the term "insured bank" is used to mean any bank or savings association that has FDIC insurance. To check whether a bank or savings association is insured by the FDIC, call toll-free at:
1-877-275-3342
use "Bank Find" at:
www.fdic.gov/deposit
or look for the official FDIC sign where deposits are received. Beginning in 2007, insured banks will display this new official FDIC sign:
What does FDIC deposit insurance
cover?
FDIC insurance covers all types of deposits received at an insured bank, including deposits in checking, NOW, and savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and time deposits such as certificates of deposit (CDs).
FDIC deposit insurance covers the balance of each depositor's account, dollar-for-dollar, up to the insurance limit, including principal and any accrued interest through the date of the insured bank's closing.
The FDIC does not insure money invested in stocks, mutual funds, life insurance
policies, annuities, or municipal securities, even if these investments were
bought from an insured bank.
The FDIC does not insure U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, or notes. These are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.
How much insurance coverage does the FDIC provide?
The basic insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank.
The $250,000 amount applies to all depositors of an insured bank.
Deposits in separate branches of an insured bank are not separately insured. Deposits in one insured bank are insured separately from deposits in another insured bank.
Deposits maintained in different categories of legal ownership at the same
bank can be separately insured. Therefore, it is possible to have deposits
of more than $250,000 at one insured bank and still be fully insured.
The following sections describe the eight ownership categories recognized
by FDIC regulations and the requirements that must be met to have coverage
beyond the basic $250,000 insurance amount.
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