 For More Information About FDIC Insurance
Call the toll-free FDIC consumer assistance line: (877) ASK-FDIC—that's (877) 275-3342. Our phone line is staffed Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time. Recorded information about deposit insurance also is available 24 hours a day at the same number. The toll-free TTY number for hearing-impaired consumers is (800) 925-4618.
Write to the FDIC: The mailing address is FDIC, Division of Compliance and Consumer Affairs, 550 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20429. Or, you can fax your question to (202) 942-3098. To send a question by e-mail, use our Customer Assistance Form.
Read "Your Insured Deposits": This easy-to-understand brochure explains the insurance rules. The FDIC provides bulk copies to insured institutions free of charge so they can make them available to the public. You also can read "Your Insured Deposits" or order free single copies from the FDIC's Public Information Center. The most current edition (as noted on the back cover of paper editions) was published in 1999 to reflect rule changes. "If your version is dated prior to 1999, it should be discarded," warns Chicago-based FDIC attorney Christine Tullio. The brochure is available in English, Spanish, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) and Korean.
Consult EDIE—the Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator: Our interactive Web site guides you through a series of questions about your accounts and then provides a report about your insurance coverage. For guidance involving certain complex accounts, EDIE refers consumers to insurance experts at the FDIC's toll-free assistance line listed above.
Confirm that an institution is FDIC-insured: People often ask the FDIC if an unfamiliar institution they find advertised—on the Internet, in the newspaper or elsewhere—is FDIC-insured. You can e-mail or
call the FDIC toll-free at the addresses or phone numbers listed above. Or, you can check our online database of FDIC-insured institutions at Institution Directory. Note: Some bank branches or Internet sites
use trade names that differ from the bank's legal name, but you should
be able to find the official name on the branch's literature or the
Internet site.
Other consumer information from the FDIC: We provide guidance about the deposit insurance rules, including what's insured and what's not, in a variety of other FDIC publications. To check our offerings, start at Deposit Insurance, on the FDIC's Web site, or contact the FDIC's Public Information Center. Also read the tips and information about deposit insurance and other consumer topics in each issue of the quarterly FDIC Consumer News. Back issues, with articles such as "The Top 10 Mistakes That Cost Depositors Money When a Bank Fails...and How to Avoid Them"
from our Spring 2000 edition, can be found on FDIC Consumer News as well. Please contact us to receive new issues of FDIC Consumer News in the mail or by e-mail.
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