Released: October 22, 2018

Help Desk FAQ

What is covered by FDIC insurance?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an agency of the federal government, insures account balances in banks. If an insured bank fails, the FDIC protects deposit accounts up to $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category. Types of accounts that are insured are:

• Checking accounts
• Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts
• Savings accounts
• Money market deposit accounts (MMDAs)
• Certificates of deposit (CD) and other time deposits
• Official items issued by a bank (such as cashier's checks or money orders)

Your coverage depends on the size of your balance—up to $250,000 per person at the same bank is covered. But you may have more than $250,000 insurance coverage even at the same bank if you also have different kinds of accounts. Use the FDIC's interactive Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE) to calculate the insurance coverage of your accounts.

FDIC insurance doesn't protect against losses on investments or non-deposit products such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies, annuities or municipal securities, even if they were offered by an insured bank.

Learn more at the FDIC website. You can contact the FDIC online in English or Spanish, or by phone (877-ASK-FDIC/877-275-3342; 800-925-4618 for the hearing impaired).

Similarly, federally chartered credit unions are regulated by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). The coverage levels are generally the same as those provided by FDIC-insured banks. (Some deposits at state-chartered credit unions are insured by private insurers.)

Before opening an account, make sure the bank or credit union is federally insured by looking for the FDIC or NCUSIF notice at the branch or website, or by using online research tools (FDIC or NCUA).