Is Your Bank Deposit FDIC Insured?

You may have heard that your savings and checking account deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).  But do you really know what that means?

The FDIC is an independent agency of the U.S. government. The agency protects you against losing your savings, checking account, and other qualified deposits in case your bank fails. Banks must be insured by the FDIC at the time of failure.

According to the FDIC, no depositor has ever lost money insured by the agency since it was created back in 1934.

When considering whether or not to open an account, it’s important to note that FDIC insurance covers all deposits at insured banks, including:

• Checking accounts
• Savings accounts
• Money market accounts
• Certificates of deposit

The FDIC insurance does not cover:

• Stocks
• Bonds
• Mutual funds
• Life insurance policies
• Annuities
• Safe deposit boxes or their contents

FDIC-insured accounts are covered up to $250,000 per depositor through Dec. 31, 2013. After that the standard insurance amount returns to $100,000 per depositor for all types of accounts except IRAs and certain other retirement accounts.

So how do you know if your bank accounts are FDIC insured and for how much? Use the agency’s EDIE estimator tool to see if your accounts are within FDIC coverage limits.

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