FDIC deposit insurance protects your money in deposit accounts at FDIC-insured banks in the event of a bank failure. Since the FDIC was founded in 1933, no depositor has lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds.
How FDIC Deposit Insurance Works
The FDIC helps maintain stability and public confidence in the U.S. financial system. One way we do this is by insuring deposits to at least $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category at each FDIC-insured bank.
The FDIC maintains the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), which:
- Insures deposits and protects depositors of FDIC-insured banks and
- Helps fund our resolution activities when banks fail.
The DIF is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, and it has two sources of funds:
- Assessments (insurance premiums) that FDIC-insured institutions pay and
- Interest earned on funds invested in U.S. government obligations. The FDIC buys Treasury notes, and the interest on those notes helps the DIF grow.
FDIC deposit insurance only covers deposits, and only if your bank is FDIC-insured.
How to Know If Your Account is Covered
FDIC insurance covers deposits in all types of accounts at FDIC-insured banks, but it does not cover non-deposit investment products, even those offered by FDIC-insured banks. Additionally, FDIC deposit insurance doesn’t cover default or bankruptcy of any non-FDIC-insured institution.
Covered
Money deposited at FDIC-insured banks in:
Checking accounts
Negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts
Savings accounts
Money market deposit accounts (MMDAs)
Time deposits such as certificates of deposit (CDs)
Cashier’s checks, money orders, and other official items issued by a bank
Not Covered
Stock investments
Bond investments
Mutual funds
Annuities
Life insurance policies
Safe deposit boxes or their contents
U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, or notes
Municipal securities
Crypto assetsUnderstanding Your Coverage Limits
FDIC deposit insurance covers $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, for each account ownership category.
Ownership categories include:
- Single accounts
- Joint accounts
- Certain retirement accounts —for example, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
- Revocable trust accounts
- Irrevocable trust accounts
- Employee benefit plan accounts
- Corporation / partnership / unincorporated association accounts
- Government accounts
All of your deposits in the same ownership category in the same FDIC-insured bank are added together for the purpose of determining FDIC deposit insurance coverage. However, you may qualify for more than $250,000 in FDIC deposit insurance coverage if you deposit money in accounts that are in different ownership categories.
If you have a single ownership account at an FDIC-insured bank, and you have a joint ownership account with one or more people at the same bank, you will be insured for up to $250,000 for your single ownership account deposits and also insured separately for your ownership interest up to $250,000 for all of your joint ownership account deposits.
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If you have a single ownership account in one FDIC-insured bank, and another single ownership account in a different FDIC-insured bank, you will be insured for up to $250,000 for your single account deposits at each FDIC-insured bank.
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If you have two single ownership accounts (such as a checking account and a savings account) and an individual retirement account (IRA) at the same FDIC-insured bank, then you will be insured up to $250,000 for the combined balance of the funds in the two single ownership accounts. You will be separately insured up to $250,000 for the funds in the IRA, because IRAs are in a different account ownership category.
Use the FDIC’s online Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE) to calculate how much of your funds are covered by deposit insurance.
Protecting Depositors During a Bank Failure
Bank failures are unlikely, but they do happen. FDIC deposit insurance protects your insured deposits if your bank closes. The FDIC acts quickly when this happens to ensure that access to your insured deposits is not interrupted.
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