Banks insure deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

The FDIC is a federal agency that protects your money if a bank fails. When a bank closes, the FDIC pays depositors from its insurance fund. The standard coverage limit is $250,000 per person, per bank. If you have $300,000 at one bank, the FDIC covers $250,000 and you lose the rest.

Credit unions use a different insurer called the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration), which offers the same $250,000 limit per member, per credit union. The coverage works the same way: if your credit union fails, the NCUA pays you up to $250,000.

This $250,000 limit has been in place since 2010. Before that, the standard was $100,000, but Congress raised it during the financial crisis and made it permanent.

Key Takeaways

  • The FDIC insures bank deposits up to $250,000 per person, per bank, and the NCUA insures credit union deposits at the same limit.
  • Coverage is per depositor, per institution — if you have accounts at two different banks, each account is insured separately up to $250,000.
  • Joint accounts, retirement accounts, and trust accounts have their own separate $250,000 limits, so you can exceed $250,000 total at one bank by using different account types.
  • Money market accounts, savings accounts, and checking accounts are all covered by the same $250,000 limit when held at the same bank in the same name.
  • Brokerage accounts, investment accounts, and money held outside a bank are not covered by FDIC insurance.

How the $250,000 limit works across multiple accounts

The $250,000 limit applies to each depositor at each bank, not to each account. If you have a checking account and a savings account at the same bank under your own name, the FDIC adds them together and insures the total up to $250,000. If you have $150,000 in checking and $120,000 in savings at the same bank, you are covered for $250,000 total and lose $20,000.

However, different account ownership types are insured separately. A joint account with your spouse has its own $250,000 limit. A retirement account (IRA, 401k) held at the same bank has its own $250,000 limit. A trust account has its own limit. This means you can have more than $250,000 at one bank and still be fully covered if you use different account types.

For example: $250,000 in a checking account under your name, $250,000 in a joint savings account with your spouse, and $250,000 in your IRA — all at the same bank — would be fully covered because each is a different ownership category.

What types of accounts are covered and what are not

The FDIC covers deposit accounts: checking, savings, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs). It covers accounts in any currency. It does not cover investment accounts, brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or money market mutual funds (which are different from money market deposit accounts).

If you buy stocks or mutual funds through your bank's brokerage arm, those are not FDIC-insured. If you hold a CD issued by the bank, that is covered. If you hold a mutual fund sold by the bank, it is not. The distinction matters because many banks sell both products.

Safe deposit boxes are not covered. Contents of a safe deposit box — jewelry, documents, cash — are not protected by FDIC insurance. If the bank fails and the contents are lost or stolen, the FDIC does not pay you.

Coverage for joint accounts, retirement accounts, and trust accounts

A joint account is insured separately from individual accounts. If you and your spouse have a joint savings account with $300,000, the FDIC covers $250,000 of it. If you each also have individual accounts at the same bank, each individual account gets its own $250,000 limit. The joint account does not reduce the coverage on your individual account.

Retirement accounts — IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, and similar accounts — are insured separately from regular deposits. An IRA with $250,000 at a bank is fully covered, and it does not count against the $250,000 limit on your checking account at the same bank.

Trust accounts (accounts held in trust for a beneficiary) are also insured separately. The coverage limit for a trust account is $250,000 per beneficiary, not per trustee. If you are the trustee of three separate trusts, each with a different beneficiary, each trust account gets its own $250,000 limit at the same bank.

What happens if a bank fails and you are covered

When a bank fails, the FDIC takes over. It typically arranges for another bank to buy the failed bank's deposits and accounts. In most cases, you wake up and your account is now at a different bank, with no action required on your part. Your debit card may change, but your money is there.

If no bank buys the failed bank's deposits, the FDIC pays you directly. This takes longer — usually a few weeks — but you receive a check or electronic transfer for the amount covered (up to $250,000). The FDIC has a claims process, but it is straightforward: you provide proof of the account balance, and they pay you.

The FDIC has never run out of money to pay depositors. Since 1933, when FDIC insurance began, no depositor has lost a penny of insured funds due to a bank failure.

How to check if your bank is FDIC-insured

Most banks are FDIC-insured, but not all. Online banks, credit unions, and some specialty banks may be insured by different agencies or not at all. You can check whether a specific bank is FDIC-insured by searching the FDIC's Bank Find tool on its website (fdic.gov). Enter the bank name and your state, and it will tell you whether that bank is insured and what the current insurance limit is.

If a bank is FDIC-insured, it must display the FDIC logo and insurance notice in the lobby and on statements. If you do not see it, ask the bank directly. Some banks advertise "FDIC-insured" in marketing materials but are actually insured by a different agency — read the fine print.

Credit unions display an NCUA logo if they are insured by the NCUA. The NCUA website (mycreditunion.gov) has a similar search tool to verify coverage.

Strategies for protecting more than $250,000 at one bank

If you have more than $250,000 and want to keep it all at one bank, you can use multiple account types to stay within coverage limits. Open a joint account with a spouse or family member (another $250,000 limit). Open a retirement account if you have earned income (another $250,000 limit). Open a trust account with a different beneficiary (another $250,000 limit per beneficiary).

The simpler approach for most people is to spread money across multiple banks. If you have $500,000, put $250,000 at Bank A and $250,000 at Bank B. Each bank's deposits are insured separately. You can use the same type of account (checking, savings) at each bank — the FDIC tracks coverage by bank, not by account type across banks.

Some people use a service called IntraFi (formerly Promontory Interbank Network) that automatically splits large deposits across multiple banks within a network, keeping each portion under $250,000 and fully insured. Your bank can tell you whether it participates in IntraFi.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have $300,000 at one bank, how much does the FDIC cover?

The FDIC covers $250,000. You lose $50,000 if the bank fails. To protect all $300,000, open an account at a second bank and move $50,000 there, or use a joint account or retirement account at the same bank to create a separate $250,000 limit.

Does FDIC insurance cover money I lose to fraud or a scam?

No. FDIC insurance covers losses only when a bank fails. If someone steals your money through fraud, hacking, or a scam, that is not covered by FDIC insurance. You may have other protections through your bank's fraud liability policies or federal consumer protection laws, but FDIC insurance does not explore.

Are online banks FDIC-insured?

Most online banks are FDIC-insured, but you must verify. Search the FDIC Bank Find tool with the online bank's name. Many online banks are legitimate and fully insured; some are not. Do not assume based on the bank's website or marketing.

What is the difference between FDIC and NCUA insurance?

The FDIC insures banks; the NCUA insures credit unions. Both offer $250,000 coverage per member, per institution. The agencies are separate, so a credit union account and a bank account are insured independently. Coverage limits and rules are otherwise the same.

If I have money in a CD, is it covered by FDIC insurance?

Yes. CDs issued by a bank are FDIC-insured deposits, covered up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank. The interest rate or maturity date does not affect coverage. If you have a $300,000 CD at one bank, $250,000 is covered and $50,000 is not.