What Is FDIC Insurance and How Does It Protect You?

FDIC stands for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It is a US government agency that protects the money you deposit in banks. If your bank were ever to fail or go out of business, the FDIC guarantees that you get your money back — up to a specific limit.

The current standard limit is $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category. That means if you have $100,000 in a checking account and $80,000 in a savings account at the same bank, both are fully protected because the total ($180,000) is under the $250,000 limit.

"Ownership category" matters for larger balances. Joint accounts (accounts held by two people) are insured up to $250,000 per co-owner, so a joint account for a married couple could be protected up to $500,000 at one bank.

FDIC insurance has been in place since 1933 and has protected depositors in every bank failure since. No FDIC-insured depositor has ever lost a single cent of insured deposits.

To check whether your bank is FDIC-insured, look for the FDIC logo on the bank's website or at the teller window, or use the free lookup tool at bankfind.fdic.gov. Credit unions are covered by a similar program called NCUA (National Credit Union Administration), which offers the same $250,000 protection.

What FDIC does NOT cover: investment accounts (stocks, bonds, mutual funds), cryptocurrency, life insurance policies, and safe-deposit box contents. These are kept at banks but are not considered deposits, so they are not insured.

(Source: FDIC, fdic.gov/resources/resolutions/bank-failures/failed-bank-list)