Summary
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010, made permanent the current standard maximum deposit insurance amount (SMDIA) of $250,000. The FDIC coverage limit applies per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category.
What is the FDIC?
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency of the United States government that protects against the loss of insured deposits if an FDIC-insured bank or savings association fails. FDIC deposit insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Since the FDIC was established, no depositor has ever lost a single penny of FDIC-insured funds.
The FDIC guarantees deposit accounts (checking, savings, money market savings and CDs) up to the maximum allowed by law. The FDIC separately guarantees bank individual retirement accounts (IRAs) up to $250,000 per owner. There is no need for depositors to apply for FDIC insurance or even to request it. Coverage is automatic.
What does the FDIC insure?
The FDIC guarantees all traditional types of deposit accounts (checking, savings, money market savings and CDs) up to $250,000 per depositor and guarantees bank individual retirement accounts (IRAs) up to $250,000 per owner.
Investment products (mutual funds, annuities, life insurance policies, stocks and bonds) are not FDIC insured, may lose value, and are not bank guaranteed.
To ensure funds are fully protected, depositors should understand their coverage limits. The FDIC provides separate coverage for deposits held in different account ownership categories. The coverage limits shown below refer to the total of all deposits that an account holder has in the same ownership categories at each FDIC-insured bank.
Standard Deposit Insurance Coverage Amount of $250,000 Made Permanent
| Single Accounts (owned by one person) | $250,000 per owner |
| Joint Accounts (owned by two or more persons) | $250,000 per co-owner |
| Certain Retirement Accounts (includes IRAs) | $250,000 per owner |
| Revocable Trust Accounts | $250,000 per owner per beneficiary up to 5 beneficiaries (more coverage available subject to specific limitations and requirements |
| Corporation, Partnership and Unincorporated Association Accounts | $250,000 per corporation, partnership or unincorporated association |
| Irrevocable Trust Accounts | $250,000 for the non-contingent, ascertainable interest of each participant |
| Employee Benefit Plan Accounts | $250,000 for the non-contingent, ascertainable interest of each participant |
| Government Accounts | $250,000 per official custodian |
NOTICE OF CHANGES IN TEMPORARY FDIC INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR TRANSACTION ACCOUNTS
All funds in a "noninterest-bearing transaction account" are insured in full by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from December 31, 2010, through December 31, 2012. This temporary unlimited coverage is in addition to, and separate from, the coverage of at least $250,000 available to depositors under the FDIC's general deposit insurance rules.
The term "noninterest-bearing transaction account" includes a traditional checking account or demand deposit account on which the insured depository institution pays no interest. It also includes Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts ("IOLTAs"). It does not include other accounts, such as traditional checking or demand deposit accounts that may earn interest, NOW accounts, and money-market deposit accounts.
For more information about temporary FDIC insurance coverage of transaction accounts, visit www.fdic.gov.
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