Insuring Your Deposits: Insurance Limits
The purpose of the FDIC is to insure your money in the event that your bank fails. The FDIC is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Deposits in an FDIC insured bank, like Pinnacle, are insured dollar-for-dollar up to the insurance limit.
As of July 21, 2010, the basic insurance limit has been (and still is) $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category.
Depositors may qualify for more than $250,000 FDIC insurance coverage if they have funds in different ownership categories and all FDIC requirements are met.
FDIC insurance covers the combined total of an individual’s ownership share in their accounts by category, up to the limit. The most common categories are:
- Single Accounts (Owned by One Person)
- Joint Accounts (Owned by Two or More Persons)
- Certain Retirement Accounts (Includes IRAs)
- Trust Accounts
- Corporation, Partnership and Unincorporated Association Accounts
- Employee Benefit Plan Accounts
- Government Accounts
Because the totals are by category and not by account type, deposit insurance is not increased, for example, by one individual putting $250,000 into a savings account and $250,000 in a CD in the same bank. In that case, $250,000 is insured, not $500,000. However, for a joint checking account with two owners, each owner is insured up to $250,000, so up to $500,000 would be insured.
It is possible to have millions in deposits at one insured bank and still be fully insured. See our article on categories of ownership.
However, some account types are excluded from FDIC coverage. The following lists shows what types of accounts are covered and not covered.
Covered
- 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
- Crypto Assets
- Life insurance policies
- Annuities
- Municipal securities
- Safe deposit boxes or their contents
- S. Treasury bills, bonds or notes*
*These investments are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
Depositors do not need to apply for FDIC insurance. Coverage is automatic whenever a deposit account is opened at an FDIC-insured bank or financial institution. If you are interested in FDIC deposit insurance coverage, simply make sure you are placing your funds in a deposit product at the bank. The FDIC has provided an online Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE). Calculate your coverage with EDIE
