Not all savings accounts have FDIC insurance, even though many people assume they do

FDIC insurance covers most savings accounts at banks, but it does not cover accounts at credit unions, investment firms, or online-only platforms that are not banks. It also does not cover certain types of accounts even when they are held at an FDIC-insured bank — money market accounts at some institutions, for example, or savings accounts opened through a brokerage. The key question is not what the account is called, but whether the institution holding your money is an FDIC member and whether your specific account type qualifies for coverage.

You can check whether a bank is FDIC-insured by searching the FDIC's Bank Find tool on their website. If your bank does not appear in that search, your savings account has no federal insurance backing it, no matter what the bank's marketing materials say.

Key Takeaways

  • FDIC insurance only protects accounts at banks that are FDIC members — credit unions, investment firms, and some online platforms are not covered even if they call themselves banks.
  • Certain account types do not may have access to for FDIC coverage even at member banks, including some money market accounts, brokerage accounts, and accounts held in a business name rather than your personal name.
  • You can verify whether your bank is FDIC-insured by searching the FDIC Bank Find tool, which lists every member institution.
  • FDIC coverage is per depositor per bank, meaning if you have multiple accounts at the same bank, the total insured amount across all of them is capped at the standard limit.

Which institutions are not FDIC-insured

Credit unions are not FDIC members. Instead, they are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which offers the same coverage limits and protections as the FDIC. If you have a savings account at a credit union, check whether it is NCUA-insured by searching the NCUA's Credit Union Locator tool.

Investment firms and brokerages — including well-known names like Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Vanguard — do not have FDIC insurance. Accounts at these firms are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) instead, which covers different types of losses and has different limits. A savings account opened through a brokerage is not the same as a savings account at a bank.

Online platforms that are not banks sometimes market themselves as places to save money, but if they are not FDIC members, your money has no federal insurance. Some fintech companies partner with FDIC-insured banks to hold customer deposits, which means your money is covered — but the coverage comes from the bank, not from the platform itself. Always verify the actual bank name in the fine print.

Account types that do not may have access to for FDIC coverage

Even at an FDIC-insured bank, not every account is covered. Brokerage accounts held at a bank are not FDIC-insured, even if the bank itself is. The same applies to accounts used primarily for buying and selling securities or mutual funds. A savings account at the same bank would be covered, but a brokerage account would not.

Money market accounts are sometimes covered and sometimes not, depending on how the bank structures them. If the account is classified as a deposit account (meaning you cannot trade securities in it), it is covered. If it functions as an investment account, it is not. Your bank's account agreement should specify which type you have, but calling the bank directly is the fastest way to know for certain.

Accounts held in a business name are covered, but they are insured separately from your personal savings account. If you have a sole proprietorship or partnership, the business account and your personal account each get their own coverage limit. A corporation's account is also separate. This means you can have multiple accounts at the same bank and stay within the insurance limits, but only if they are held in different legal names.

Accounts held in trust — such as a payable-on-death account or a formal trust account — are also insured separately from your personal account, with their own coverage limit. This is one reason people use these structures: they allow you to protect more total money at a single bank.

How to verify your bank's FDIC status

Go to the FDIC's Bank Find tool at banks.data.fdic.gov. Type in your bank's name or the city where your branch is located. The search will show you whether that bank is an FDIC member, when it joined, and which branch locations are covered.

If your bank does not appear in the search results, it is not FDIC-insured. This does not mean the bank is unsafe or illegal — it means your deposits are not protected by federal insurance. Some banks choose not to join the FDIC, and some states allow state-chartered banks to use state insurance instead. But federal insurance is more widely recognized and more standardized across institutions.

If you use multiple banks, check each one separately. Coverage does not transfer between institutions, so you need to know the status of every bank where you keep money.

What happens if your bank fails

If an FDIC-insured bank closes, the FDIC steps in and pays depositors up to the coverage limit. You do not have to do anything — the FDIC contacts you automatically. The process usually takes a few days to a few weeks, depending on how complex your accounts are.

If your bank is not FDIC-insured and it fails, you become an unsecured creditor. This means you are in line behind employees, secured creditors, and the government to recover any money. In most cases, unsecured creditors recover little or nothing.

Coverage limits and how they work

The standard FDIC coverage limit is $250,000 per depositor per bank. This means if you have $300,000 in a savings account at one FDIC-insured bank, only $250,000 is covered. The remaining $100,000 has no insurance.

However, if you have multiple accounts at the same bank in different categories — such as a personal savings account, a joint account with your spouse, and a payable-on-death account — each category gets its own $250,000 limit. This allows you to protect more than $250,000 at a single bank by using different account structures.

If you have the same account type at two different FDIC-insured banks, each bank's coverage is separate. So $250,000 at Bank A and $250,000 at Bank B are both fully covered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my money at an online bank FDIC-insured?

Only if the online bank is itself an FDIC member. Many online banks are FDIC-insured, but not all. Search the FDIC Bank Find tool using the bank's legal name (not its brand name) to confirm. Some online platforms are not banks at all and partner with FDIC banks to hold deposits — in that case, the coverage comes from the partner bank.

If I have a joint account with my spouse, does that double my coverage?

Yes. A joint account is insured separately from individual accounts, with its own $250,000 limit. So you and your spouse could each have a personal savings account with $250,000 covered, plus a joint account with another $250,000 covered, all at the same FDIC-insured bank.

What if my bank says it is "insured" but is not FDIC-insured?

The bank may be insured by a state insurance fund or a private insurer instead. State insurance is sometimes weaker than FDIC insurance. Always ask specifically whether your bank is FDIC-insured, and verify it yourself using the Bank Find tool rather than relying on the bank's word.

Do savings accounts at my employer's credit union have FDIC insurance?

No, but they have NCUA insurance instead, which works the same way. Search the NCUA Credit Union Locator to confirm your credit union is NCUA-insured and to see your coverage limits.

If I move money between two FDIC banks, am I covered the whole time?

Yes. Once money leaves one FDIC bank and arrives at another, it is covered by that bank's FDIC insurance. During the transfer itself, the money is still covered by whichever bank is holding it at that moment.