Most savings accounts at banks are FDIC insured, but the protection has limits and conditions that matter

If your savings account is held at a bank, it is almost certainly covered by FDIC insurance — the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protects deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per account category. That means if the bank fails, you get your money back up to that limit. The catch is that the $250,000 limit applies to each account category separately, and some account types are not covered at all.

Credit unions use a different insurance system called NCUA insurance, which works the same way but covers up to $250,000 at each credit union. Money market accounts and savings accounts are both covered. Investment accounts, brokerage accounts, and cryptocurrency held at a bank are not.

The protection is automatic — you do not need to register or do anything. But if you have more than $250,000 at one bank, the excess is not protected, and you need to understand how FDIC counts your money across multiple accounts at the same institution.

Key Takeaways

  • FDIC insurance covers savings accounts, money market accounts, and checking accounts up to $250,000 per depositor per bank, and the coverage is automatic.
  • The $250,000 limit resets for each account category, so you can have $250,000 in a savings account and $250,000 in a checking account at the same bank and both are fully covered.
  • Joint accounts are insured separately from individual accounts, so a joint savings account with your spouse gets its own $250,000 limit.
  • Accounts at different banks are insured separately, so $250,000 at Bank A and $250,000 at Bank B are both fully protected.
  • Investment accounts, brokerage accounts, and cryptocurrency are not FDIC insured, even if held at a bank.

How the $250,000 limit works across multiple accounts

The FDIC counts deposits by account category, not by account number. If you have a savings account and a checking account at the same bank, each gets its own $250,000 protection. If you have two savings accounts at the same bank, they are added together and share one $250,000 limit.

This matters if you are trying to protect more than $250,000. You cannot open two savings accounts at the same bank and expect both to be fully insured. The FDIC will combine them and insure only $250,000 total. To protect $500,000 in savings, you need to split it between two different banks — $250,000 at Bank A and $250,000 at Bank B.

Joint accounts are treated as a separate category. If you have a joint savings account with your spouse, it is insured up to $250,000 as a joint account. Your individual savings account at the same bank is insured up to $250,000 separately. So together you could have $500,000 insured at one bank — $250,000 in your individual account and $250,000 in the joint account.

Account types that are covered and not covered

FDIC insurance covers deposits in savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs). It also covers individual retirement accounts (IRAs) held at a bank, though IRAs are counted separately from other account categories — you get another $250,000 limit for an IRA at the same bank.

FDIC insurance does not cover investment accounts, brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or cryptocurrency, even if you buy them through a bank. It does not cover safe deposit boxes or the contents inside them. It does not cover traveler's checks or money orders issued by the bank.

If you have a savings account and a brokerage account at the same bank, the savings account is insured and the brokerage account is not. The brokerage account may be protected by a different system called SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation), but that is separate from FDIC insurance.

What happens when a bank fails

When a bank fails, the FDIC steps in and either arranges for another bank to take over the failed bank's deposits, or it pays depositors directly. In most cases, the transition is seamless — your account straightforward moves to the new bank, and you can access your money within a few business days. You do not need to do anything; the FDIC handles it automatically.

If your account balance exceeds $250,000, you will receive $250,000 from the FDIC and lose the rest. This is rare — the FDIC has protected deposits this way only a handful of times in recent decades — but it is why the limit matters if you have large balances.

The FDIC publishes a list of failed banks on its website, along with information about what happened to deposits at each one. You can search by bank name or year to see the history.

How to check if your bank is FDIC insured

Most banks are FDIC insured, but not all. The FDIC maintains a searchable database called the FDIC BankFind Suite where you can enter your bank's name and see whether it is insured, which FDIC region it belongs to, and when it was established.

You can also ask your bank directly. FDIC-insured banks are required to display the FDIC logo and insurance notice in their branches and on their website. If you do not see it, ask a teller or call the bank's customer service line.

If your bank is not FDIC insured, your deposits are not protected by the FDIC. Some banks choose not to carry FDIC insurance, and some institutions — like credit unions — carry NCUA insurance instead. Neither choice means the bank is unsafe, but it does mean your deposits are protected by a different system or not protected at all.

FDIC coverage for special account types

Retirement accounts held at a bank — including traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SEP IRAs — are FDIC insured up to $250,000 per account type per bank. This means you can have $250,000 in a traditional IRA and $250,000 in a Roth IRA at the same bank, and both are fully covered. The retirement account limit is separate from your regular savings account limit.

Trust accounts and accounts held for a minor are also covered separately. If you hold money in trust for someone else, that account gets its own $250,000 limit. If you have a custodial account for a child, it is insured separately from your personal accounts.

Payable-on-death (POD) accounts — where you name a beneficiary to receive the account if you die — are insured up to $250,000 per beneficiary. If you name two beneficiaries on a POD account, each beneficiary's share is insured up to $250,000.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have $300,000 in a savings account at one bank, how much is insured?

Only $250,000 is insured. The remaining $100,000 is not protected by the FDIC. To protect the full $300,000, you would need to move $50,000 to a savings account at a different bank, leaving $250,000 at each institution.

Are money market accounts FDIC insured?

Yes, money market accounts held at a bank are FDIC insured up to $250,000, just like savings accounts. Money market mutual funds sold through a brokerage are not FDIC insured — they are protected by SIPC instead, which is a different system with different limits.

Does FDIC insurance cover my savings if the bank is hacked?

No. FDIC insurance protects deposits only if the bank itself fails. If a hacker steals your money, that is a separate issue handled by the bank's fraud protection and your own account security. Contact your bank when ready if you notice unauthorized transactions.

Is my savings account at a credit union FDIC insured?

No, credit unions are not FDIC insured. They are insured by the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) instead, which provides the same $250,000 per account category protection. The coverage works the same way, just through a different agency.

Can I have more than $250,000 insured at one bank?

Yes, if you use different account categories. You can have $250,000 in a savings account, $250,000 in a checking account, $250,000 in a money market account, and $250,000 in an IRA at the same bank, and all of it is fully insured. Each category gets its own $250,000 limit.