Julie Jason: Are your bank accounts fully insured?

Given the recent turmoil in the banking industry, with two U.S. banks being taken over in March of this year ( tinyurl.com/mrx7kdwn), it's a good time to review the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's coverage to make sure you understand what is and what isn't covered.

You can find the FDIC's rules of coverage at tinyurl.com/2uj9vfw2. The types of deposit accounts that are covered include checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts and certificates of deposit.

A key factor involves the amount of coverage. As the FDIC states, "The standard deposit insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category."

"Per insured bank" means that if you have a checking account at one bank and a savings account at another bank, each is covered up to $250,000.

"Account ownership" categories, especially at the same bank, might cause some confusion. The FDIC offers examples of a single account (accounts in one name) and joint accounts (accounts in two or more names), along with other types of accounts, to explain the insurance coverage ( tinyurl.com/yj2z5zaw). The examples are helpful to get an understanding of how the coverage works -- and what to watch out for.

To avoid surprises, use EDIE, the FDIC's Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator ( tinyurl.com/mpsnuyhf). It can help you determine "how the insurance rules and limits apply to a depositor's specific group of deposit accounts -- what's insured and what portion (if any) exceeds coverage limits at that bank." You can input the details of your accounts at a given bank and the amount...

from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/julie-jason-are-your-bank-accounts-fully-insured-17926233.php