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FDIC insurance, in plain language
Deposit insurance is one of the strongest reasons people choose CDs. Here's how it actually works — and how to check it yourself.
This page summarises the FDIC's own consumer materials, which are the primary source. See FDIC — Understanding Deposit Insurance and the brochure Your Insured Deposits.
What it covers
FDIC insurance protects eligible deposits — including CDs — at FDIC-insured banks if the bank fails. The standard coverage limit is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category. Credit union deposits have parallel coverage through the NCUA. Insurance covers the failure of the institution; it does not protect you from early withdrawal penalties or from market-price losses when selling a brokered CD.
Ownership categories
The $250,000 limit applies separately to each ownership category at the same bank — for example single accounts, joint accounts and certain retirement accounts are separate categories with separate limits. How accounts are titled therefore changes total coverage. The FDIC's EDIE calculator (linked from the pages above) can estimate coverage for your specific account setup.
Aggregation at the issuing bank
Coverage adds up across all your deposits at the same institution within a category — checking, savings and CDs combined. This includes CDs you hold through a brokerage: they aggregate with anything else you have at the same issuing bank. Two accounts at differently-named brands of the same bank may also aggregate, so check whether brands share one charter.
How to verify an institution
- Use the FDIC's BankFind tool (bankfindsuite.fdic.gov) to confirm a bank is FDIC-insured, or the NCUA's credit union locator for credit unions.
- Confirm the exact legal name of the institution — lookalike names and marketing brands are common.
- For brokered CDs, confirm the issuing bank shown on your statement is the insured institution.
What this website is — and isn't
Rate Finder is an information and enquiry service, not a bank, and deposit insurance has nothing to do with us: it protects eligible deposits you hold at an insured institution, up to the applicable limits. Whether any institution you deal with is insured is something to verify directly using the tools above.