---
title: What is FDIC Insurance?
description: MONEY magazine explains why you don't lose your money if your bank fails.
authors:
  - name: Taylor Tepper
    url: https://money.com/author/taylor-tepper-3/
    at_money_since: 2013
    articles: 168
    covers:
      - Banking
      - Business
      - Career Advice
      - Credit
      - Credit Cards
      - Economy and Politics
      - Education
      - Housing
      - Identity Theft
      - Insurance
      - Investing
      - Lifestyle
      - Loans
      - Mortgages
      - Personal Finance
      - Retirement
      - Shopping
      - Taxes
    social:
      - https://x.com/TaylorTepper
    former_staff: true
published: '2016-04-27T15:36:24.000Z'
modified: '2016-04-27T15:36:24.000Z'
section: Banking
tags:
  - BankFind
  - Banks
  - bonds
  - checking account
  - credit union
  - dumb money
  - FDIC
  - Great Depression
  - Insurance
  - Investing
  - Money
  - savings account
  - stocks
  - taylor tepper
  - video
word_count: 159
canonical: https://money.com/what-is-fdic-insurance-explained/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 10.03.07 AM](https://img.money.com/2016/04/screen-shot-2016-04-27-at-10-03-07-am.png)

**What is FDIC insurance? How does it work?**

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created in response to bank runs during the Great Depression, when thousands of banks went under. The FDIC insures up to $250,000 of your money in various accounts, like checking and savings. Any investments in stocks and bonds, though, aren’t covered.

The key is that your bank has to be a member – use the [FDIC BankFind tool](https://research.fdic.gov/bankfind/) to see if yours is. Chances are you’re covered - more than 6,100 banks are.

If your bank does fail, the FDIC will either set you up with a new account at another insured bank for the amount of money you had, or just cut you a check.

And if your cash is in a credit union, not a bank, don’t worry, that’s insured too, by a different organization, the National Credit Union Association. Go to the [NCUA’s website](http://www.mycreditunion.gov/protect/Pages/SI.aspx) to check that your credit union is there.

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://money.com/what-is-fdic-insurance-explained/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Home",
          "item": "https://money.com"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Banking",
          "item": "https://money.com/banking/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "FDIC Insurance",
          "item": "https://money.com/fdic-insurance/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 4,
          "name": "What is FDIC Insurance?"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://money.com/#website",
      "url": "https://money.com",
      "name": "Money",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://money.com/what-is-fdic-insurance-explained/#webpage",
      "url": "https://money.com/what-is-fdic-insurance-explained/",
      "name": "What is FDIC Insurance?",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#website"
      },
      "datePublished": "2016-04-27T15:36:24.000Z",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/what-is-fdic-insurance-explained/"
      },
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/what-is-fdic-insurance-explained/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "dateModified": "2016-04-27T15:36:24.000Z"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "What is FDIC Insurance?",
      "articleSection": "Banking",
      "image": [
        {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/04/screen-shot-2016-04-27-at-10-03-07-am.png",
          "width": 2560,
          "height": 1440,
          "caption": "Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 10.03.07 AM"
        }
      ],
      "author": [
        {
          "@type": "Person",
          "name": "Taylor Tepper",
          "url": "https://money.com/author/taylor-tepper-3/",
          "@id": "https://money.com/author/taylor-tepper-3/#author",
          "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/05/14-05-21_bio_author_tepper1.jpg?quality=85&w=190&h=190&crop=1",
          "email": "ttepper@moneymail.com",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://x.com/TaylorTepper"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization",
      "datePublished": "2016-04-27T15:36:24.000Z",
      "description": "MONEY magazine explains why you don't lose your money if your bank fails.",
      "abstract": "MONEY magazine explains why you don't lose your money if your bank fails.",
      "@id": "https://money.com/what-is-fdic-insurance-explained/",
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "dateModified": "2016-04-27T15:36:24.000Z",
      "wordCount": 159,
      "keywords": [
        "BankFind",
        "Banks",
        "bonds",
        "checking account",
        "credit union",
        "dumb money",
        "FDIC",
        "Great Depression",
        "Insurance",
        "Investing",
        "Money",
        "savings account",
        "stocks",
        "taylor tepper",
        "video"
      ],
      "about": [
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Bank",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank"
          ]
        },
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Deposit_Insurance_Corporation"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```