Six Ideas for Insuring Your Deposits

As consumers continue to be rattled by a seemingly bottomless pit of bad financial news, they're looking for ways to ensure their entire bank deposits are covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

It's not difficult to exceed the $100,000 limit on individual accounts, or the $250,000 limit on certain retirement accounts. In fact, the FDIC says that less than 62 percent of the $6.88 trillion on deposit in FDIC-insured banks was covered at the end of 2007. That leaves more than $2.5 trillion unprotected in the event of bank failures.
Fortunately, there are many ways you can have excess deposits covered, and you should take the trouble to use one of these methods or, through your own research, find other ways. Uninsured depositors receive an average of 72 cents on the dollar when their bank fails. Imagine having excess money in a bank and losing more than a quarter of it. In addition, it can take years for the FDIC to settle a bank failure.

The six examples of excess deposit coverage that we'll highlight here primarily involve accounts at community or state-chartered banks. Some larger institutions carry their own excess deposit insurance, so if you prefer banking at larger institutions, ask if they have it. Companies such as BancInsure and Progressive Casualty Insurance provide excess deposit insurance to financial institutions. Excess share insurance is available to credit unions. But don't assume you're covered -- always ask.