In the United States, deposit insurance is provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for banks and by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) for federally insured credit unions. If an insured institution fails, insured deposits are repaid up to the coverage limit. The FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
What is covered
The FDIC lists checking accounts, NOW accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, time deposits such as CDs, and cashier's checks and money orders issued by a bank. It does not cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds (including money market funds), annuities, life insurance, safe deposit box contents, U.S. Treasury bills, bonds or notes, municipal securities or crypto assets, even when bought through an insured bank.
Formula
Covered amount per ownership category per bank = the smaller of (total deposits in that category at that bank) and $250,000.
Example
One person holds a $200,000 savings account and a $100,000 money market account, both single accounts at the same bank. Both are in the single ownership category, so they are added: $300,000, of which $250,000 is insured and $50,000 is not. A joint account with a spouse is a separate ownership category with its own coverage.
The guides money market account vs savings account and CD vs high-yield savings compare insured accounts; I bonds are Treasury securities and are backed by the government directly rather than by deposit insurance.