NCUA Insurance
Our members’ deposits are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), an arm of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). NCUA insurance is similar to the deposit insurance protection offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
The NCUA is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates, charters and insures federal credit unions. In addition, NCUA insures state-chartered credit unions that desire and qualify for federal insurance. In some states, including Florida, state-chartered credit unions are required by state law to be federally insured.
Here are some important facts to remember about your share insurance:
| Not one penny of insured savings has ever been lost by a member of a federally insured credit union. |
The federal insurance fund has several programs to help insured credit unions which may be experiencing problems. Liquidations or failures are a last resort. If a federally insured credit union does fail, however, the NCUSIF will make any necessary payouts to the credit union’s members. These payouts are usually done within three days from the time the credit union closes its doors. |
| As a member of an insured credit union, you do not pay directly for your share insurance protection. |
Your credit union pays into the NCUSIF a deposit and an insurance assessment, based on the total amount of insured shares and deposits in the credit union. Insured credit unions are required to deposit and maintain 1% of their insured shares and deposits in the NCUSIF. The NCUSIF is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. |
| Most properly established share accounts in federally insured credit unions are insured up to the Standard Maximum Share Insurance Amount (SMSIA), which is $250,000. Certain retirement accounts, such as IRAs, have insurance coverage up to $250,000. |
Generally, if a credit union member has more than one account in the same credit union, those accounts are added together and insured in the aggregate. There are exceptions, though. You may obtain additional separate coverage on multiple accounts, but only if you have different ownership interests or rights in different types of accounts and you properly complete account forms and applications. For example, if you have a regular share account and an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) at the same credit union, the regular share account is insured up to $250,000 and the IRA is separately insured up to $250,000. However, if you have a regular share account, a share certificate, and a share draft account, all in your own name, you will not have additional coverage. |
| Those accounts will be added together and insured up to $250,000 as your individual account. |
Additionally, shares denominated in foreign currencies are insured as outlined in NCUA Rules and Regulations. |
Use the NCUA Insurance Estimator
This estimator will guide you through a series of questions about you and your accounts to help you understand your share insurance protection. The estimator can help you determine if you have adequate share insurance for the accounts you have at a single NCUSIF-insured credit union and estimate the share insurance you have for the following accounts: Single Ownership Accounts, Revocable Trust Accounts, Joint Accounts, and IRA Accounts.