FDIC rules

As referenced in my previous entry, Terry Savage has an excellent article on The Street that covers the elements of how the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation works:

Single Accounts: These are deposit accounts owned by one person and titled in that person's name only. All of your single accounts at the same insured bank are added together and the total is insured up to $100,000. For example, if you have a checking account and a CD at the same insured bank, and both accounts are in your name only, the two accounts are added together and the total is insured up to $100,000.

As she notes, this does not include retirement accounts like IRAs, which have separate insurance up to $250,000.00.

Joint Accounts: These are deposit accounts owned by two or more people. If both owners have equal rights to withdraw money from a joint account, each person's shares of all joint accounts at the same insured bank are added together, and the total is insured up to $100,000.

If a couple has a joint checking account and a joint savings account at the same insured bank, each co-owner's shares of the two accounts are added together and insured up to $100,000, providing up to $200,000 in coverage for the couple's joint accounts.

Under FDIC rules, each person's share of each joint account is considered equal unless otherwise stated in the bank's records.

Good to know (not for me, but other people). Read the entire article for other types of accounts and ways to hold them: IndyMac Lesson: Check for FDIC Insurance.