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The basic FDIC insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor (or titled account) per FDIC insured bank. The FDIC provides separate insurance coverage for deposit accounts held in different categories of ownership. You may qualify for more than $250,000 in coverage at this bank if you own deposit accounts in different categories.  Also, certain retirement accounts, such as Individual Retirement Accounts, are insured up to $250,000 per depositor per insured bank.

Most Common Bank Account Titling Categories for Maximizing FDIC Insurance

• Single Accounts: These are owned by one person and titled only in that person’s name. All of your single accounts at this bank are added together, and the total is insured up to $250,000. If you have a checking account and a CD here, with both in your name only, the two accounts are added together, and the total is insured to $250,000. (Note: Retirement accounts and qualifying trust accounts are not included in this ownership category.)
• Joint Accounts: These are owned by two or more people. If the owners have equal rights to withdraw money from a joint account, each person’s shares of all joint accounts at this bank are added together, and the total is insured up to $250,000. If a couple has a joint checking account and a joint savings account here, each co-owner’s shares of the two accounts are added together and insured up to $250,000, in this instance providing up to $500,000 in coverage.
• Certain Retirement Accounts: These are deposit accounts owned by one person and titled in the name of that person’s retirement plan. Only the following types are insured: IRAs, Section 457 deferred compensation plans, self-directed Keogh, and self-directed defined contribution plans. All deposits that a person has in any of these types of plans at this bank are added together and the total is insured to $250,000.
• Revocable Trust Accounts: These are deposits held in either payable-on-death accounts or living trust accounts. Payable-on-death (POD) accounts (also known as testamentary or Totten trust accounts) are the most common. These informal revocable trusts are created when the account owner signs an agreement – usually part of the bank’s signature card – stating that the deposits will be payable to one or more named beneficiaries upon the owner’s death.

To calculate possible FDIC insurance limits for accounts at one bank, use the FDIC’s Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE) (external link). Using this tool can help you visualize the FDIC's rules regarding FDIC insurance.