Function

• In the event of a bank failure where another bank does not take over, the FDIC will reimburse lost funds up to the insurance limits. As of 2010, the limits equal the first $250,000 per person, per account type, per bank.
  
  

Covered Accounts

• Only deposit accounts, such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit and money market deposit accounts benefit from FDIC insurance. Investment accounts, such as mutual funds and annuities, do not benefit from FDIC coverage.
  
  

Benefits

• According to the FDIC, not a penny of insured money has been lost since the FDIC opened in 1933. Before the FDIC, if a bank failed, all account holders could lose everything.