Extend Your NCUA Insurance Coverage To Avoid The Mistake Many High-Balance Depositors Make

Ever seen this little NCUA insurance coverage badge at the bottom of a Unitus ad?

On our website? On a letter you received from Unitus?

This image is everywhere! It may look imposing, but it’s actually quite friendly.

It means your money is safe at Unitus.

It’s worth taking a closer look at what this tiny graphic says. Let’s blow it up…

“Your savings federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government.”

“Insured to at least $250,000”…and…“backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government”.

Those are pretty powerful words when you think about it!

Why do we have this protection?

The government began federally protecting our deposit insurance during the Great Depression.

In the heart of the 1930s, depositors pulled so much money out of banks so fast that financial institutions went bankrupt. Anyone with money in the bank lost it completely.

To protect consumers, our government sought to make sure this never happened again.

They created the FDIC in 1934 to insure deposits at banks, and the NCUA in 1970 to ensure deposits at credit unions. The agency guarantees that you will not lose your money (up to a limit) in case of an unforeseen event.

Can I cover more than $250,000? Absolutely!

Many people mistakenly believe they can only get the “standard” $250,000 in NCUA coverage.

If you have more than $250,000 in deposits, you can extend your insurance coverage several ways:

• Open a joint account. In general, each owner in a joint account gets covered for $250,000.
• Open a ToD account for loved ones. By creating a Transfer-on-Death (ToD) account, you can insure each unique beneficiary for $250,000.
• Open a deposit IRA. Deposit IRAs have their own NCUA coverage which does not count toward your non-IRA coverage.

The bottom line: Don’t settle for the standard $250,000 NCUA insurance coverage! With a few tweaks, you might be able to get coverage on your Unitus deposits upwards of $500,000, $750,000 or even more. 

Test it out on your own accounts

The NCUA offers a NCUA Coverage Calculator Tool that can help you figure out your coverage in your own personal situation.

Play around with the tool to see what coverage you have now and how you might increase your coverage.

Still have questions?

Talk to us. We’re here to help you get where you want to go. Call us at 503-227-5571 or stop by a branch and ask a Member Advocate anything about your finances. We’re good listeners and we’ll take the time you need to work out the best road ahead for you.