With the well publicized failures of many prominent banks this is a reminder that if you have over $250,000 in the bank you should be aware of the FDIC limits that insure your deposits. To-date there have been 11 banks (out of the 8500 insured by FDIC) that have failed this year.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protects you against loss of your deposits if an FDIC-insured bank goes under. Insurable accounts include checking, NOW and savings accounts as well as CDs and money market accounts. Since created in 1933 no depositor has lost a penny of insured deposits. FDIC does not insure money invested in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies or annuities even if you purchased them from an insured bank.
The basic insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor per insured bank. Different rules apply for IRAs and accounts held jointly or that include POD (payable upon death) beneficiaries.
The FDIC has partnered with financial guru Suze Orman to provide consumers with answers to questions about FDIC coverage. If you have more than $250,000 at a single financial institution you may want to seriously consider diversifying your deposits amongst other banks to guarantee that if your bank fails that you will not risk losing your money. | 
