The recently signed Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has permanently raised the maximum FDIC coverage amount to $250,000.This maximum had been temporarily increased from $100,000 in the midst of the financial crisis, and was set to return to that level on Jan. 1, 2014.  The permanent increase is now retroactive to Jan. 1, 2008.

This amount applies to the total amount for a depositor at a given institution, for a given type of account.  In other words, an individual can typically have a savings account with up to $250,000 and an IRA with $250,000, and have all of the funds covered in the event of a bank failure.  However, that depositor will exceed the maximum coverage if he or she has two savings accounts with $200,000 each.  An easy solution for that situation is to place one of the accounts with another bank.

For more detailed information, see the FDIC site at http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/dis/index.html.

It is worth noting that no depositor has lost funds since the FDIC was established in 1933.