About UMCU

 

To help you understand how your deposits are insured at the University of Michigan Credit Union (UMCU), below are some questions and answers from the NCUA. Please be assured that UMCU continues to effectively manage risk through adherence to industry best practices, including solid lending and underwriting policies and a conservative investment strategy. As a result, UMCU has received a five-star rating (the highest rating) from Bauer Financial, an independent reviewer of banks and credit unions.

What is NCUA?

NCUA -- short for the National Credit Union Administration -- is an independent federal government agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions and insures accounts in federal and most state-chartered credit unions across the country through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), a federal fund backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.

What is the purpose of NCUSIF?

The NCUSIF protects members’ accounts in federally insured credit unions, in the unlikely event of a credit union failure. The NCUSIF covers the balance of each member’s account, dollar-for-dollar up to the insurance limit, including principal and posted dividends through the date of the failure.

What is the NCUSIF insurance amount?

Properly established member accounts in federally insured credit unions are insured up to the Standard Maximum Share Insurance Amount (SMSIA). The basic insurance amount is $250,000 per individual account holder, per federally insured credit union. This includes principal and posted dividends up to a total of $250,000. Joint account holders are insured up to $250,000 per joint account holder, per federally insured credit union. For example, an account with two joint account holders is insured for $500,000 separately from the holders’ individual accounts. This includes principal and posted dividends. IRA and KEOGH accounts are insured, separate from other accounts, up to $250,000 per institution, including principal and posted dividends.

What does NCUSIF insure?

The NCUSIF insures all types of deposits received by a credit union in its usual course of business. For example, savings accounts, share draft (checking) accounts, money market accounts, and share certificates (certificates of deposit “CDs”) are all insured by the NCUSIF.

What is not insured by NCUSIF?

The NCUSIF does not insure the money individuals invest in stocks, bonds, municipal bonds, or other securities such as mutual funds (including money market mutual funds, and mutual funds that invest in stocks, bonds and other securities); annuities (which are contracts underwritten by insurance companies that guarantee income in exchange for a lump sum or periodic payment); or insurance products such as automobile and life insurance, even if these products were purchased at a federally insured credit union or through an affiliated broker/dealer/insurance agent that is offering these products on behalf of a federally insured credit union.

The NCUSIF does not insure U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, or notes, but these are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.

Also, the NCUSIF doesn't cover valuables in safe deposit boxes. These contents; however, may be covered by a box holder's personal homeowner's insurance.

What types of financial institutions are insured by NCUA’s NCUSIF?

NCUA insures accounts in all federally chartered credit unions and most state-chartered credit unions. All NCUA insured institutions must display this official sign at each teller window or teller station.

Can insurance coverage be increased by depositing funds with different federally insured credit unions?

Member accounts at each NCUA insured credit union are insured separately from any accounts held at another federally insured credit union. If an insured credit union has branch offices, the main office and all branch offices are considered one credit union for insurance purposes. A member cannot increase insurance coverage by placing deposits at different branches of the same federally insured credit union. Similarly, member accounts held with the Internet division of a federally insured credit union are considered the same as funds deposited with the "brick and mortar" part of the credit union, even if the Internet division uses a different name.

Can insurance coverage be increased by dividing my deposits into several different accounts at the same federally insured credit union?

Share insurance coverage can be increased only if accounts are held in different categories of ownership. These categories include the four most common consumer ownership categories: single owner accounts, retirement accounts, joint accounts, and revocable trust accounts; and less common ownership categories such as irrevocable trust accounts, employee benefit plan accounts, corporation, partnership and unincorporated association accounts, and public unit or government depositor accounts.

A credit union member cannot increase federal insurance by dividing funds owned in the same ownership category among different accounts. The type of member account - whether savings accounts, share draft (checking) account, or share certificate (certificate of deposit “CD”) - has no bearing on the amount of insurance coverage.

Can insurance coverage be increased by using a different co-owner's Social Security number on each account or changing the way the owners' names are listed on the accounts?

Using different Social Security numbers, rearranging the order of names listed on accounts or substituting "and" for "or" in joint account titles does not affect the amount of insurance coverage available to account owners.

How does NCUA determine ownership of funds?

The NCUA relies on "account records" of the federally insured credit union to determine how funds are insured. The NCUA may request supplemental documentation to identify relationships between owners and beneficiaries. These documents may be used by the NCUA to confirm that the funds are actually owned in the manner indicated in the credit union’s account records and to determine the amount of insurance coverage.

How can I access the NCUA’s share insurance products?

Go to http://www.ncua.gov/Resources/ShareInsuranceToolkit.aspx to access NCUA's Share Insurance Tool Kit. Here you will also find the share insurance estimator, a tool designed to help members estimate their insurance coverage. You can also contact the NCUA Consumer Assistance Center toll-free at 1-800-755-1030 for assistance.