The shares in your credit union are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), an arm of the National Credit Union Administration. Established by Congress in 1970 to insure member share accounts at federally insured credit unions, the Fund is managed by NCUA under the direction of the three-person NCUA Board.
 
Share accounts in federally insured credit unions are insured up to $250,000. Generally, if a credit union member has more than one account in the same insured credit union, those accounts are added together and are insured up to $250,000.
 
The fund is currently at the strongest level in its history. Not one penny of insured savings has ever been lost by a member of a federally insured credit union. The federal insurance fund has several programs to help insured credit unions which may be experiencing problems, and liquidations or failures are usually done only as a last resort. If a federally insured credit union does fail, however, the NCUSIF will make any necessary payouts to the credit union's members. These payouts are usually done within two weeks of the time the credit union closes its doors.
 
As a member of an insured credit union, you do not pay directly for your share insurance protection. Your credit union pays into the NCUSIF a deposit based on the total amount of insured shares in the credit union.