The shares in your credit union are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), an arm of NCUA. Established by Congress in 1970 to insure member share accounts at federally insured credit unions, the NCUSIF is managed by NCUA under the direction of the three-person NCUA Board. Your share insurance is similar to the deposit insurance protection offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Credit Unions that are insured by the NCUSIF must display in their offices the official NCUA insurance sign which appears on the cover of this brochure. All federal credit unions must be insured by NCUA, and no credit union may terminate its federal insurance without first notifying its members.
Here are some important facts to remember about your share insurance:
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. Liquidations or failures are 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 3 days from 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, and an insurance assessment, based on the total amount of insured shares and deposits in the credit union. Insured credit unions are required to deposit and maintain one percent of their insured shares and deposits in the NCUSIF.The NCUSIF is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.
Visit the "NCUA Share Insurance Estimator" at: http://webapps.ncua.gov/ins/