Banks aren't only insured financial institutions

When you see a meteor crash through your neighbor's house, bounce out his picture window, roll over his car and finally come to rest atop his lawn gnome, your first thought is to wonder if everyone's OK. Your second thought is, "Gosh! Do I have meteor insurance?"

Actually, most homeowners' policies cover meteor damage, though it's always a good idea to read the fine print. After the failure of IndyMac Bank, though, you might be wondering if other financial institutions, such as brokerages and life insurers, are also covered by some form of insurance. The answer is yes, but the coverage is a bit more complex than federal deposit insurance is.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. covers bank deposits of up to $100,000 per person per bank. It also insures retirement account deposits for an additional $250,000. So you could have $100,000 in your checking account and $250,000 in an IRA certificate at the same bank, and all your money would be insured. You can obtain additional coverage according to how your accounts are titled. To help you figure out what's covered, the FDIC has an online deposit insurance estimator that you can use at www.fdic.gov/edie/index.html.

When the FDIC acts, it usually arranges for a healthy bank to acquire a failing bank. In an acquisition, deposits typically continue to earn interest at the same rate as before. (In the case of IndyMac Bank, the FDIC created an entity called a bridge bank, which acquired IndyMac.) In fairly rare cases, the FDIC liquidates the bank outright and gives depositors a check for their insured deposits, including interest paid up to the time the bank failed.

But what happens if your brokerage fails? Brokerage failures aren't common, but they do happen. In February, a New Orleans brokerage, Hanover Investment Securities, failed after authorities discovered that as much as $2 million had gone missing. The Securities Investor Protection Corp. (SIPC) then stepped in. It's now working to sort out the mess at Hanover and help make investors whole.

SIPC covers you if your brokerage fails and can't return to you all the cash or securities in your account. If, for example, you had 100 shares of IBM in your brokerage account and your broker failed, SIPC would make sure your 100 shares were restored to you.