Is Wamu FDIC insured?

Question

a lot of people say that it is however when i visited the website if you read the fine print at the bottom it says that WAMU inc is not FDIC insured.

This is exactly wat it said: WaMu Investments, Inc., WaMu Insurance Services, Inc. (“WaMuIns”) and WaMu 1031 Exchange are affiliates of Washington Mutual, Inc. and its banking subsidiaries. Insurance products and services offered through WaMu Investments and WaMuIns are: not FDIC insured; not a deposit or other obligation of or guaranteed by Washington Mutual or any federal government agency. Investments offered through WaMu Investments are: subject to investment risk and may lose value.

WWW.WAMU.COM

Answer 1

Insurance products and services offered through WaMu Investments and WaMuIns are: not FDIC insured; not a deposit or other obligation of or guaranteed by Washington Mutual or any federal government agency

This I believe (in my opinion) just states that Insurance products and services offered by Wamu/washington mutual are are a) not deposits that would be FDIC insured (because deposits to Washington Mutual acounts ARE FDIC insured), and B) because they are not deposits they are not insured. This is different from having a chequing/savings account.

This is par for the course I believe: the FDIC does not cover investments or insurance. On the same page, WAMU states that washington mutual deposits are FDIC insured, so if you have money in a chequing or savings account, it should be FDIC insured.

You can always call! Call wamu and make sure that their deposits are insured.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Most all banks currently have subsidiary businesses like brokerage and insurance.  Those types of accounts are generally not FDIC insured.  They may have other types of insurance included / offered.  If you have money in a WAMU bank account (checking, savings, cd..) those are generally covered.

If you have a question, the best thing to do is ask an agent of the bank specifically about your account, or type of account you are considering.

Answer 3

I think the WAMU bank is insured.

I don't think that WAMU Investments is insured.

There's a difference.

Answer 4

This is just referring to their insurance and investment products.  ANy bank account with them would be insured.  I would avoid them nonetheless as they are likely to be insolvent pretty soon (your account is insured but who needs the hassle), but and bank account would be insured.

Answer 5

Read what it actually says right there in what you've quoted:

It says *INSURANCE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES*  [....] are not insured.

FDIC stands for Federal *Deposit* Insurance. The money that you *DEPOSIT* into WaMu accounts is covered by FDIC and you don't stand a chance of losing it.

Any insurance you buy through WaMu, and any money you *invest* with them in stock funds or securities are not insured.

That's the same as it is in every bank everywhere. It's not unique to WaMu.

Answer 6

Only checking and savings accounts are normally FDIC insured.  FDIC doesnt insure investments, CD's, Securities etc.  This is the reason they have to have different companies.

If you have 100K or less in your checking or savings account it will be insured by FDIC.  If you take that 100K and invest it in a Mutual Bond or some type of security it most likely will not be secured by FDIC.  

Wamu checking and savings accounts are absolutely secured by FDIC, their financial or insurance are are not.  Because FDIC doesnt secure these types of instruments.  If you are concerned simple ask does this savings account and checking account fall under FDIC?  That answer will be yes.  If you have a securities account with them, such as you would with scotttrade, the answer will almost certainly be no.

Good Luck