Most customers of banks or savings and loans that regulators seize and declare insolvent have little to worry about.

Remember those promos on bank commercials and Web pages about being "FDIC-insured"?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will repay individual and joint accounts up to a total of $250,000, no questions asked.

The rules are surprisingly liberal. A couple can have up to $250,000 in accounts in the name of each spouse, and another $250,000 in jointly held accounts, and it would all be covered.

Certificates of deposit or money market accounts held as part of an IRA also are insured for up to $250,000.

When a bank fails, federal regulators manage the business until they can deal with all of the bad loans and sell what's left of the business to another financial company.

Sometimes a buyer is found almost immediately. Sometimes it takes a few months.

Either way, your local branch will be open and fully functional, allowing you to make deposits, withdraw cash at ATMs, write checks and bank online.

The big change you've got to expect is that the interest you're earning, especially on certificates of deposit, will probably be lowered.

Banks on the verge of failure often offer higher-than-average returns in a last-ditch effort to attract more deposits. (They hope that money can be invested or loaned to generate the profits it needs to cover losses on all the bad investments and loans that are pushing it toward insolvency.)

You'll get to keep interest accrued up to the seizure date, but the FDIC is not obligated to honor the high rates you were promised by the failed bank. Nor is any buyer.

Before the financial crisis struck in October 2008, they'd often do so to keep nervous customers from bolting for the doors.

But there have been so many bank failures, the FDIC is running out of money, and the Federal Reserve has driven interest rates so low that buyers can't afford to do that now.

If you get a letter saying your interest rates are being cut, you need to see if you can find a better deal elsewhere.

Our extensive database of the best CD rates is a good place to start looking for rates.

Or check out a blog like Bankaholic.com that tracks the best interest rates on all types of CDs.

If you can do better at another bank, move your money to a new home.

When a new bank takes over a failed one, FDIC rules allow depositors to close their accounts without paying early-withdrawal penalties.

If your savings under a single name or in jointly held accounts exceeds the insurance limits, you'll have no trouble getting the first $250,000 back.

Indeed, in most bank closings customers have been allowed to immediately withdraw up to the FDIC-insured limit plus half of all uninsured deposits in excess of that.

You can then make an appointment with the FDIC to file a claim for the remaining money.

It may take months or even years to collect, but government managers usually find a way to repay about 70% to 80% of all uninsured deposits.

By Jen A. Miller

Interest.com Contributing Editor