Q. Is it true that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) covers my two accounts? I'm told that the FDIC will insure $200,000 in a revocable trust with me as trustee and my two daughters as beneficiaries, and $200,000 in an account that is under my name and with my two daughters as payable-on-death beneficiaries.

A. Yes. Your $400,000 is covered as the accounts currently are structured, even if they are at the same bank. But if your deposits grow substantially, or if you change the number of beneficiaries, you could have an insurance shortfall.

In general, the FDIC insures up to $250,000 worth of deposits per person per institution.

That protection is available to every beneficiary of formal revocable trusts and informal trusts, such as payable-on-death deposits.

As long as you have less than $500,000 in those accounts, your assets are fully covered because you have two beneficiaries.

But if you dropped one of your daughters as a beneficiary, only $250,000 of your $400,000 would be covered. You'd have $150,000 in uninsured assets unless you move one of the accounts to a second bank.

Here's where to find out more about insuring your deposits.

Accounts held at member-owned credit unions have similar protection through the government-backed National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF).

The insurance limit under the FDIC and the NCUSIF was $100,000 until October 2008, when it was temporarily raised to reassure consumers concerned about the recent rash of bank failures. The $250,000 limit will remain in effect until the end of 2013 unless it is extended or made permanent.

The insurance, for which financial institutions pay premiums, covers cash deposit accounts. Investments in securities such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds are not insured, even if they were sold to you by the same bank that holds your insured deposit accounts. Annuities also are not insured.

The rules about which accounts are insured and which aren't can be complicated. Before buying a financial product or making an investment, ask questions and read the fine print to ensure that you don't take on more risk than you are comfortable with.

Check out our tips on where to safely stash your cash.