Q. Does the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund protect credit union deposits like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for banks?

A. Yes. The NCUSIF is a federal agency backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. It works exactly like the FDIC, except that it insures all federal credit unions and federally insured, state-chartered credit unions that meet insurance standards.

Individual accounts held by one person are insured up to $250,000. Accounts held jointly by a husband and wife, for example, can be insured separately from individual accounts up to $250,000, but several joint accounts can only be insured up to a total of $250,000.