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Deposit Insurance
Question 1: Is my financial institution a CDIC member?
CDIC membership is limited to banks, trust companies and loan companies.
To find out if your financial institution is a CDIC member:
Question 2: Is everything sold by CDIC member institutions insurable by CDIC?
No. The products sold by a CDIC member institution are not all insurable by CDIC. For example, money invested in mutual funds is not covered by deposit insurance, nor are stocks, bonds, mortgage investments or deposits in foreign currencies.
All CDIC member institutions must keep a list of financial products that CDIC has confirmed as being eligible for deposit insurance. This list, called a Deposit Register, must be available at every branch and place where you can open an account or purchase a term deposit. The Deposit Register lists all deposits available from that institution which are eligible for CDIC deposit insurance.
Member institutions that offer deposit services via the Internet must maintain Deposit Registers on their Web sites.
Question 3: Are deposits held in a joint account insured for $100,000 per joint owner?
No. The maximum coverage for all eligible deposits held jointly by the same owners remains at $100,000, including principal and interest, no matter how many people are joint owners.
CDIC, however, covers your joint deposits separately from any deposits you or the other owner(s) hold individually at the same CDIC member institution, where your hname and address and the name and address of the other joint owners are identified on the records of the member institution. Each joint owner must also have a legitimate ownership interest in the deposit for the separate protection to apply.
Question 4: Are my Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) insured separately from my other deposits?
If your RRSPs hold eligible deposits at a CDIC member institution, they are insured separately from your other deposits at the same member institution. Your eligible RRSP deposits are protected to a maximum of $100,000, including accrued interest, at each member institution.
If you have more than one RRSP with the same member institution (i.e. two or more plan numbers), they are not insured separately. All RRSP deposits in the name of the same depositor at the same member institution – including any deposits forming part of a self-directed plan – are totalled for the $100,000 maximum.
Eligible contributions to a spousal or common law partner plan are added to other registered deposits in the name of the spouse or the common law partner, and would not be combined with deposits in the name of the contributor.
Question 5: If two CDIC member institutions amalgamate and my deposits total more than $100,000, are they still insured?
Insured deposits in each of the member institutions, at the time of the amalgamation, would continue to be covered separately – that is, until the funds are withdrawn (for demand deposits) or until maturity (for term deposits and Guaranteed Investment Certificates). For example, if you had $75,000 in insurable deposits at two different member institutions before amalgamation, your deposits would remain fully insured after the merger.
For any new deposits made after the date of amalgamation, coverage would be $100,000 maximum per person. This includes all deposits made at each of the member institutions before the merger.
Last modified : 7 July 2005
CDIC membership is limited to banks, trust companies and loan companies.
To find out if your financial institution is a CDIC member:
- go to Is Your Financial Institution a CDIC Member?
- look for the red and white CDIC decal that CDIC members must display at their branches
- call our toll-free number, 1-800-461-2342.
Question 2: Is everything sold by CDIC member institutions insurable by CDIC?
No. The products sold by a CDIC member institution are not all insurable by CDIC. For example, money invested in mutual funds is not covered by deposit insurance, nor are stocks, bonds, mortgage investments or deposits in foreign currencies.
All CDIC member institutions must keep a list of financial products that CDIC has confirmed as being eligible for deposit insurance. This list, called a Deposit Register, must be available at every branch and place where you can open an account or purchase a term deposit. The Deposit Register lists all deposits available from that institution which are eligible for CDIC deposit insurance.
Member institutions that offer deposit services via the Internet must maintain Deposit Registers on their Web sites.
Question 3: Are deposits held in a joint account insured for $100,000 per joint owner?
No. The maximum coverage for all eligible deposits held jointly by the same owners remains at $100,000, including principal and interest, no matter how many people are joint owners.
CDIC, however, covers your joint deposits separately from any deposits you or the other owner(s) hold individually at the same CDIC member institution, where your hname and address and the name and address of the other joint owners are identified on the records of the member institution. Each joint owner must also have a legitimate ownership interest in the deposit for the separate protection to apply.
Question 4: Are my Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) insured separately from my other deposits?
If your RRSPs hold eligible deposits at a CDIC member institution, they are insured separately from your other deposits at the same member institution. Your eligible RRSP deposits are protected to a maximum of $100,000, including accrued interest, at each member institution.
If you have more than one RRSP with the same member institution (i.e. two or more plan numbers), they are not insured separately. All RRSP deposits in the name of the same depositor at the same member institution – including any deposits forming part of a self-directed plan – are totalled for the $100,000 maximum.
Eligible contributions to a spousal or common law partner plan are added to other registered deposits in the name of the spouse or the common law partner, and would not be combined with deposits in the name of the contributor.
Question 5: If two CDIC member institutions amalgamate and my deposits total more than $100,000, are they still insured?
Insured deposits in each of the member institutions, at the time of the amalgamation, would continue to be covered separately – that is, until the funds are withdrawn (for demand deposits) or until maturity (for term deposits and Guaranteed Investment Certificates). For example, if you had $75,000 in insurable deposits at two different member institutions before amalgamation, your deposits would remain fully insured after the merger.
For any new deposits made after the date of amalgamation, coverage would be $100,000 maximum per person. This includes all deposits made at each of the member institutions before the merger.
Last modified : 7 July 2005
