Aug. 10--Worried depositors turned to the FDIC in droves after IndyMac Bank failed last month.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Web site, fdic.gov, received 9 million hits a day that first week, a tenfold increase over the same time period in 2007.

"The most used were our deposit-insurance calculator and the bank-find feature, where you can look up information about your financial institution," said spokesman Andrew Gray. "We've also, just in the press office here, noticed a tremendous increase in questions about how deposit insurance works."

The FDIC, a New Deal creation, was signed into law at the height of the Great Depression to restore confidence in banks. It currently insures a depositor's individual accounts at a financial institution for up to $100,000. Joint accounts are insured for up to $200,000 and retirement accounts, such as IRAs, for up to $250,000.

"Ninety-six percent of the people at IndyMac were covered by the FDIC, so there wasn't a need for them to go and wait in line [for their money,]" Gray said. "Still, there is a need for greater public education."

Banks, IndyMac aside, aren't the biggest problem, he said. Only seven commercial banks and savings institutions have failed so far this year compared to 382 during the savings-and-loan collapse in 1990.

"More than anything, we're returning to historic norms, but the public hasn't had to deal with bank closures for some time," said Gray, noting that just three banks failed in 2007 and none did the previous two years. "Rather than focus on your bank, focus on your coverage. That's the key message we're trying to get out there."

Apparently it's needed. Of the roughly $7.07 trillion in deposits in the United States in the first quarter of this year, roughly 37.3 percent were not covered by the FDIC. That's nearly double the percentage left insured in 1991, he said.

Maria Franklin, a senior vice president at Caroline County-based Union Bankshares Corp., said she sent out information about FDIC regulations to staff and had additional brochures put in branch lobbies for the public right after IndyMac failed because she knew they'd be getting a flood of calls from customers.

"The staff is already trained," she said. "I just wanted to make sure everyone was up-to-date and prepared."

Franklin recommends that people who are concerned about their FDIC coverage either use the Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator, or EDIE, on fdic.gov or ask one of the bank's financial advisers to do it for them.

"It will calculate how much is insured, then you can make changes to see the maximum you can keep at a single institution," Franklin said.

Union Bank & Trust customers who want to continue dealing only with their local branch even if they exceed the FDIC limits for coverage have several options. They can, for example, have their branch open an account or buy certificates of deposit from one of the other banks under the Union Bankshares umbrella, such as Northern Neck State Bank or Rappahannock National Bank. The new accounts would be insured up to FDIC limits.

"We would handle all the paperwork here, but the money would physically be on deposit at the other bank," Franklin said. "The customer would not have to physically go there."

Wachovia has a similar offer. Customers can go to one of the 10 branches in the Fredericksburg area to buy certificates of deposit from the separately chartered Wachovia Bank of Delaware NA, said Wachovia spokeswoman Christine Shaw.

Another possibility is the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service or CDARS, pronounced "cedars." BB&T was one of the first banks and is one of the largest participants in the program, said Donta Wilson, BB&T's Battlefield Region president.

Customers can deposit up to $50 million with a CDARS network member, who can place the funds in certificates of deposit issued by other banks in the network. This is done in increments of less than $100,000, which ensures that both principal and interest are eligible for full FDIC insurance.

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