Established by the Central Bank in 1986, the Deposit Insurance Corporation is responsible for protecting your financial deposits against potential loss, providing coverage of up to $200,000
It should be noted, however, that only deposits made with institutions registered under the Financial Institutions Act are afforded this protection. To date there are twenty four institutions, including commercial banks, finance houses, trust companies and merchant banks, that are registered under the Financial Institutions Act.
The current list of insured financial institutions can be found on the DIC’s website at Insured Financial Institutions – Deposit Insurance Corporation
The DIC is responsible for the protection of deposits only and does not protect against any investment loss. Investments are speculative by nature and, as such, may, on occasion, result in loss.
The Deposit Insurance Fund provides insurance protection to depositors against the potential loss of their deposits held in financial institutions registered under the Financial Institutions Act. Only deposit instruments issued by these institutions are covered (these instruments are outlined below) and not instruments of an investment nature. The Deposit Insurance insures TT$ deposit accounts (savings, chequing and fixed deposits) up to the maximum of TT$200,000 per depositor, per DIC member institution.
Deposits received by a licensed financial institution are insured. These include the following:
For ease of reference, the following updated information can be found on the DIC’s website @ Insured Deposits – Deposit Insurance Corporation
Insured Deposits
The deposits listed below are the only deposits that will be considered for insurance coverage by the DIC:-
- Savings Accounts (including interest)
- Chequing Accounts (including interest)
- Fixed Deposit Accounts (including interest)
Other Deposits
Outstanding or Uncleared balances “. . . for which the institution has issued a certificate, receipt, cheque, money order, draft or other instrument in respect of which it is primarily liable.
In December 1986 (the same year in which the DIC was established), upon the application of the Central Bank, the High Court gave orders for closure of four financial institutions. On December 22, 1986, the DIC was required to initiate insurance payments to depositors in these organizations – a deposit insurance liability of $191 million within a period of 90 days. DIC was required to make payments to over 13,000 depositors. During the period 1988 and 1993, additional payments totaling $27.5 million were paid out to depositors of the four financial institutions.
