The shares in credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund NCUSIF, an arm of NCUA 

Established by Congress in 1970 to insure member share accounts at federally insured credit unions

NCUSIF is managed by NCUA under the direction of the three-person NCUA Board

Credit union share insurance is similar to the deposit insurance protection offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC

Federal Credit Union Act FCUA

• NCUA website version of the FCUA

See also Termination of Insurance

The basic insurance amount, whether provided by the FDIC or the NCUA, is $100,000 per depositor, per insured bank.  The $100,000 amount applies to all depositors of an insured credit union except for owners of ''self-directed'' retirement accounts, which are insured up to $250,000 per owner, per insured credit union

Deposits in separate branches of an insured credit union are not separately insured. Deposits in one insured credit union are insured separately from deposits in another insured credit union (or insured bank)

Deposits maintained in different categories of legal ownership at the same credit union can be separately insured. Therefore, it is possible to have deposits of more than $100,000 at one insured credit union and still be fully insured

Your Insured Funds - The NCUA's comprehensive guide to share insurance coverage.  Although this is intended to be a guide for laypersons, it provides a good starting point for more in-depth legal research into share insurance

Subpart A - Clarification and Definition of
Account Insurance Coverage

Subpart B - Payment of Share Insurance and Appeals

  12 CFR Part 741, Section 741.212 - Share insurance

Share Insurance FAQs