Awaiting your deposit insurance claim? Check the status easily with Daava Soochak

Deposits of failed banks – even those under moratorium imposed by the RBI and not yet liquidated – are insured to the extent of Rs 5 lakh, covering both principal and interest.

As per the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1967 (amended in 2021), such depositors are entitled to receive their claims within 90 days. Prior to this amendment, depositors could gain access to the insurance cover only if their banks went into liquidation. They had to wait endlessly for the RBI to decide if the bank needed to go for liquidation or not.

Through this tool on the DICGC website, such depositors can instantly figure out the status of their claims.

How can a depositor access this tool?

You will have to visit the DICGC website (www.dicgc.org.in) and locate the tracker displayed prominently on the homepage (https://dicgc.org.in/claimstatus/Depositer/Checkclaimstatus). Then select the bank from the dropdown list and key in your mobile number to know the status. “To begin with, depositors can view the status of their claims for banks placed under All Inclusive Directions (AID) post April 01, 2024,” the press release issued by DICGC said.

The ‘All Inclusive Directions’ refer to restrictions imposed by the RBI on certain operations of banks. At present, the dropdown list displays the names of six co-operative banks – National Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd (Pratapgarh), Sarvodaya Co-operative Bank, Amanath Co-operative Bank, Konark Urban Co-operative Bank and Shirpur Merchants’ Co-operative Bank.

Also read: Ways to safeguard your deposits of beyond Rs 5 lakh

What types of deposits are insured?

As per the DICGC Act, all types of deposits such as savings, fixed, current, and recurring deposits—essentially retail deposits—are covered under this insurance scheme. The ones that are not covered include deposits of foreign governments, central or state governments, inter-bank deposits, any deposit received outside India and so on. Banks that are covered under this scheme include commercial and co-operative banks, but not primary co-operative societies.

The deposit insurance scheme is mandatory for banks, which also have to bear the insurance premiums.

Also read: Will depositors of banks under moratorium get access to deposit insurance cover now?

Are deposits in different banks insured separately?

Yes. If you have deposits with multiple banks, the insurance cover limit is applied separately to the deposits in each bank. So, diversifying deposits across banks is one way to optimise insurance cover. Alternatively, you can maintain joint accounts in the same bank but in a manner where the names of the accountholders are not in the same order. Likewise, in the case of different ownership statuses – for instance, if you maintain deposit accounts as a guardian of a minor, partner of a firm or director of the company and so on, the cover limit will apply separately.