All across the country, people are talking about the economy, but what about the money we own? Is it safe?

Images of depositors lined up in front of IndyMac bank branches last month may have reminded you of the Great Depression, but the industry is in pretty good shape, experts said.

Bank failures aren't even keeping up with the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.

"In 1988, we had 206 bank failures," said David Barr, a spokesman for the Federal Deposit Insurance Co. "That averages four a week."

Some lax regulation and risky lending drove hundreds of S&Ls to bankruptcy in the late '80s, prompting a taxpayer bailout of the banks that cost more than $100 billion.

"It’s nowhere near what it was in the S&L crisis, " Barr said.

But Michael M. Heller, the president of Veribanc, said he sees some small bank failures still on the horizon. You can take steps to make sure you don't lose a penny.

How Does FDIC Insurance Work?

The first step to protect your money is to know what's covered. Plenty of us have nothing to worry about. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures single accounts up to $100,000 -- more for retirement savings -- and that will cover a lot of us. Most banks and Credit Unions in the United States are FDIC insured, but not all online banks are insured.

The FDIC insures savings and checking accounts, certificates of deposit and money-market deposit accounts. It does not cover investment products, such as money-market mutual funds, regular mutual funds or annuities. Many banks sell these products, but they are not covered.

Because FDIC covers individual accounts for up to $100,000, a couple can actually have a much greater amount covered in some cases.

Deposit insurance is defined by ownership of the account, and when you add together all of the ways you can own an account, you can actually qualify for much more than $100,000 in FDIC insurance.

Individual accounts are insured separately from joint accounts, retirement accounts and trust funds.

Barr used a husband and wife as an example of how a couple with no other family relationships could be insured for far more than $100,000

Each spouse could have up to $100,000 insured in an individual checking account.

Each spouse could have up to $100,000 insured in an individual savings account.

Each spouse could have up to $100,000 insured in an individual money-market deposit account.

Together, the spouses can have a joint account insured up to $200,000 in checking.

Together, the spouses can have a joint account insured up to $200,000 in savings.

Together, the spouses can have a joint account insured up to $200,000 in an MMDA.

Each spouse gets up to $250,000 of FDIC insurance on an individual IRA.

Each spouse can name the other as beneficiary on a trust account, which is FDIC insured up to $100,000.

Rolland Johannsen, senior vice president of retail banking at First National Bank Omaha, said there are always ways to get more FDIC insurance. For instance, you can open joint accounts with each of your children.

If you run out of ways to open insured joint accounts and still protect all of your deposits, Johannsen said you may need to move your money around.

"At First National Bank, we’re part of a holding company, so we have the option for customers to keep the maximum deposit with us and we can open additional accounts at affiliated banks to still get access to their through our branches," Johannsen said.

What If My Bank Fails?

Barr said insured deposits will always be available for owners to use or withdraw.

"Banks usually fail on Friday. The FDIC is generally successful in getting another bank to take over, and a new branch opens Monday morning. In the unlikely event we’re unable to find a new owner, we mail checks to depositors on Monday morning," Barr said. "Even over the weekend, you can still use your ATM, debit cards, checks -- so you still have access to your money."

Trusts Are Most Likely To Confound

Barr said the large portion of people losing money when a bank fails have misunderstood how their trusts are insured.

"For insurance purposes, it’s only for qualified beneficiaries, (which include) parents, siblings, spouses, children or grandchildren," Barr said. "Any other relationship falls outside of the qualified beneficiary and wouldn’t have additional insurance."

California financial adviser Kevin Young told Bloomberg that he helped a client diversify $4 million after the money's owner had been falsely told by the bank that the money was insured. Young said some bank employees don't fully understand FDIC rules, so get a guarantee in writing and ask a third-party to take a look.

The FDIC offers a tool called electronic deposit insurance estimator. Depositors can make sure their accounts are structured properly to take full advantage of FDIC insurance.

Time To Panic?

The FDIC said in August that 117 banks and thrifts were considered to be in trouble in the second quarter, up from 90 in the prior quarter and the biggest tally since mid-2003, the Associated Press reported. On average, 13 percent of banks that make the list fail.

Though experts don't believe we're in a true banking crisis, it doesn't mean more banks won't fail.

"The concern is a little mislaid," Heller said. "There are problems, but problems were created by securitization of loans. We’ll probably see a few more small banks fail, but no more than average for the past dozen years." Heller, whose Veribanc provides bank ratings for a small fee to the depositor, said his company has seen an uptick in the number of calls and online visits as depositors check their bank's status. Veribanc rates institutions on a three-star system that combines a number of stability factors.

"Back in late '90s to about 2002, about 80 percent of every bank we rated got our highest rating of three stars," Heller said. "Today, it's about 70 percent (but) there are fewer banks today because of consolidation to 16,000 federally insured institutions today (from about) 22,000 in 1995."

Heller said that most banks are in better shape today because after the massive bank failures of the '80s, the government tightened regulations.

"In '89 to about '91, regulators got more teeth to be more proactive -- they could step in quicker if they identified problems at a bank and issue directives to banks to act within 30, 60 or 90 days," Heller said.

Heller said most banks have been stashing cash away since about 1995 amid record profits for the industry. In fact, FDIC's August report showed that bank reserves have risen four-fold over the past year.

"The old benchmark of equity was 5 percent (for banks to hold) and it is now approaching 10 percent. There is cash behind banks," Heller said. "There are problems -- especially in mortgage portfolios -- but even Citi and JP (Morgan) have said they need to raise capital."

Who Pays For Insurance?

U.S. taxpayers do not pay to cover bank depositors when a bank goes bad. Like any other insurer, the FDIC charges its clients -- the banks -- premiums for insurance. Barr said the FDIC has built up funds of $53 billion, and if it needs additional money, it can raise premiums. It expects to do that soon, and that may put additional pressure on the banks that would have to cough up more money for insurance.

If the FDIC burned through all $53 billion, it has a $40 billion line of credit from the U.S. treasury, and ultimately the full faith of U.S. government.