Is my money market account separately insured?

Q: I just found out from my mom that she has three accounts at Indymac. There are two CDs adding up to $99,000, and a money market of $8,000 (she needs that money for property taxes). Do you think the money market is separately insured? I know she has not slept a wink. I told her to call the FDIC on Sunday and see if they can tell her about the money market account. I don't understand how these things work. What is your understanding if you have three accounts totalling $107,000?

A: Well, she's over the insured limit! She'll have to wait until the FDIC decides how much, if any, money it will pay out over the insured limit. But the first $100,000 is certainly safe. Let me know what happens. It may be that they will pay out individuals a certain amount over the insured limit.

Terry Savage is a registered investment advisor and the author of the newly published The Savage Number: How Much Money Do You Need To Retire? (256 pages, Wiley, $24.95).