American Share Insurance

By a resounding majority, our members voted to proceed with a switch from NCUA deposit insurance, an insurance program offered and administered by the federal government, to deposit insurance offered by American Share Insurance (ASI), a private deposit insurance company based in Ohio and that has been in business since 1974.

What does this mean to you as an account holder?  First and foremost, it means that your money will still be insured and you will have the same, if not more coverage, than you have always had on your accounts.

• IH Credit Union has a cushion of $50 million from a balance sheet perspective to protect you, the member, against loss of funds.  We would somehow have to lose all $50 million before we would even need deposit insurance.
• ASI has been in business since 1974 and no credit union member with ASI deposit insurance has ever lost a penny.  No losses, ever.
• During the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the NCUA essentially went bankrupt and in order to correct their finances they assessed a fee on all credit unions to replenish their insurance fund.  IH Credit Union was forced to send almost $1.3 million to the federal government, even though we never did anything wrong.
• ASI only provides deposit insurance to financially healthy credit unions.  NCUA provides insurance to all credit unions, regardless of financial health.  Insuring a pool of healthy credit unions is like insuring a pool of healthy people; there is a much, much smaller chance for large insurance claims.
• IH Credit Union will still be regulated by the government.  However it will be regulated by the state of Ohio, not the federal government in Washington, D.C.  We believe that the people in Columbus have a much better feel for what is happening in Springfield than government bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
• Many of you have been members for decades.  You know who we are, what we do and how we work to provide financial services to you.  We will never do anything that would have a negative impact on you, our members.

We know this is a decision that many of you have reviewed and voted on.  You, our members voted in favor of this and we are proud to move forward in the direction that you approve.  Please feel free to contact robbw@ihcreditunion.com with any questions you may have concerning this conversion.