What are you talking about? People are still famous for being bank robbers, e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bank_robbers_and_robber... . FDIC insurance has nothing to do with robberies, it insures against banks going bankrupt.

Edit: See the response from raganwald

In most cases, even a large robbery wouldn't ruin a bank: They could borrow against or sell their mortgages to another bank for cash to pay depositors.

This is different than a safety deposit box: The fine print is that you are responsible for its contents and if the bank is robbed, they will not replace the contents or reimburse you.

So, if you put your life savings into gold and put the gold in a safety deposit box, you lose. If you put your life savings in a deposit account, you will be reimbursed unless the bank fails outright.

(Prior to the creation of the FDIC in the US or deposit insurance in Canada).