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Best Cheap Gap Insurance Companies in South Dakota: Quotes, Discounts (2023)
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Written by
Charlie Mitchell
Insurance Writer
Charlie Mitchell is a journalist, researcher, and writer specializing in personal finance subjects. He holds a degree from Middlebury College. His work can be found in Vox, Mother Jones, The New Republic, and other publications. Charlie uses his expertise in home, renters, and auto insurance subjects to help inform people to make better financial decisions. Connect with Charlie on LinkedIn.
Edited by
Jackie Cohen
Editorial Manager
Jackie Cohen is an editorial manager at Insurify specializing in property & casualty insurance educational content. She has years of experience analyzing insurance trends and helping consumers better understand their insurance coverage to make informed decisions about their finances.Jackie's work has been cited in USA Today, The Balance, and The Washington Times.
Reviewed by
Amber Benka
Licensed Insurance Agent
Amber Benka is a licensed insurance agent specializing in auto, home, commercial, life, and health insurance.
Updated June 15, 2022
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The Great Plains: home to some of the longest, straightest, most breathtaking roads in the United States. Even better to be cruising with the bison in a new car or lease. But have you thought about gap insurance? Whatever your insurance policy needs, Insurify has the quotes you need from the best South Dakota auto insurance companies—it’s quick, easy, and free.
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Table of contents
- Best Companies for Gap Insurance in South Dakota
- What is gap insurance?
- Who should buy gap insurance in South Dakota?
- South Dakota Gap Insurance Laws
- How much gap insurance do I need in South Dakota?
- How Gap Insurance Works in South Dakota
- How Much Gap Insurance Costs in South Dakota
- How to Buy Gap Insurance in South Dakota
- Frequently Asked Questions: Gap Insurance in South Dakota
Best Companies for Gap Insurance in South Dakota
How much is gap insurance in South Dakota?
The average policyholder in South Dakota pays $165 per month for a car insurance policy with gap insurance. However, what you pay for car insurance will depend on a variety of factors, such as your age and your driving record.
Shown in this table are two companies that any South Dakota driver should put on their list when looking for an auto insurance company to underwrite a full-coverage policy on their leased vehicle.
Even if they don’t always offer the best rates, legacy insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, and USAA also sell gap insurance, boast high J.D. Power customer service rankings, and have discounts for teen drivers and bundling opportunities with renters and homeowners insurance, too.
| Insurance Company | Average Monthly Cost for Leased Cars in South Dakota |
|---|---|
| Midvale Home & Auto | $140 |
| Dairyland | $183 |
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.
See More: Cheap Car Insurance in South Dakota
What is gap insurance?
Gap insurance is an addition to your automobile insurance that is only for cars purchased or leased through a lender. You need it if the amount you owe on your loan or lease is greater than the actual cash value of your motor vehicle. If you’re not sure this is you, check for your car’s value in Kelley Blue Book or another trusted reference.
Gap insurance—which stands for “guaranteed asset protection”—protects the “gap” between your car’s value and the balance of your loan. That way, if your car is totaled or stolen and the reimbursement (minus the deductible) isn’t enough to pay off the rest of the loan, you’ll have insurance coverage for the difference, up to the coverage limits you set on your policy.
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Who should buy gap insurance in South Dakota?
If you have a car loan, you definitely need full-coverage auto insurance: that means liability coverage along with comprehensive coverage and collision insurance. Your lender probably requires this. And if your loan is going to be “underwater”—which is when the loan balance exceeds the value of the car at the time—you’ll want to have gap insurance.
Auto-owners who took out a car loan with a low down payment or a long lease term are especially likely to need gap insurance as an additional coverage to their full-coverage policy. You’d hate to have financial responsibility for a loan on a car that doesn’t even exist after it gets totaled or stolen! But be watchful: after a while, your loan won’t be underwater, and you’ll want to cancel.
Consider gap insurance if:
Your lender requires it.
You’re leasing your vehicle.
You financed your vehicle loan over 60 months or more.
You put less than 20 percent down on your car (or didn’t make a down payment at all).
Your loan has a high interest rate.
You rolled over negative equity from your last auto loan.
You’re driving a luxury vehicle or other high-value vehicle that depreciates faster than a standard car.
South Dakota Gap Insurance Laws
South Dakota doesn’t require gap insurance. But your lender most likely will. The South Dakota state minimum liability coverage is only $25,000 for bodily injury liability per person ($50,000 per accident) and $25,000 in property damage liability per accident. You don’t even need medical payments or underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage, which some states require.
How much gap insurance do I need in South Dakota?
The best car insurance only insures you for what you need. So take a look at your car’s value and how quickly you expect to pay off your loan. Gap insurance is usually sold with limits that are a percentage of your car’s value. An insurance agent can answer most FAQs and help you decide the cheapest auto insurance for you that includes gap coverage.
See More: How Much Car Insurance Do I Need?
How Gap Insurance Works in South Dakota
To find gap insurance that meets their car insurance requirements, many lenders will try to sell you gap coverage of their own. But to get the best rates, you’re better off getting an auto insurance policy from an insurance company that includes gap coverage along with the rest of your full coverage. That’s the way to get the cheapest auto insurance rates.
How Much Gap Insurance Costs in South Dakota
Good news! South Dakota has some of the cheapest auto insurance in the country. The average monthly premium for a leased vehicle is only $165, beating the national average cost for the same policy ($289) by light-years. A clean driving record (no DUIs) and a great credit score will help you get the cheapest car insurance in the state of South Dakota.
How to Buy Gap Insurance in South Dakota
Cheap car insurance comes to those who get a lot of car insurance quotes before signing up for an auto insurance policy. If you need gap insurance, you can’t settle for minimum coverage: you need collision coverage and comprehensive coverage, too, and that makes it harder to keep your auto insurance rates down. Insurify is here to help you get real quotes, fast and free.
Frequently Asked Questions: Gap Insurance in South Dakota
Gap insurance is not required in the state of South Dakota. However, lenders often require you to have gap insurance. South Dakota drivers are required to have minimum liability insurance: $25,000 in liability coverage for bodily injury per person (and $50,000 per accident) and $25,000 in property damage liability. Beyond these state minimum requirements, the rest is optional.
Cancel your gap insurance policy once your car’s cash value is higher than the outstanding balance on your loan. That will help lower your car insurance rate for the rest of the car’s lifetime, and you won’t be paying for a car insurance policy you don’t need! If you paid the gap insurance premium up front, you’ll get it back prorated—but make sure you’re timely.
Gap insurance or not, buying South Dakota car insurance is a pain—but it’s also an important chance to save money. Whatever side of the Missouri River you live on, you can benefit from Insurify’s free car insurance quote comparison service that finds you personalized car insurance rates from the most important South Dakota car insurance companies.
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Data scientists at Insurify analyzed more than 40 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partner providers across the United States to compile the car insurance quotes, statistics, and data visualizations displayed on this page. The car insurance data includes coverage analysis and details on drivers' vehicles, driving records, and demographic information. Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Service's database of auto insurance rates. With these insights, Insurify is able to offer drivers insight into how companies price their car insurance premiums.
