The South Dakota Department of Revenue calculates over 1.2 million registered vehicles in South Dakota. With so many vehicles on the road, it is no wonder businesses are concerned with vehicle accidents. This article will guide you through the basics of commercial auto insurance in South Dakota. This policy is an excellent way to protect your business from an unexpected lawsuit or repair bill.
Commercial auto insurance is a policy for business-owned vehicles you use for work activities. This policy also protects your business against costs related to lawsuits, damage to vehicles, medical costs, and more that can arise from vehicle operations.
Driving on the road in South Dakota can be dangerous, even deadly. Below are some statistics on auto accidents in South Dakota.
| Total auto accident injuries per year | 4,461 |
|---|---|
| Total auto fatalities per year | 141 |
| Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities | 49 |
| Speeding-related fatalities | 42 |
| Motorcycle fatalities | 27 |
| Pedestrian fatalities | 14 |
| People wearing seatbelts | 68% |
| Impaired driving citations | 488 |
| Speed citations | 11,553 |
| Occupant protection citations | 3,344 |
These figures come from the South Dakota 2021 highway annual report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The components of your South Dakota commercial auto insurance may differ on the policy. However, all policies will share some standard components. Check the following sections for descriptions of these components.
Collision insurance will pay for damage to your car when it collides with another vehicle or road object. Examples of collision coverage include:
Colliding with another vehicle
Hitting a tree
Pothole damage
Your car flips over from the road conditions.
Hitting a telephone pole
Comprehensive insurance will pay for other physical damage to your car that doesn’t result from road collisions. Examples include:
Hitting an animal
Fire
Weather
Falling objects
Theft
Vandalism
Windshield cracks
Insurers split auto liability coverage into bodily injury liability and property damage liability. Bodily injury liability covers injuries that your vehicles cause to someone else. It will pay the person injured for medical costs up to the policy limit.
The other coverage is property damage liability. This coverage will pay an injured party when you damage their property through the fault of a vehicle covered by the policy. The policy can pay for someone’s vehicle damage, but your policy also includes other property. You also get coverage for damage to government property.
This policy will cover you when another motorist has inadequate insurance to cover the losses they inflict on you. It can protect your vehicle and any drivers are the victim of a hit-and-run attack and walking as a pedestrian. Some policies will separate property damage from bodily injury coverage.
In addition to the standard components of commercial auto insurance, some policies allow add-ons. Add-ons are additional coverage that is optional to your policy. The sections below explain some popular add-ons.
Medical payments coverage will pay for treating injuries to drivers and passengers of the vehicle you have covered. Medical payments coverage will kick in regardless of who is at fault and pay.
Auto glass coverage will help you pay the costs to repair a damaged windshield on your vehicle. The coverage will apply to most instances of windshield damage. You can add this coverage to many policies for a slight premium increase.
Comprehensive auto insurance can also help cover your windshield. However, auto glass has the advantage that you can avoid paying a deductible first.
Roadside assistance is a policy that helps you pay for services you need when a vehicle breaks down. This policy can cover the cost of services that include:
Vehicle towing
Battery Jumps
Delivering fuel when you run out of gas
Changing a flat tire
Helping get into a locked vehicle
On-scene labor to get your vehicle running again
Gap insurance applies to vehicles that you have financed. In the event of vehicle damage, you may get paid less in value than you owe on your car. Gap coverage will help you pay the difference between your car's value and your car loan's value.
This policy is a form of liability coverage. Rental car coverage protects you from liabilities you may incur while driving a rental vehicle for your business.
Insurers also call this policy personal injury protection. As its name suggests, it will cover costs no matter who the person found at fault is. Common examples of coverage include:
Lost wages
Funeral services
Cost of replacing services usually done by the injured person
Medical tests
Medical treatments
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Often your commercial auto insurance policy will contain a deductible. A deductible is an amount you must pay personally before the insurance can start paying benefits on your policy. Insurers will refer to a deductible as an out-of-pocket cost.
Typically you will be able to choose the type of deductible that you want on a policy. A policy with a high deductible will save money on your premium. Conversely, a lower deductible may increase the cost of your policy.
Comprehensive and collision coverage are the most common types of insurance with deductibles. However, other policies, like uninsured motorist coverage, may also have a deductible.
Typically no. If you cause damage to another vehicle, you will not have to pay a deductible on your liability coverage. This changes for any damage to your vehicle that you want to claim. In that case, you would need to pay your collision deductible.
The other driver's insurance company will often pay for your repairs if the other driver is at fault. This means you will not have to pay a deductible for the damage you experience. However, this is only sometimes the case. If an uninsured motorist hits you, you might still need to pay a deductible since you are filing with your insurance company.
Your commercial auto insurance will not cover everything. Several events will not typically be covered, which include:
Non-owned vehicles: If an accident occurs with an employee driving their personal vehicle, this will not be covered. To get coverage for this, you will need non-owned auto insurance.
Personal contents: If you have items inside your business vehicle, these will not typically be covered.
Unrelated injuries: If an employee is driving but suffers an injury unrelated to an accident, like hurting their arm on a steering console, that will not be covered. A workers' compensation policy typically covers employee injuries while working unrelated to vehicles.
Commercial auto insurance South Dakota will have specific required coverage and limits. These guidelines are required by law for you to operate your vehicles. South Dakota law requires that anyone who licenses or operates motor vehicles have proof of financial responsibility.
It is mandatory to have bodily injury liability and property damage liability. See The limits of the liability coverage you must have below.
| Bodily injury coverage per person | Bodily injury coverage per accident | Property damage coverage per accident |
|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $50,000 | $25,000 |
South Dakota requires uninsured motorist coverage for all auto policies. In South Dakota, there is no requirement to pay out for vehicle damage. Similarly, underinsured motorist coverage is required for your commercial auto policy and follows the same rules.
No. Commercial auto insurance in South Dakota will not require personal injury protection coverage. South Dakota is considered an at-fault state. This means the driver's insurance company responsible for an accident must absorb the financial losses.
No. South Dakota does not require medical payment coverage for insurance policyholders. Even though this coverage is not required, picking it up for your policy can still be good. Medical injury claims with other parties can take a while to settle. Medical payments coverage is a way to get treatment payments quicker.
Your South Dakota commercial auto insurance policy could be as low as $30 monthly for $360 yearly. Below is a comparison of some recommended insurers for commercial auto insurance.
| Cost per Month | Cost per Year | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEXT | $30 | $360 | Best overall; Fastest commercial auto insurance |
| CoverWallet | $32 | $384 | Comparing commercial auto insurance quotes online |
| The Hartford | $35 | $420 | Commercial auto insurance add-ons |
| Tivly | $37 | $444 | Comparing commercial auto insurance quotes over the phone |
| Thimble | $39 | $468 | Setting the terms of your commercial auto insurance |
| Hiscox | $42 | $504 | Small business experience |
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See our reviews of the best South Dakota commercial auto insurance companies below. Proceed below to know their pros, cons, and average rate.
Great range of commercial auto insurance options
Has apps for Android and Apple platforms
Save 10% when bundling policies.
Can drive out of state for business operations
The current policy does not cover food trucks or mobile businesses.
NEXT started selling insurance in 2016. With NEXT, you get the convenience of online insurance with help over the phone. Their policies are simple to understand and contain no hidden fees. This company has an A- rating with AM Best. With the Better Business Bureau, NEXT has a B+ rating.
Best for: Best overall; Fastest commercial auto insurance
Average cost: $30 per month
Our rating: 10/10
24/7 claims access hotline
Offers auto glass insurance
A- rating with AM Best
Some customers report customer service can be slow to respond.
The Hartford offers filing online for commercial auto insurance policies. You also have access to a 24/7 claims hotline for your policies. The Hartford offers discounts for save drivers to help those with clean driving records save money.
Best for: Commercial auto insurance add-ons
Average cost: $35 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Insurance experts ready by the phone to assist you
Easily track your insurance certificates
Quotes are quick to get
CoverWallet does not write the policies it sells
CoverWallet offers commercial auto insurance coverage for liability, medical payments, collision, comprehensive, and uninsured motorists. You can choose your policy from over ten well-established insurance providers with competitive policies. This company has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Best for: Comparing commercial auto insurance quotes online
Average cost: $32 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Covers a variety of vehicles for commercial auto
Has an A rating from the Better Business Bureau
Twenty years of insurance experience.
Doesn’t have a mobile app
Tivly focuses on providing a plethora of options for its customers. Their digital insurance platform has over 200 insurers to choose from. Tivly leverages this advantage to help you narrow down your policy choices and simplify commercial auto insurance shopping. Call now to compare quotes over the phone.
Best for: Comparing commercial auto insurance quotes over the phone
Average cost: $37 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Lets you set the duration of your policy
Get coverage up and running quickly
Has online resources to answer questions you may have
Customer service on the phone may take longer.
Thimble is an insurer that offers many coverage options for commercial auto insurance. They help you navigate different policies and insurers while keeping the process simple. Thimble maintains an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Best for: Setting the terms of your commercial auto insurance
Average cost: $39 per month
Our rating: 10/10
5% discounts when bundling other policies besides commercial auto insurance
Customers report excellent claim responsiveness
A passionate team of insurance experts
Caters toward small businesses
Hiscox offers customizable commercial auto insurance for small business customers. They are an insurer with a 100-year history of helping businesses find the right insurance coverage. The company operates in 14 countries and has over 500,000 small business customers.
Best for: Small business experience
Average cost: $42 per month
Our rating: 10/10
This place is an absolute joke of a company and should be ashamed of the way they conduct business. I was hurt on the job at the end of July and it took them just shy of 7 weeks to issue out a paycheck to me. Yes the amount was back dated but still. Not many have the luxury of not receiving a paycheck for almost 2 months. To top it all off, the original adjuster marked me down for the wrong state which caused a problem from the get go, I've had 3 different adjusters now since each one can't seem to figure out the simplicity of my claim. All my paperwork which includes, my job, house, and drs visits all are from the same state and city but yet some how I have been filed under a completely different state 1500 miles away. They do not answer your phone calls or emails no matter how many you leave. I've had to escalate my frustrations to the supervisors of each of these individuals in order to even get some kind of response. I've had more communication and information given to me about my claim from the customer service representatives then the actual adjusters.......... please tell me how that works?! A serious overhaul needs to happen here in order to serve your clients the way they deserve to be taken care of. 10/10 do not recommend this company to a single soul on earth
I have never had the displeasure of working with a more incompetent and disrespectful person in my life. I’m an injured worker and the adjuster that was assigned to my case was named Carrie Furgeson. In the past 6 weeks that I’ve been injured and out of work I have only been able to get ahold of her twice, not for lack of trying. I have left countless voicemails, countless emails, and she ignores them all. When I am finally able to get ahold of her I’m greeted with terrible customer service. She is rude, she talks over me and I’m hardly able to get a word in edgewise. She spelled my name wrong on my documents even after I spelled it for her properly countless times, this caused a whole new issue with my bank. I have bill collectors from the hospital calling me demanding payment and Carrie Furgeson won’t do a single thing to help, or to get them paid. All of my documentation is in Colorado, my job is in Colorado, my address is in Colorado, all my Dr offices and appointments have been in Colorado and Carrie still managed to hold my claim because she wasn’t sure what state she needed to file it under. It’s been 6 weeks since my Injury and my company still hasn’t received the wage paperwork to fill out so they can get me my correct wages. When she’s not ignoring me she’s answering my questions with “I don’t know” well I don’t know how she got this job, because apparently she doesn’t know anything about it. She is a disgusting morose individual inside and out and I genuinely wish her the worst in all of her future endeavors. I highly recommend you don’t use this company. Please if you are a business owner and your looking into this company please don’t use them. I’m sure they have the cheapest payment and that’s why companies use them in the first place, but you will be doing your employees a grave disservice by forcing them to venture into this absolute dumpster fire of a company. I would rate 0/5 if possible but 1 was the lowest I was allowed.
Their general liability insurance purchase process is simply the best online experience I've ever had in my life!
As long as they cover your line of business, you're literally covered! best rates, best coverage, best online experience, best professionals, can't be happier that I chose them!
It really can't get any better than this... wow
Not all those who wander are lost.
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