South Dakota car insurance: required UM and UIM, optional first-party benefits and costs

South Dakota's two mandatory motorist coverages

A liability-only requirement leaves protection for your own injuries up to you. South Dakota goes further. State law requires both uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, and the South Dakota Division of Insurance (Department of Labor and Regulation) states plainly that UM coverage is required on all policies.

• UM pays for your injuries when the driver who hit you has no insurance at all.
• UIM pays when the at-fault driver has insurance, but too little to cover your injuries.

The amount is tied to your own liability choice. If you raise your bodily injury limits, your UM and UIM limits rise with them. There is a cap: insurers do not have to go above a set level unless you ask for more. The exact rule is in the key facts table above.

For example, if you carry 100/300 liability limits, your UM and UIM limits would normally be 100/300 too. If a driver with a small policy injures you badly, your UIM can pay on top of what their insurer pays, up to your limit. See the uninsured motorist coverage guide for how claims work.

Optional first-party benefits

South Dakota is an at-fault state, but it borrows one idea from no-fault states. Insurers must offer supplemental first-party coverage that pays you no matter who caused the crash. You can decline it. If you buy it, state law sets these minimum benefits:

These benefits overlap with medical payments coverage and work like a small version of personal injury protection. They pay quickly, without waiting for a fault decision. Whether they are worth adding depends on your health insurance deductible, sick-pay or disability coverage at work, and how often you carry passengers who may not have their own health coverage.

What the minimums leave out

The required coverages protect other people and protect you against other drivers. They do not fix your own car. Two optional coverages do that:

1. Collision pays to repair your car after a crash, whoever caused it, minus your deductible.
2. Comprehensive pays for damage from things other than a crash with a vehicle or object, such as hail, theft and vandalism. The Division of Insurance lists contact with a bird or animal as a comprehensive loss, which matters on rural highways. Read more in what to do after hitting a deer.

If you have a loan or lease, the lender will usually require both. Our full coverage guide explains the combination.

Car insurance costs in South Dakota

South Dakota sits below the national average on both NAIC cost measures and on the share of uninsured drivers. Prices still vary by ZIP code, age, record and vehicle. If you move across a border, the rules change too: North Dakota (No-fault) and Minnesota (No-fault) handle injury claims differently, while Nebraska (At-fault) is closer to South Dakota's system. Our new residents guide covers the switch.

Rural roads and crash risk

Rural roads dominate South Dakota's crash data. In 2024, 80% of crash deaths in the state happened on rural roads, compared with 41% nationally, according to IIHS.

Serious crashes are where your UM/UIM limits and the optional first-party benefits come into play, so they are worth checking against what a long hospital stay could cost.

Penalties for driving uninsured

South Dakota law says every driver or owner must keep proof of financial responsibility in force at all times, usually an owner's liability policy. Failing to do so is a Class 2 misdemeanor, a criminal offense rather than a simple ticket. Other consequences, such as license action or a requirement to file proof of insurance (often called an SR-22), depend on the case; the South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division and the Division of Insurance can confirm what applies to you. A conviction also tends to raise future premiums, as our driving record guide explains.