Temporary Car Insurance in South Dakota: The Cheapest Options and What You Need to Know
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Updated: 2/8/2023
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The best option for car owners looking for temporary car insurance is to buy a full six-month policy and then cancel it early for a refund. MoneyGeek discovered that the average cost of a three-month temporary car insurance policy in South Dakota is $204.
For those who live in South Dakota but don’t own a car or those visiting the state who need to drive, rental car insurance might be suitable.
MoneyGeek investigated other reasons why you might need to buy temporary car insurance, such as when you’re trying to get your license reinstated or you’re working for a rideshare company.
Can You Get Temporary Car Insurance in South Dakota
Temporary car insurance can have different meanings in South Dakota and other states. Car owners who need temporary car insurance in South Dakota can consider getting a full insurance policy and then canceling it early. On the other hand, if you borrow a car and drive in South Dakota, you can get rental car insurance or non-owner car insurance.
There are many ways to get temporary car insurance in South Dakota, and MoneyGeek researched all the potential options.
- Need a full car insurance policy temporarily? Buy and cancel
- Want to add or remove a driver? Alter your policy
- Renting a car? Buy from the rental company or use your own policy
- Don’t own a car? Look into non-owner Insurance
- Working for a rideshare company? Buy rideshare insurance
Buying a Six-Month South Dakota Insurance Policy and Canceling It Early
The shortest term you can get for car insurance in South Dakota and other states is six months. MoneyGeek found that the average cost of a six-month car insurance policy in South Dakota is $409.
To save money on your policy, you can cancel it early to get a refund for the remaining months. For instance, instead of paying approximately $409 for a full six-month policy, you can terminate it after three months and pay roughly $204 for a 90-day policy.
However, make sure that there will be no lapse in your insurance coverage. Otherwise, this will raise your premiums and cost you more in the long run.
Cheap Temporary Car Insurance in South Dakota
MoneyGeek researched the average cost of car insurance by company in South Dakota for six-month, 90-day and 30-day policies.
On average, we found the cheapest car insurance in South Dakota for a three-month policy comes from:
- State Farm: $169 per 90 days
- Farmers Mutual of Nebraska: $180 per 90 days
MoneyGeek’s calculation does not include cancellation fees since most major insurance companies don’t charge them. They typically provide full refunds of premiums for unused coverage in the remaining months.
Annual Cost of Car Insurance in South Dakota by Policy Length
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Altering South Dakota Car Insurance Temporarily Depending on Your Needs
If you already have existing car insurance in South Dakota and intend to add or remove coverage, altering your policy may work. You may need to make temporary adjustments to your existing policy for several reasons, such as a teenager in the family going to college, someone borrowing your car or needing to store your vehicle.
When You Should Alter Your Policy Temporarily
You can temporarily remove your child from a policy or ask for a discount if they go to school elsewhere in South Dakota.
You should only add someone who borrows your car to your policy if they drive it regularly.
If you want to store your vehicle, you can remove everything except your comprehensive insurance. Members of the military can use car storage discounts from USAA.
Cheap Temporary Car Insurance for Students in South Dakota
If your son or daughter lives with you in South Dakota, you need to add them to your policy. This can be very expensive, as it costs around $1,821 per year to add an 18-year old child to a policy in South Dakota.
To save money on this cost, you can keep your child on the policy, remove them for part of the year if they live over 100 miles away or use distant student discounts.
MoneyGeek discovered that the extra cost of car insurance when you only add a student for two months during the summer is approximately $304. Otherwise, you will pay around $1,821 if you keep them in your policy for the whole year.
Allied offers the biggest savings for temporarily removing a student from your policy.
Annual Cost of Adding an 18-Year-Old to Car Insurance in South Dakota
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If getting an away student discount or temporarily removing your child from your policy is not an option for you, then you can shop around and find the cheapest insurance companies for teens.
What to Do About Car Insurance if You’re Storing Your Car in South Dakota
If you need to temporarily store your car in South Dakota and want to save money, you can switch to a comprehensive-only policy and or get a vehicle storage discount.
When you switch to a comprehensive-only policy, you remove the liability insurance coverage, which you most likely won’t need because your car is not being driven. In South Dakota, the average cost of comprehensive and collision insurance with a $1,000 deductible is $345 per year, while a policy that also includes minimum liability insurance is around $688 per year.
Active military members can utilize discounts for car storage from USAA. USAA is also among the companies that offer the cheapest policies in the state, which costs around $561 per year before the discount.
What to Do If You Let Someone Else Drive Your Car
When you give permission to someone else in your house to drive your car, they need to be insured on your policy. However, if you let someone from outside the house use your car, you won’t have to adjust your policy or add a temporary driver to your car insurance in South Dakota. They are already covered by your policy.
Buying Rental Car Insurance in South Dakota
If you’re temporarily renting a car in South Dakota, you can get a car insurance policy from the rental company. Rental car insurance policies often include basic liability insurance, and you can choose add-ons like collision damage waivers, supplemental liability insurance and personal accident insurance. If you get a policy with all these inclusions, then you’ll pay around $42 to $47 per day, depending on the company. You can save money by selecting coverages based on your needs.
Finding Cheap Rental Car Insurance in South Dakota
MoneyGeek gathered data on rental car insurance in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and found that the average rental car insurance that includes all protections costs roughly $42 to $47 per day. On average, Avis costs $42, while Hertz and Enterprise cost $46 and $47 per day, respectively. The coverage includes supplemental liability, collision damage waiver and personal accident insurance.
You aren’t required to get all the coverages if you already have a car insurance policy that includes these. If you have collision or loss damage waiver coverage from your credit card company, you can also save money by declining the rental car company’s similar add-ons.
Cost per Day of Rental Car Insurance in South Dakota
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Buying Non-Owner Car Insurance in South Dakota
Buying non-owner car insurance is an ideal option for drivers who need proof of insurance coverage to get their license reinstated. This is the cheapest option to get insurance for people with no car and who need to file an SR-22 in South Dakota.
The average cost for getting non-owner insurance in South Dakota is $276 per year.
How to Get Temporary Rideshare Car Insurance for Rideshare in South Dakota
If you are a rideshare driver, you might know that transporting a passenger or accepting a fare means you are covered by insurance. Outside of these instances, you have a temporary gap in your coverage.
Not all states support rideshare insurance policies, but MoneyGeek can help you find the best rideshare car insurance in South Dakota.
Frequently Asked Questions About Temporary Car Insurance in South Dakota
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about getting temporary car insurance in South Dakota.
Reputable car insurance companies in South Dakota don’t offer car insurance policies with terms shorter than six months, but there are ways to create temporary car insurance. You may purchase a six-month policy and cancel it before its term ends. Or, if you don’t own a car, you may get rental car insurance or non-owner car insurance.
Yes. Most major car insurance companies will provide a full refund of the unused coverage in the remaining months if you cancel before your policy’s term ends.
Methodology
All the quotes for car insurance and non-owner car insurance were gathered in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services across South Dakota. The policies mentioned are for 40-year-old drivers and include full coverage as described on our methodology page. The prices for a student are the average costs of adding an 18-year-old driver to a policy.
MoneyGeek calculated the costs of one-month and three-month policies on a prorated basis, assuming a full refund from the insurer. The costs of rental car insurance in South Dakota were manually collected by MoneyGeek using the online tools Avis, Enterprise and Hertz.
About Mark Fitzpatrick
Mark Fitzpatrick is a Licensed Property and Casualty Insurance Producer and MoneyGeek's Head of Insurance. He has analyzed the insurance market for over five years, conducting original research and creating personalized content for every kind of buyer. He has been quoted in several insurance-related publications, including CNBC, NBC News and Mashable.
Fitzpatrick earned a master’s degree in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. He is passionate about using his knowledge of economics and insurance to bring transparency around financial topics and help others feel confident in their money moves.