Car insurance claim rules in South Dakota

How a South Dakota insurer must handle a claim

South Dakota's unfair claims practices law, SDCL 58-12-34, lists what an insurer may not do. Most items are standards rather than deadlines, so the questions to ask are whether the insurer answered promptly and whether its investigation was reasonable.

The Division of Insurance's own guidance on the claims process says companies are required to respond to all claim communications within 30 days. It adds that most claims are paid within 30 days, but that is not a payment deadline. If your claim stalls, write to the adjuster, ask what is missing and keep copies; our page on claims that drag on covers the next steps.

When a South Dakota car is a total loss

South Dakota's title law sets no percentage. Under SDCL 32-3-51.19, a salvage vehicle is any car that an insurer determines to be a total loss because of theft, fire, vandalism, collision, weather, submersion or flood. The insurer's own comparison of repair cost and salvage value with the car's value decides.

• Age limit: the salvage rules don't apply to vehicles more than 10 model years old or heavier than 16,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.
• If you keep the car: when the insurer declares a total loss but doesn't take ownership, you must get a salvage title before you sell or transfer it, and the insurer must tell you so in writing (SDCL 32-3-51.21).
• The settlement is the actual cash value. How to test the number is in our guide to total loss claims.

Because the insurer decides, ask for its repair estimate, its valuation report and the salvage value it used. The total loss check shows how the three fit together.

Reporting a South Dakota crash

Under SDCL 32-34-7, a driver must immediately, by the quickest means, notify the nearest available law enforcement officer with jurisdiction after a crash that causes injury or death, or apparent property damage of $1,000 or more to any one person's property or $2,000 for the whole crash. Failing to do so is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

The officer investigates and sends the report to the Department of Public Safety within three days of finishing the investigation (SDCL 32-34-10). Ask the officer for the report number before you leave the scene; both insurers will want it.

The slight-negligence rule

South Dakota is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash pays, through their liability insurance, for the other people's injuries and damage. SDCL 20-9-2 then sets a strict test. Your own negligence doesn't bar a claim only when it was slight in comparison with the other driver's. If it was, your damages are reduced in proportion to your share.

• No fixed percentage. The statute says slight, not a number, so whether your share qualifies is decided case by case.
• Evidence matters early. Photos, witness names and the police report all bear on how your share of fault is judged.
• Your own collision coverage pays for your car under your policy whatever the fault split, minus your deductible.

Deadlines to sue and where to complain

SDCL 15-2-14 gives you three years to sue for personal injury. SDCL 15-2-13 gives six years for an action for injuring goods or chattels, which covers damage to your car. Settlement talks don't stop either clock.

1. Ask the insurer in writing for the reason for a denial or a low offer and the policy language it relies on.
2. Call the South Dakota Division of Insurance at 605-773-3563 (TTY 711), or email [email protected].
3. File a complaint with the division online or by mail if the insurer won't explain itself. Our guide to insurance department complaints shows what to include.

Questions people ask