Best Cheap Gap Insurance Companies in South Dakota: Quotes, Discounts (2022)

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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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.

See More: Cheap Car Insurance in South Dakota

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.

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 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.

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?

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.

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.

See More: Average Cost of Car 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.