South Dakota Landlord Insurance
Get a complete analysis of South Dakota landlord insurance costs, coverages & companies.
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Christine Lacagnina has written thousands of insurance-based articles for TrustedChoice.com by authoring consumable, understandable content.
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Jeff Green has held a variety of sales and management roles at life insurance companies, Wall street firms, and distribution organizations over his 40-year career. He was previously Finra 7,24,66 registered and held life insurance licenses in multiple states. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
Find the Best Landlord Insurance Rates & Companies in South Dakota
South Dakota is a growing state that's home to a large percentage of renters. If you own one of the many rental properties in South Dakota, you need landlord insurance to protect your investment. You can get landlord insurance to cover any rental home, townhouse, or apartment complex you rent out to tenants. This coverage protects you against financial losses due to fire damage, vandalism, lawsuits, and more.
A South Dakota independent insurance agent can help you find all the landlord insurance you need. They'll make sure you get set up with just the right amount of coverage for your unique rental properties. First, though, here's a behind-the-scenes look at South Dakota landlord insurance requirements, costs, and more.
Best Landlord Insurance Companies in South Dakota
Landlord insurance is available from many different carriers in South Dakota. But when you want to find the best coverage available, it's helpful to know where to start looking. Here are a few of our top picks for the best landlord insurance companies in South Dakota.
- Foremost Insurance: This insurance company sells landlord insurance and many other types of personal insurance. Foremost has outstanding ratings from both AM Best and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and offers many discounts and 24/7 claims reporting services.
- Progressive: This insurance company sells landlord insurance and many other types of personal and business insurance. Progressive has great financial strength and offers many discounts and 24/7/365 customer service.
- REinsure Pro: This insurance company sells landlord insurance and many other types of property insurance. REInsure Pro has an outstanding rating from the BBB and is known for its fast claim responses.
A South Dakota independent insurance agent can help you compare landlord insurance quotes from these top-rated insurers and any others you're interested in.
What Is Landlord Insurance?
Landlord insurance is similar to homeowners insurance in that it protects against losses related to the property you lease to tenants if there's a fire, storm damage, vandalism, or another covered loss. However, the coverage in a landlord insurance policy is designed to protect landlords, not homeowners. While it covers damage to the structure of a rental property, it doesn't cover tenants' personal property or yours.
Further, the liability coverage in landlord insurance is designed for the increased risk of tenant or other third-party lawsuits that landlords face.
How Is Landlord Insurance Different from Home Insurance?
There's a key element of business insurance that's also found in landlord insurance. Loss of income coverage can help reimburse landlords for income lost during temporary periods in which tenants cannot rent from them due to property damage caused by a covered peril like a fire. This coverage helps landlords continue to generate their typical amount of income and pay other ongoing expenses after certain disasters.
Is Landlord Insurance Required in South Dakota?
South Dakota state law doesn't mandate landlord insurance. That doesn't mean you'll want to skip getting coverage, though. Having a landlord insurance policy can provide critical reimbursement after vandalism, fire, explosions, and other incidents.
It can also pay for lawsuit expenses if you get sued. Without this coverage, you could face serious financial threats, even leading up to bankruptcy.
What Landlord Insurance in South Dakota Can Cover
In South Dakota, it's possible to build a landlord insurance policy according to your wishes. You'll find the following types of coverage are offered by most carriers:
- Loss of income coverage: Covers lost rental income and provides a continuation of coverage for other expenses if a rental property becomes temporarily uninhabitable due to a covered loss, such as hail damage, vandalism, or a fire.
- Dwelling coverage: Covers repairs to your rental property's dwelling and attached structures in case fire, smoke, vandalism, windstorms, hail, or tenants cause damage or destruction.
- Liability insurance: Covers tenant or other third-party lawsuit expenses related to claims of bodily injury or personal property damage.
- Premises medical protection coverage: Covers medical expenses if a tenant gets injured in a covered event while living at your rental property.
- Other structures coverage: Covers losses related to the damage or destruction of detached structures against the same perils as dwelling coverage.
- Optional coverage: Some additional coverage options for landlords to choose from include rent guarantee insurance, natural disaster insurance, vandalism coverage, burglary coverage, rental property under construction coverage, building code coverage, employer liability insurance, and landlord contents insurance.
A South Dakota independent insurance agent can help you choose between these coverages and others that may be offered by the carrier you select.
What Landlord Insurance in South Dakota Will Not Cover
South Dakota landlord insurance comes with a set of exclusions you should be aware of. In many cases, landlord insurance doesn't cover any of the following:
- Damage caused by water or sewer backups
- Malicious and intentional acts to third parties
- Earthquake or flood damage
- Maintenance costs related to property wear and tear
- Your personal property
Sometimes, you can add endorsements to your landlord insurance to provide coverage for one or more of these costs. For example, you might be able to buy extra coverage for sewer backups.
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Average Cost of Landlord Insurance in South Dakota
The average cost of landlord insurance in South Dakota is $1,600 annually. However, the cost of your policy may vary based on:
- Your claims history
- The age, size, and condition of your rental units
- The total number of rental units you own
- The precise location of your rental units
- Any potential risk features at your rental units, such as pools
Make sure to ask about any South Dakota landlord insurance discounts you may qualify for that could reduce your premium rates.
Popular Questions about South Dakota Landlord Insurance
Landlord insurance isn't required by law in South Dakota. Many landlords decide to get coverage to protect themselves against lawsuit expenses and costly repairs to their rental properties, though.
Landlord insurance covers tenant damage to your rental property structures in South Dakota. However, this coverage doesn't include protection against losses due to tenant damage to their own property or your personal property.
Landlord insurance in South Dakota costs about $1,600 per year. Each policy's cost can vary based on many factors, though, such as the total number of rental units insured.
Foremost Insurance is the best landlord insurance company in South Dakota this year according to our research. Foremost offers excellent rates, coverage options, discounts, and customer service.
You might choose to require proof of renters insurance before your tenants can complete their lease agreements. Landlords in South Dakota aren't required to cover their renters' property, and landlord insurance doesn't provide this coverage.
In South Dakota, landlord insurance doesn't typically cover eviction costs. Sometimes you can purchase endorsements or separate policies to cover eviction expenses, though.
South Dakota independent insurance agents can help you find the landlord insurance you need from a top-rated local carrier. Independent insurance agents work hard to find quality coverage at the most affordable rate. They'll shop and compare landlord insurance quotes from several carriers for you.
And down the road, they can help you file landlord insurance claims or update your coverage as needed. Your agent can help you find landlord insurance in Pierre or wherever you reside.
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