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The South Dakota RV Insurance Specialists at Charlotte Insurance are Ready to Help You Protect Your Rig!

You probably have big plans for your RV. Maybe you want to travel through the Badlands and into the Black Hills. Maybe you want to pack up your family, hook up the trailer with your motorcycle, and head to Sturgis RV Park. And maybe you’re ready to get out of South Dakota and see the rest of the US or Canada.

Your RV is what will get you there and where you’ll live once you’re on the road. It’s your home-on-wheels and the home of memories that will last a lifetime from your trips. Make sure you’re protected from the unpredictable.

SPEAK TO A SOUTH DAKOTA RV INSURANCE SPECIALIST

CALL THE SOUTH DAKOTA RV INSURANCE HOTLINE: (704) 887-5513 FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Long before you pack up your RV and head out on a new adventure, make sure you have South Dakota RV insurance that will be there for you when you need it most. You’ll have to purchase certain coverage as required by law but other policies will provide necessarily protection for your family, yourself, and your recreational vehicle.

Charlotte Insurance is here to help you find the perfect South Dakota RV insurance policy for the RV you own, the life you want to lead, and the places you plan to go.

Get a free South Dakota RV quote for your first RV policy or your next one by contacting us today. We’ll help you protect your home-away-from-home whether you’re on the road or not.

Common South Dakota RV Insurance Misconceptions

Won’t my homeowners policy cover my RV?

Your homeowners policy might offer some level of coverage while your RV is located at home, based on what’s included in your homeowners policy. After you pull out of the driveway, whether you’re headed down the highway or parked at an RV park, your homeowners policy can’t cover you when things go wrong.

Aren’t the personal belongings in my RV covered by my homeowners insurance?

Your homeowners insurance might provide a limited amount of coverage for the personal effects in your RV – but only while it's parked at your home in South Dakota. The keyword here is limited. Additional accessories you’ve added – awnings, satellites, and more – won’t be covered, and the little available in your policy probably won’t be enough to replace everything in your RV even if problems occur before you leave.

Once you get on the road or stay at a park, your homeowners policy won’t be any help at all.

How much does RV insurance cost in South Dakota?

What you pay for your South Dakota RV insurance depends on a lot of things – including where you purchase your policy from. When you can receive multiple quotes from different insurers, you’re able to find the best coverage for your budget.

Part of the cost is also determined by whether you use your RV part-time or full-time as well as your driving habits, any previous claims, and the deductible and policy limits you choose.

South Dakota RV Insurance Requirements

The state of South Dakota requires anyone purchasing or using a motor vehicle, including motorhomes, to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance:

  • $25,000 for bodily injury per person
  • $50,000 for bodily injury per accident
  • $25,000 for property damage per accident

The minimum required by the state isn’t enough for most accidents, especially once injuries are involved. Liability coverage also helps if you’re sued as a result of the accident, helping to pay legal fees and settlement costs – and you’ll need more than the minimum policy limit when that happens.

South Dakota also requires drivers to purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage:

  • $25,000 per person
  • $50,000 per accident

While everyone is required to carry insurance for their vehicle, not everyone does. When they do, it may not always be enough to pay for your damage and injuries in an accident. UIM protects you when the other driver is at fault for the accident but doesn’t have enough or any liability insurance.

Types of Coverages for South Dakota RV Insurance

Liability

Even though South Dakota requires you to purchase liability insurance, it’s important to understand what it is and how it works. Liability covers two parts of an accident:

  • Bodily injury
  • Property damage

It pays for any injuries or property damage that occur to the other driver when you’re at fault for the accident. The larger the RV, the more potential damage it can do. Liability also takes care of payments for damage done to a third-party (non-resident) when they are in your RV or at your campsite. Legal fees and settlements are also covered by your liability coverage – which comes in handy when someone decides to sue you after an accident.

Liability coverage for your RV probably seems similar to your homeowners and auto liability. That’s because it works much the same way. The only real difference is that it's designed for the unique experience of driving and living in a recreational vehicle.

As always, a deductible will apply to any claims.

Comprehensive and Collision

Your South Dakota RV isn’t just a home on wheels or an easy way to go camping. It’s a motor vehicle. You might hit a deer or your motorhome may be damaged in a tornado. We hope it never happens but when it does, it’s comprehensive and collision insurance that covers the costs of repairing or replacing your RV. Deductibles apply.

If you finance the purchase of your RV, your lender will likely require you to carry about forms of coverage.

Physical Damage

Physical damage coverage for your RV insurance is what pays the costs of repairing your RV or paying you a lump sum when your RV is totaled. You have three options for this coverage based on your policy:

  • Actual Cash Value (ACV): This is the most common. You receive the actual value of your RV at the time of the total loss. The age and condition of your RV will be considered in determining the ACV. It is unlikely that you’ll receive enough to replace your RV with a new or even a comparable one.
  • Agreed Value (AV): This is an option to discuss with your independent insurance agent. Agreed value coverage pays out a previously agreed upon amount without considering the depreciation of your RV (for up to 10 years). This amount is decided at the time the policy is written and will be listed on the Declaration page of your policy.
  • Replacement Cost (RC): This is ideal for anyone with a new RV. Replacement cost coverage pays out what you’ll need to replace your RV with the exact model or a comparable one up to the first five model years after you insure it. After five model years, you’ll receive an agreed upon amount listed on the Declaration page of your policy. With RC coverage, your South Dakota RV must be the current model year or only one model year old at the time you purchase the policy, have no previous owners, and never have been titled or insured previously.

Your deductible will be subtracted out of the total amount paid.

Emergency Expense

When you’re on the road in South Dakota, an RV emergency means you may not have a back-up vehicle or a place to stay, especially if you get stuck in the middle of an empty highway. Emergency expense pays for living accommodations, transport, and towing if your RV can’t be driven or lived in due to a covered claim that occurs 50-plus miles away from your home or the storage facility primarily used to house your RV.

You’ll receive a specified amount in coverage for:

  • Renting a vehicle while your RV is repaired.
  • Cost of transportation to get back home.
  • Temporary living accommodations like a hotel
  • Getting your RV back home, as long as your RV isn’t totaled.

When you live in your RV full-time – and have full-time RV insurance – emergency expense coverage won’t require the 50-mile rule but may have other requirements or limits. Talk to your independent insurance agent about this when insuring your South Dakota RV.

Personal Effects

Your RV isn’t the only thing that needs to be protected. Your personal belongings need their own coverage. Personal effects insurance helps replace your personal belongings in your RV. This includes clothing, electronic devices, appliances used inside your RV, and other items. Your personal effects coverage will have a specific policy limit. If you own high-value items, like jewelry or collectibles, and travel with them in your RV, ask about extra coverage for these items.

A deductible will apply.

Full-Timers Coverage

When you live in your RV full-time, you need a different level of insurance protection than when you only use your RV part-time. RV insurance for full-time living provides extra liability protection when you live in your RV full-time in South Dakota and as you travel around the US and beyond. You can also qualify for coverage when you live in your RV during home renovations, repairs, or construction. The primary vehicle use must also be your primary residence.

Full-time RV insurance means you can choose from other forms of coverage as well: Medical Payments, Loss Assessment, Attached Accessories, Adjacent Structures, and more.

Medical Payments

Medical payments insurance pays for injuries that occur to anyone in your RV at the time of an accident regardless of who caused the accident or injuries. The same coverage limits will apply to all vehicles on your policy. This can take a huge weight off of your shoulders when there are injuries associated with an accident.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist

Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is required by the state of South Dakota with state-mandated minimums. UIM protects you, the relatives who live with you, and your passengers in your RV when the driver of the other vehicle causes the accident but they don’t have enough or any insurance.

If you, as the named insured, request Stacked Uninsured Motorist coverage, then the policy limits for each vehicle listed on your insurance policy can be added together to determine the total amount that may be recovered (stacked) for all covered injuries to you and your relatives who live with you.

If you request Non-stacked Uninsured Motorist, then the injured person may not add or combine the coverage provided as two or more motor vehicles together to determine the limits of uninsured motorists available, except in very limited instances.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

Personal Injury Protection (PIP), also known as No-Fault coverage, provides coverage regardless of whether or not you cause the accident, up to the limits of your policy.

Here’s what PIP covers:

  • You and any relatives living in your home, some passengers who lack PIP coverage, and certain licensed drivers who drive your RV with your permission.
  • When you’re in someone else’s vehicle.
  • When you are a pedestrian or bicyclist and suffer an injury in an accident involving another motor vehicle. If these outdoor activities are a part of your RV experience, this is important coverage.
  • Children who live in your household and suffer an injury while riding on a school bus.

Standard PIP coverage pays 80% of reasonable medical expenses, 60% of lost wages and all reasonable expenses for replacement services like child care, and $5,000 in death benefits.

Extended Personal Injury Protection pays 100% of your reasonable medical expenses and 80% of lost wages. You can choose this as an option for an extra premium.

Personal Injury Protection Deductible lets you choose a PIP deductible of $250, $500 or $1,000. Upon payout of your claim, the deductible amount is subtracted from the available PIP benefit or the total amount you can collect.

  • If you choose a PIP with a deductible for “Named Insured only,” then the deductible will only apply to the named insured (you) and your spouse but not any other relatives that live with you.
  • If you choose a PIP with a deductible for Named Insured & Resident Relatives, then the deductible will apply to the named insured (you), your spouse, and all dependent relatives who live with you.

Work Loss Exclusion allows you, as the policyholder, to exclude any benefits received for loss of gross income and earning capacity from your PIP coverage.

Roadside Assistance

When you’re stuck on the side of the road in your RV, roadside assistance comes to the rescue.. Once you purchase this coverage, you have access to it 24/7 while located in the United States and Canada.

Here’s what you’ll get as part of roadside assistance:

  • Towing to the nearest qualified repair facility.
  • Being pulled out of mud, snow, water, or sand with a motor-powered cable or chain. Your RV must be trapped within 100 feet of road or highway.
  • Jump-starting your battery if it dies
  • Receiving fuel for your RV when you run out of gas. You’ll have to pay for the gas.
  • Getting back into your RV if you lose your keys, your keys are stolen, or you lock yourself out of your RV. You have to pay to replace your keys.
  • Changing a flat tire
  • Up to one hour of on-scene labor when your RV breaks down.

Before you jump behind the wheel and get out on a South Dakota highway, make sure your RV is well-protected with the best RV insurance you can afford. Contact Charlotte Insurance for a free quote today!