Updated July 2026
What Is Personal Injury Protection Insurance?
Personal Injury Protection covers your medical expenses, lost income, and sometimes funeral costs after a car accident, without requiring you to prove the other driver was at fault. PIP pays out immediately based on your policy limits, which means you can start treatment the day after the crash instead of waiting weeks or months for a liability claim to settle. In South Dakota, PIP is optional coverage you add to your policy, not a state mandate.
- You hit black ice on I-90 and roll your vehicle into a ditch. You have a concussion and a broken wrist. The ER bill is $4,200, and follow-up orthopedic care costs another $2,800. Your PIP policy pays the full $7,000 in medical costs within two weeks of filing the claim, regardless of fault. Without PIP, you would file through your health insurance and pay your deductible, or wait to recover costs from your collision insurer if you carry that coverage.
- You rear-end another driver at a stoplight in Sioux Falls. You're at fault. You miss three weeks of work due to whiplash and soft-tissue injuries. Your weekly income is $950, so you lose $2,850 in wages. Your PIP policy includes lost-income coverage and pays 80% of your lost wages, or $2,280, while you recover. Liability coverage does not reimburse your own lost income.
- Your spouse is injured as a passenger in your car during an accident you caused. The medical bills total $6,500. Your PIP coverage pays those bills immediately. Without PIP, your spouse would need to file a claim against your liability coverage, which creates a claims record against your policy and can complicate future renewals.
Who Needs Personal Injury Protection Insurance?
PIP makes sense if you have a high-deductible health insurance plan, are self-employed and cannot afford to miss income while waiting for a liability settlement, or regularly drive with passengers who do not have their own health coverage. It also benefits drivers in South Dakota's rural areas where a crash might not involve another vehicle, eliminating any liability claim to recover medical costs from.
Compare your health insurance deductible to the cost of adding PIP for one year. If your health plan has a $3,000 deductible and PIP costs $180 annually, PIP pays for itself the first time you file a claim. If your health deductible is $500 and you have paid sick leave, the gap PIP fills is smaller.
How Much Does Personal Injury Protection Insurance Cost?
PIP adds $8 to $25 per month to a South Dakota auto insurance policy, or roughly $96 to $300 annually, depending on your coverage limits and whether you include lost-wage reimbursement.
- Coverage limit you select: $5,000 in medical coverage costs less than $25,000.
- Whether you add lost-income coverage, which typically increases the premium by 30% to 50%.
- Your zip code: urban areas like Sioux Falls see slightly higher PIP costs due to higher medical billing rates.
- Deductible choice: a $500 PIP deductible can reduce your premium by 15% to 20% compared to a zero-deductible policy.
- Claims history: a prior PIP claim can raise your rate at renewal, though the impact is smaller than an at-fault liability claim.