SB 227

 26.742.11  101st Legislative Session  227
                                          2026 South Dakota Legislature
                                                  Senate Bill 227
 Introduced by: Senator Kolbeck (Steve)
1 An Act to establish a minimum damage threshold for a motor vehicle total loss
2declaration.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
4 Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 58-12:
5An insurer may not declare that a motor vehicle is a total loss because of damage
6     caused by a collision, fire, vandalism, weather, or other peril, unless the cost of repairing
7     the vehicle meets or exceeds seventy-five percent of the actual cash value of the vehicle
8     before it was damaged.
9Nothing in this section prohibits an insurer from declaring, at the request of and
10     with the express written authorization of the vehicle owner, that the vehicle is a total loss,
11     even if the cost to repair the vehicle is less than seventy-five percent of the actual cash
12     value of the vehicle immediately preceding the time it was damaged.
13For purposes of this section, “actual cash value” means the current market value
14     of the motor vehicle, within a radius of two-hundred miles from the primary address of
15     the vehicle owner, taking into consideration:
16     (1)      The year, make, and model of the vehicle;
17     (2)      Any accessories and options;
18     (3)      Any natural deterioration from normal use;
19     (4)      The odometer reading; and
20     (5)      The accident history of the vehicle.
                                                                                Underscores indicate new language.
                                                                              Overstrikes indicate deleted language.