Short answer: If you buy an individual life policy in South Dakota (issued on or after July 1, 1982) and don't like it, you can send it back within ten days of actually receiving it and get your premium returned. Each later premium comes with a thirty-day grace window, or four weeks for certain industrial life.
This guide is general consumer information for South Dakota life insurance buyers. It isn't legal advice or a coverage determination. Policy wording, underwriting and the statutes linked below control.
Ten-day free look
SDCL §58-15-8.1 requires every individual life policy issued for delivery in South Dakota on or after July 1, 1982 (by an insurance company or fraternal benefit society) to carry a face-page notice that the purchaser may return the policy with a written cancellation request within ten days of its actual receipt and get the premium back when, having looked it over, the purchaser is unhappy with it for any reason. Returning it on time voids the policy from the beginning.
Thirty-day grace period
SDCL §58-15-13 requires a grace period of thirty days (or four weeks for industrial life with premiums payable more often than monthly) for each premium after the first. Coverage keeps running through that window, and if a claim is paid during it, the insurer may take any due or overdue premium out of the proceeds.
Insurer financial strength
South Dakota's Division of Insurance is the place to check on a company's financial standing before you buy.
Questions? Contact Alishahi Insurance or call (877) 711-4545. See insurance in South Dakota.
Frequently asked questions
How long is South Dakota's life insurance free-look?
SDCL §58-15-8.1 gives ten days, counted from when you actually receive the policy.
What's South Dakota's life insurance grace period?
Section 58-15-13 sets thirty days for each renewal premium, or four weeks for certain industrial life.
Alishahi Insurance · 439 N Canon Dr, Penthouse, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 · (877) 711-4545 · CA License #4348151. General information only. This isn't legal, tax or financial advice or a coverage determination. Coverage depends on policy language and underwriting, and rules vary by state.