Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday of many people. There’s family gatherings, food, football, and an overall thankful feeling. With this being a holiday though, there are some things that can go wrong. You hear about them every year: someone was frying a turkey and it exploded, or there was a house fire, and the ever present we were pulled over for speeding. These are just a few of the experiences one can have on Thanksgiving and we don’t want any of them to happen to you. Read below for disasters you should be aware of and can try and prevent.
Hosting/Cooking Dangers
- If someone drive home drunk or gets sick after consuming food at your party, you could be held liable.
- Take steps to practice perfect kitchen hygiene and be aware of social host liability laws.
- The CDC says food-born illnesses are responsible for 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths every year.
- A typical homeowners insurance policy will protect you up to a minimum of $100,00 in liability coverage if someone takes legal action.
- Don’t fear…you can buy extra coverage. Talk to your insurance agent to get a quote if you decide to increase your liability protection and/or your umbrella insurance coverage.
- Tip: An umbrella coverage will take effect when you reach the limit on your liability coverage. It can also cover you for libel and slander.
- Cooking the Turkey
- Claims typically double on Thanksgiving Day
- If you decide to deep-fry your turkey beware of the dangers.
- Fryers cause 1,000 emergency fire calls each year and cause around $15 million in damages.
- More than 1/3rd of fires involved a fryer in a garage or on a patio. Make sure you cook outdoors at a safe distance from anything that could catch fire.
- Avoid hot oil spills by adding the turkey into the pot when the oil is cold to determine the amount needed to fry.
- When adding the turkey to the hot oil, to prevent flare-up, shut off the fuel source/flame.
- Before lowering into the pot, the turkey needs to be completely thawed and dried.
- Never leave the turkey unattended.
- Don’t use ice or water to cool down oil or put out an oil fire.
- Keep an extinguisher for cooking/grease fires nearby.
- Kitchen cooking dangers.
- If you are drinking and/or tired, don’t use the stove/burners.
- Stay in the kitchen.
- Check food you are simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling regularly.
- Set the timer.
- Do not leave your house without turning off and removing all items from the cookers.
- Keep anything you can catch on fire away from your stove.
- What to do if a cooking fire breaks out?
- Get out and close any and all doors when you leave to contain the fire.
- Call 9-1-1 immediately.
- If you try to fight the fire, make sure others are getting out and you have a clear path out.
- Keep a lid nearby when you’re cooking to smother grease fires.
- For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
Other Practical Steps to Take
- Take the temperature of the turkey and other meats to make sure they are fully cooked.
- If something looks undercooked, spoiled or contaminated, don’t serve it.
- Plan a party that doesn’t focus on drinking. If that’s not possible try these tips:
- Provide “safe,filling food” that counteracts with alcohol and provide non-alcoholic drinks.
- Know who designated drivers are before the drinking begins.
- Stop serving alcohol and hour before the party is planned to wrap up.
- Cut off any guests who are drunk or almost drunk.
- To lower your liability, party elsewhere.
- Host at a bar or restaurant and call a cab for anyone who had too much to drink/get them a hotel/or let them sleep at your house.
- Know the law and your policy.
- Know the “social host liability” laws for your state to see what you could be sued for. Also, review your policy to see how much you are covered for and if you should make changes to your policy.
Some Thanksgiving Facts from the CDC
- 2.6 Billion Pounds – the total weight of sweet potatoes grown in 2012. North Carolina produced 1.2 billion pounds.
- 768 Million Pounds – U.S. cranberry production in 2012.
- 242 Million – the number of turkeys raise in 2013.
- 98.3% – the number of families with a TV in 2011. It’s popular to watch football on Thanksgiving Day.
- 32 – the number of counties, places and townships in the U.S. name Plymouth, for Plymouth Rock, the landing site of the first Pilgrims.
- 7 – the number of places and townships in the U.S. that are named Cranberry (or a similar spelling).
- 4 – the number of places in the U.S. named a variation of Turkey.
We hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Day. This blog post pulled content created by insurance.com. Read more about avoiding insurance claims on Thanksgiving here.
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