Thanksgiving is almost here and there is no better time to show off our culinary expertise to family and friends. We fry turkeys (and just about anything else that will fit in the fryer), smoke meats, and spend countless hours making sure everything turns out perfect. Through all of this, we’re entertaining guests, watching the football game, enjoying a few drinks, and probably not thinking about homeowner’s insurance in Delaware County, PA. This is the beauty of the holiday, but also part of the reason that insurance claims resulting from cooking-related fires skyrocket on Thanksgiving Day.

I love Thanksgiving and I hope that everyone can enjoy it, so I put together a list of Thanksgiving safety tips to help you have a safe and successful holiday.

1. If you are going to fry a turkey:

• Be certain to keep the fryer a safe distance from your house.
• Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and dry before putting it into the fryer.
• Do not overfill the fryer with oil. The turkey is going to take up a lot of space, and if the oil spills over, things will get ugly quick.
• Stay close by. If something does happen, you will be close enough to prevent serious damage.

2. If you are going to smoke a turkey:

• This is a long process, so it’s easy to get the smoker started and forget about it for a while, potentially even overnight. The biggest thing to remember here is keep the smoker at a safe distance from the house. Do not keep the smoker on or under you deck, especially unattended.

3. Be careful with hot oil in a pan on your stove top:

• Just like the turkey fryer, make sure anything you throw on the hot pan is thawed and dry.
• If you are uncertain whether the pan will ignite, turn off the burners before putting the food in.
• Keep the pan handles turned to a position where small children cannot reach up and pull them down

4. Always keep a fire extinguisher handy:

• Having homeowner’s insurance is important, but it’s even more important to be proactive about protecting your home and loved ones. Always keep an extinguisher close by to prevent a small fire from turning into a disaster.

5. Make sure to check the batteries on carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.

• Because we’ll be entertaining our guests we may miss the first signs of a fire, so we want to make sure we have plenty of notice if something has gone wrong.

If you do have a fire, your homeowners insurance will cover it. Fire is the most basic peril that an insurance policy covers, so you shouldn’t be concerned whether the fire damage will be covered or not. Now go show off your cooking skills.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Call Risk Averse Insurance in Media, PA to discuss homeowner’s insurance in Delaware County, PA.
Risk Averse Insurance is an insurance agency, in the heart of Delaware County, that specializes in providing high-quality insurance products at an affordable price.