Homeowners Insurance is like Gravy on Potatoes: Necessary

Thanksgiving may look or feel different this year than years past. With Covid-19 affecting us all in different and devastating ways it is all the more important for us to be safe and be covered.

Unfortunately, Thanksgiving can be a time for a lot of home fires, kitchen accidents, and even an accidentally poisoned turkey. Knowing what your home insurance covers will help you have peace of mind this holiday season and be able to focus on food and celebration with the ones you love.

Let's take a look at one of the most common Thanksgiving incidents and what you can do to make sure that you are covered!

Fireballs or Butterballs?

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires in which unattended cooking was the leading factor. The damage from each of these fires average $7,800 per fire. If you're not properly prepared, Thanksgiving can cost you a lot more than that 12lb turkey.

So what does it take to be safe?

The best thing that you can do to make sure you are covered is to reduce your risk by following some basic safety tips:

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on the food.

• Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay three feet away.

• Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.

• Always use a turkey fryer outdoors on a flat surface. Make sure it is away from structures, wooden decks, and covered patios. Never use a fryer in a garage.

• Have a fire extinguisher nearby and ready to use.

• Make sure the turkey is completely thawed to prevent a fire.

Does my home insurance cover a Thanksgiving fire?

When looking over your homeowners insurance you want to make sure that you have enough Dwelling Coverage to match your home's full replacement cost. Replacement cost is the cost to repair damage to your home or rebuild it completely at equal quality.

At Whittaker Insurance we offer Guaranteed Replacement Cost settlement. If you have this endorsement on your homeowners insurance we are guaranteeing that in the event of the worst happening we will replace your home completely regardless of what the estimated replacement cost is. This is the ultimate peace of mind policy as you will be totally covered even if construction costs and labor costs rise due to demand.

Your homeowners insurance will also cover you if a guest or neighbor is injured by a fire. This is covered under your Liability coverage. It is very important that you have the appropriate amount of liability coverage. As a basic rule of thumb we recommend you have 1.5 times as much liability coverage as your overall assets.

As always feel free to give us a call if you have any concerns about your coverage! We will gladly go over your policy with you and explain your coverage in detail. Your peace of mind is our purpose.

Happy Thanksgiving from the team at Whittaker Insurance Agency!