Happy Thanksgiving: Key Insurance Tips to Protect Your Home and Business
- Rabih Hamawi
- 38 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Thanksgiving should be a time for family, gratitude, and rest—not worrying about unexpected accidents. This holiday season, we wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving! While fires, water damage, theft, and power outages can happen, your homeowners or commercial insurance policy is expected to there to help you recover if the unexpected occurs. Below, you will find some important safety tips to help protect your home, business, and loved ones this holiday season.
Thanksgiving Fire Risks: Protecting Kitchens at Home and at Work
For many families, Thanksgiving means hours in the kitchen. For restaurants, caterers, bakeries, and hotels, it’s one of the busiest—and riskiest—weeks of the year. That extra activity increases the chance of kitchen fires, smoke damage, and property loss in both homes and businesses.
Residential Kitchens & Family Gatherings
Unattended stovetops, overfilled ovens, deep-fried turkeys, and overloaded outlets can start a fire in seconds. While homeowners insurance may cover fire and smoke damage, insurers often dispute the real cost to clean, repair, or replace items, leading to delays, underpayments, or denials.
If you have a Thanksgiving fire at home, treat it seriously:
Take all steps needed to mitigate your damages
Take photos and videos of all damaged areas, including rooms where fire and smoke traveled
Keep damaged items until the claim is resolved
Be careful about giving detailed recorded statements before you understand your policy
Insurers may try to minimize smoke and soot damage, say certain issues are “cosmetic only,” or pay based on actual cash value instead of replacement cost.
Commercial Kitchens & Holiday Operations
For restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food-related businesses, Thanksgiving and the holiday season can be the busiest time of year. A single fire can damage cooking equipment, inventory, ventilation systems, and the building itself—and may force you to close your doors temporarily.
Insurance companies often challenge:
How long your business should be compensated
How much revenue you truly lost
Whether certain losses are excluded or “unrelated” to the fire
To protect your business, keep detailed financial records, sales reports, schedules, and repair invoices. When that happens, you may need to rely on commercial property insurance and business interruption coverage to repair the damage and replace lost income.
Holiday Slip-and-Fall Risks for Homes and Businesses
During Thanksgiving, homes and businesses see more foot traffic, icy surfaces, wet floors, and crowded areas, increasing the risk of slip-and-fall injuries. Insurance may provide coverage, but claims are often disputed. Taking proactive steps can help prevent accidents and support any potential claim.
Tips to Reduce Risk:
Clear snow and ice promptly
Use mats at entryways and keep walkways clear
Clean spills immediately
Clear snow and ice promptly on driveways, sidewalks, and entryways
Use mats and rugs at home and business entrances
Keep walkways clear of cords, clutter, and decorations
Clean up spills immediately in kitchens, hallways, and commercial spaces
Inspect floors and walkways regularly in high-traffic areas
Place warning signs when surfaces are wet or slippery
Document any incidents with photos, videos, and written reports
Safety Tips for Vacant Properties and Businesses This Holiday Season
During Thanksgiving, empty or lightly staffed properties face higher risks. Homes left unattended are vulnerable to frozen pipes, water damage, theft, and vandalism, while closed or lightly staffed businesses can be easy targets for burglary or vandalism.
Homeowners policies may require heat or winterization, and commercial policies may include vacancy provisions—both of which insurers can cite to deny claims.
To protect your property, maintain heat, secure the premises, use alarms, lighting, and cameras, and have trusted individuals check regularly. Document any damage with photos, videos, and police reports, and notify your insurer promptly.
By taking these precautions, you can help reduce risks, prevent costly damage, and ensure your insurance coverage works when you need it most. Staying proactive this holiday season gives you peace of mind so you can focus on enjoying time with family, friends, and the festivities.
If your insurance company has denied, delayed, or underpaid your insurance claim, contact Law Office of Rabih Hamawi for a case evaluation at (248) 905-1133 or www.hamawilaw.com.
Who is Rabih Hamawi?
Attorney & Counselor
Rabih Hamawi is a principal at the Law Office of Rabih Hamawi, P.C. and focuses his practice on representing policyholders in fire, property damage, and insurance-coverage disputes against insurance companies and in errors-and-omissions cases against insurance agents. He may be reached at (248) 905-1133.