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Fires and tumbles and dog bites, oh my!

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Halloween

Halloween can be a spooky time for homeowners who don’t manage their risk.

 

As highlighted by Forbes magazine on Monday: those decorations and holiday traditions can come with a hefty insurance claim.

 

For one, those festive arrangements of glowing pumpkins, gravestones and ghosts — and extension cords if these happen to be electronic — pose an injury risk to visitors who might trip over them, according to the article. Dogs on the premises? Be careful your anxious pooch doesn’t get too spooked at all the costumes and décor and bites someone.

 

A Jack O’ Lantern lit by flame? Fire hazard! Especially if unattended and surrounded with flammable decorations like dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper, Forbes pointed out.

 

“If this sounds like a tall tale to you, it’s not,” Forbes says. “On average, there were 780 home structure fires per year from 2013 to 2017 that began with Halloween decorations, according to the National Fire Protection Association. More than a third of these fires can be attributed to a candle.”

 

After décor and dogs come the cars: Halloween was the third biggest holiday for stolen cars in 2018, with New Year’s Day and President’s Day coming in first and second, respectively, according to the article citing data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

 

 

 

 

 

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