It’s that time of year again! Time to dress up, consume as much candy as possible, and maybe enjoy a Halloween Party or two. While enjoying all the festivities of this spooky day, we want to help make sure you and your family are safe. So we put together a list of Halloween Tricks & Treats for you to review before you really begin the festivities.
Decorating your House
Everyone loves a well decorated house. Maybe you have some blow-ups in your yard or you created a haunted house for Trick-or-Treaters to walk through. Doing this is a lot of work and a lot of fun. But it is also good to know the risks involved.
- Don’t Charge. Charging people to walk through your Haunted House is considered a business. You need to make sure you consult your insurance agent to make sure you have the right coverage if you do this.
- Electrical Outlets. Often times, most decorations need to be plugged into an outlet for them to work. Make sure you aren’t overloading your circuits, causing them to work harder than they can handle. This can also put you at risk for potential fire hazard
- Fire Hazard. As mentioned above, make sure you don’t plug in more plugs than your circuit can handle. Make sure your decorations don’t overheat. And keep them away from anything that can easily catch on fire. Also, don’t risk using an open flame. There’s a good chance some of your decorations will get knocked down as people go through, and you don’t want to start a major fire on your set-up.
- Tripping Hazard. With all the decorations that need to be plugged in to operate, you are most likely going to have tons of cords laying all over the place. Make sure you bundle them up and tuck them on the edge of the walking path to help prevent anyone from tripping. Keep in mind that you are liable if anyone is injured on your property.
Trick – or – Treating, for adults
- Stay alert. Be aware of drivers in the road when crossing the street. Hold on to your children’s hands and make sure they understand not to run into the middle of the street without checking both directions first.
- For Drivers. When driving, also be aware of trick-or-treaters. Especially young children who are more likely to run across the street to the next house.
- Theft. Don’t make your house seem inviting to thieves. Don’t leave your doors open so people can wander in looking for candy. If you aren’t at home and you have all the lights off, thieves are going to check and see if you’re really not home and risk breaking and entering.
- Halloween parties are very popular. Make sure you don’t drink and drive. Make sure none of your guests are too drunk to drive. It is better to be safe than sorry. Take an Uber or a Lyft and pick up your car the next day. Make sure your guests don’t drink so much they risk injuring themselves on your property. This can come back to haunt you.
Check your Coverage
Call your agent and double check your insurance coverage. See if an umbrella policy can help protect you in those extra ears you might need this weekend. Don’t let a mishap on what is a fun weekend come back and bite you. Make sure you’re protected. Call your Compass Agent today!