Bad turkey: When it happens to you

This post comes from Mark Chalon Smith at partner site Insurance.com.

Deep-frying the Thanksgiving bird sounds like such a great idea -- until the turkey explodes and the backyard goes up in flames.

The holiday may be a time of good cheer and good eats, but it's also when cooking fires, especially those involving deep-fryers, blacken homes and send people to the emergency room. Grease-fire and cooking-related insurance claims more than double on Thanksgiving compared to any other November day, according to State Farm.

Here are the top 10 states with the most cooking-related claims from 2005 to 2010, according to State Farm:

1. Texas (36)
2. Illinois (24)
3. Ohio (21)
4. New York (17)
5. Pennsylvania (17)
6. Michigan (15)
7. Florida (14)
8. Minnesota (14)
9. Indiana (13)
10. Louisiana (12)

Thanksgiving is clearly when the grease hits the flame, but State Farm spokesperson Heather Paul says the danger exists year-round as the popularity of deep-frying grows: "Fire departments are responding to more than 1,000 fires each year in which a deep-fryer is involved," she says. "The National Fire Protection Association says deep-fryer fires result in more than $15 million in property damage each year and hot oil splatter can cause serious burns."

• Special coverage:The holidays on MSN

Filing a claim when your fowl plans go afoul

Paul says insurance companies handle deep-fryer and kitchen fires in the same way as other blazes that damage your home or property -- you're covered for the entire loss minus the deductible. Post continues below.

To file a claim, contact your agent immediately -- if possible, the same day the fire breaks out. Paul also recommends taking photos of the damage and gathering any fire or police reports on the accident. The agent should be able to walk you through the process, she says, adding that most insurance companies have 24-hour hotlines.

"It's so easy to become distracted this time of the year because so much is going on," Paul says. "You can step away from your cooking and, in a second, a fire has gotten out of control."

Shatner on board with video

To propel its awareness campaign, State Farm enlisted actor and Priceline.com spokesman William Shatner. The man who has gone "where no man has gone before" goes right into the backyard in a video at the insurer's website and recounts how he almost burned his house down while deep-frying.

Shatner offers the following safety tips:

• Cook outdoors away from any buildings or trees, and keep the fryer off any wooden structures, such as decks or patios.
• Avoid spillovers by filling the pot with cold oil and then lowering the thawed turkey into it to see if oil should be added or removed.
• Turn off the flame when adding the turkey to prevent flare-ups if oil spills over the rim.
• The turkey must be completely thawed before slowly lowering it into the pot.
• Never leave the deep-fryer unattended.
• Use an extinguisher approved for cooking or grease fires to put out a blaze. Never use ice or water to douse a grease fire or to cool oil.

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