The Super Bowl is less than 48 hours away. If you are a betting football fan, you might want to pick the Seahawks based on the following fact: 85 % of the last 21 Super Bowls have been won by the team representing the city with the lower unemployment rate in the preceding year (Seattle 5.9 – Denver 6.7).

Regardless of whether you bet on the game or not, according to a 2011 survey conducted by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, almost 35 million people plan to host a Super Bowl party, and 62 million others plan to attend one. Some interesting facts about Super Bowl parties:

* The average number of people at a Super Bowl party is 17.

* Fans eat over 1.23 billion chicken wings, which adds up to more than 100 million pounds of chicken.

* The average person will consume around 1,200 calories while eating and watching the game.

* 11.2 million pounds of potato chips will be eaten, accounting for 27 billion calories and 1.8 billion grams of fat.

* Guacamole, eaten with those chips, accounts for 8 million pounds of avocados.

* 3.8 million pounds of popcorn are consumed during the Super Bowl.

* 51.7 million cases of beer are sold.

If you’re hosting a party, you should consider reviewing your homeowners policy or other personal liability coverage. Are you covered in the event that someone is injured during or after the party and a premises liability suit is filed? Some things to consider:

1. Is your entry clean and in good repair so as to prevent slip and fall injuries? Coverage for slip and fall injuries is usually found in the liability section of your insurance policies.

2. Is the food safe? Is food poisoning a possibility? Again, coverage may be available through the liability section of your insurance policies. Do you have an umbrella policy? If so, you may want to review this as well.

3. Are you serving alcohol? If someone leaves your party intoxicated, gets behind the wheel of their car, and injures someone, you can bet that you will be sued. >Missouri law generally does not impose civil liability on social hosts for damages related to a guest’s consumption of alcoholic beverages, but a vast majority of states have the opposite position. Some good ideas to avoid liability in this setting include the following: don’t serve alcohol; don’t allow anyone who has consumed alcohol to leave after the party; or call a cab for anyone who has been drinking.

If you are a guest, do you have coverage if you are involved in an auto accident on the way home? While you may have done your part to avoid an accident following the party, not everyone will be as responsible. If you or a loved one have been injured, it is important to know what to do next. Contact us if you have been injured to protect your recovery.

Together, we can work toward enjoying the Super Bowl in safety. We encourage you to share this post with your friends and contact us if you have any questions about an injury or your insurance coverage in general.

Photo courtesy of Flicker user MTAPhotos.