The world seems to have a certain "design."
I'm OK with that, for the most part. It's good to know that people tend to stop for red lights, and that turning a key will open a lock, or start your car.
Of course, the flipside to this is that the world tends to be set up to accommodate the prevalent design structure... and if your perception or values are different from that, those design patterns suddenly start to feel more like obstacles than anything useful or welcome.
So, we got a letter from our home insurance carrier, letting us know that they would no longer be able to cover our house unless we remove certain trees and shrubbery they deem to be "too close" or overhanging the building.
Now, last time I checked, half the houses in this country — particularly older — have tall old trees around and/or overhanging them. I can't imagine all those folks do not have insurance, especially if they have a mortgage.
Which makes me think of a different motivation that has little to do with risk and everything to do with profits.
The thing is, we have had the same insurance carrier for 14 years, and have not only have we reached the highest "loyalty bonus" discount level they offer, but we also have our car insurance with the same company and get a "package" discount on top of it. Maybe I'm being overly cynical here, but it smells like we are just not "profitable" enough... in spite of the fact that we have only had one single trivial claim in 14 years!
The traditional definition is that "the purpose of a corporation is to maximize profits," and any degree of humanity or fairness is typically not part of that equation. Too bad, you're screwed!
The sad thing about it is that we are already in a tight spot financially and taking on a new policy as a new policyholder, likely at a higher premium, feels like a ripoff of sorts. Moreover, it is simply not feasible.
Proof in the pudding, so to speak, that the poor tend to get poorer and the rich get richer.
Or... we can just cut down our shade trees, and "comply" with a majority design that really isn't our idea of a good time!
As things go, I'm keeping an even keel here... after all, we are looking to sell the property next year, so I am going to take the approach of stalling and saying that we will definitely cut the trees... next year!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!
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Created at 2025.04.15 23:04 PDT
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