We had a water leak in our house last winter due to an extremely deep freeze that used to be unknown in Seattle but becoming more regular. Our insurance broker warned us not to claim on our insurance because it might mean we would be refused insurance in the following year. Apparently insurance companies are doing this because they're having to pay out so often for water damage. So basically, our insurance is a waste of time.
I'm feeling quite "safe" here on the West coast but of course we have the threat of the "big" earthquake that is years overdue, so safety is an illusion. We don't have earthquake insurance, I'm not sure it's even possible to get it in an earthquake zone. I cannot imagine losing everything as your aunt has done. Our life savings are in this home, yet I recognize that really it's just a wooden construction on a patch of land that could be taken away at any moment. It makes home ownership seem ridiculous and I understand why tribes lived a nomadic existence.
Last year I invited three other artists to be part of a tiny online collective. We meet on Zoom every two weeks and talk about being an artist, the ups and downs of creative practice, how we sustain ourselves, how we want to see the world change. The group has become a lifeline for all of us. I wasn't sure if an online collective would work, but it's so nourishing and healthy and open and accepting - it is a sanctuary. We all live in different parts of the world and I think that's partly why the group works so well, we have different experiences and perspectives to contribute. It's so precious.
Thank you for your writing Eric. You have a way of connecting to the essence of what it means to be human that touches me deeply. All my love.
I’m so happy you’ve created an online collective that can nourish you like the one I belong to. I love that term: “online collective.” Yes!
It is so clear that the insurance model no longer works because we are in an entirely new context. I worked for Allstate Insurance claims when I was in college and back then, insurance saved lives and livelihoods. It really was about customer service at the end of the day. And then it spun off from Sears and became its own corporate entity, and Hurricane Andrew happened, and Hurricane Opal, and then one disaster after another, and it became clear that the corporate model of insurance was no longer tenable. If you really think about it, insurance is a legal corporate bet. A corporation bets that their policyholders will pay out more in premiums than the corporation will pay out in claims. It is and always has been a business model meant to make insurance companies money. But now we have an aging population and unhealthy lifestyles contributing to the collapse of medical insurance, and we have increasing natural disasters doing the same for homeowners. It’s probably just a matter of time until the insurance model can no longer make money. So, the results is exactly as you say — people with insurance are unable to use it and many others are unable to get it in the first place.
Having a mental picture of your home from your videos makes your dilemma very real to me. You have such an incredible home and garden. I am at least glad you get to enjoy it so thoroughly. May it continue to be a sanctuary to you. ❤️
Many of the safeguards and back up support systems are being eroded from life, and I know that as a white British woman I have enjoyed much more safety than others. I’m turning my little patch of land into a tiny urban farm to distribute fresh vegetables in the knowledge that community is all we have after a disaster of any kind. Modern life tries so hard to break communal ties but my faith tells me that our links with the land are never broken. One of the miracles of life is that I can sow a few seeds and grow enough food to feed a few families. I hope your aunt is finding support and has a roof over her head.
We had a water leak in our house last winter due to an extremely deep freeze that used to be unknown in Seattle but becoming more regular. Our insurance broker warned us not to claim on our insurance because it might mean we would be refused insurance in the following year. Apparently insurance companies are doing this because they're having to pay out so often for water damage. So basically, our insurance is a waste of time.
I'm feeling quite "safe" here on the West coast but of course we have the threat of the "big" earthquake that is years overdue, so safety is an illusion. We don't have earthquake insurance, I'm not sure it's even possible to get it in an earthquake zone. I cannot imagine losing everything as your aunt has done. Our life savings are in this home, yet I recognize that really it's just a wooden construction on a patch of land that could be taken away at any moment. It makes home ownership seem ridiculous and I understand why tribes lived a nomadic existence.
Last year I invited three other artists to be part of a tiny online collective. We meet on Zoom every two weeks and talk about being an artist, the ups and downs of creative practice, how we sustain ourselves, how we want to see the world change. The group has become a lifeline for all of us. I wasn't sure if an online collective would work, but it's so nourishing and healthy and open and accepting - it is a sanctuary. We all live in different parts of the world and I think that's partly why the group works so well, we have different experiences and perspectives to contribute. It's so precious.
Thank you for your writing Eric. You have a way of connecting to the essence of what it means to be human that touches me deeply. All my love.
I’m so happy you’ve created an online collective that can nourish you like the one I belong to. I love that term: “online collective.” Yes!
It is so clear that the insurance model no longer works because we are in an entirely new context. I worked for Allstate Insurance claims when I was in college and back then, insurance saved lives and livelihoods. It really was about customer service at the end of the day. And then it spun off from Sears and became its own corporate entity, and Hurricane Andrew happened, and Hurricane Opal, and then one disaster after another, and it became clear that the corporate model of insurance was no longer tenable. If you really think about it, insurance is a legal corporate bet. A corporation bets that their policyholders will pay out more in premiums than the corporation will pay out in claims. It is and always has been a business model meant to make insurance companies money. But now we have an aging population and unhealthy lifestyles contributing to the collapse of medical insurance, and we have increasing natural disasters doing the same for homeowners. It’s probably just a matter of time until the insurance model can no longer make money. So, the results is exactly as you say — people with insurance are unable to use it and many others are unable to get it in the first place.
Having a mental picture of your home from your videos makes your dilemma very real to me. You have such an incredible home and garden. I am at least glad you get to enjoy it so thoroughly. May it continue to be a sanctuary to you. ❤️
Many of the safeguards and back up support systems are being eroded from life, and I know that as a white British woman I have enjoyed much more safety than others. I’m turning my little patch of land into a tiny urban farm to distribute fresh vegetables in the knowledge that community is all we have after a disaster of any kind. Modern life tries so hard to break communal ties but my faith tells me that our links with the land are never broken. One of the miracles of life is that I can sow a few seeds and grow enough food to feed a few families. I hope your aunt is finding support and has a roof over her head.
Beautiful. Thank you
Sending huge love for your aunt, Eric. And to you too, of course, with a thank you for all that you bring to our group. 💜✨
Thank you, Sophie.