Did I tell you that our insurance company has taken the barn off their list and will not insure it anymore? Is it insure or ensure? I must look that up. 
They did not inspect it or anything – I saw nobody – it was just suddenly not on the list. Unless we put a new roof and siding on it. And the moment we do that our tax rates skyrocket. If you improve your property in this area your property taxes go up and they are already very expensive.
So looking after your old barns is not encouraged and is actually financially penalised.
We cannot afford new rooves and siding anyway. I would have to sell hundreds of pigs and cows to come up with that kind of money then more every year to pay the tax hike. So it sits now, uninsured. Filled with animals. Maintained as best as I can.
Every animal has an outside door, I don’t believe in keeping them caged inside – it is not healthy. Cold but healthy. Plus in the event of fire they have a better chance of escaping.
Funnily enough there is only one leak in the roof and it is a large area of roof.
No need for dangerous heat lamps in here this year – everyone is looking fat and ready for the cold. Wai is definitely carrying a fair amount of winter weight and has found a way to almost close his fish pond door. Even Tane is in good shape.
The kune kune are the only pigs here who do not spend part of the day making their beds. I have to pile the straw up for them. The day time temperatures are still rising above freezing and everyone can get out of the wind if they choose to. So for the next ten days, at least, it is looking favourable for the animals. I leave to begin my travels in four sleeps so I am happy for these temperatures. I hate leaving hardshiip behind for other people to manage.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Love celi
WEATHER: The wind will make this an uncomfortable day. We are having a lot of wind lately.
Wednesday 12/13 30% / < 1 in
Cloudy and windy. A few snow showers this afternoon. High 41F/5C. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 30%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Wednesday Night 12/13 20% / 0 in
Cloudy and windy this evening, becoming partly cloudy after midnight. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 19F/-7. Winds NNW at 20 to 30 mph.
Sun
7:09 am 4:25 pm
Moon
Waning Crescent, 20% visible 2:33 am 2:04 pm
The Kitchen's Garden 
47 responses to “THE BARN”
Insuring it is one thing getting a payout in the event of a claim is quite another as there are so many clauses and conditons re condition and maintenance. You have the right idea, keep it in as good order for as little cost as possible to keep its inhabitants sheltered & safe. Enjoy your holiday, the southern hemisphere & a summer respite awaits you 😎
Too true! They’ll take your money, no problem; but don’t you dare ask them for what you’ve paid for…
Our old house had a flat roof which had problems with leaking, as it hadn’t been built on a big enough angle – it was TOO flat and the water just sat on it. We had repaired it several times ourselves (no claim) but our insurance company finally told us they would not insure us any longer unless we replaced the whole roof, and raised the pitch. We couldn’t afford to do that, so we had to sell the house, fortunately getting a good price for it. The new owners haven’t replaced the roof, so I don’t know if it’s different company, different rules, or whether they are uninsured!
My apologies to any insurance people out there but that industry is high on my list of detestables! I once had a company refuse to cover the barn because we are might store hay in it. Well duh!
I work in the IT department of an insurance and financial services company. Please don’t hate me. LOL! I can’t explain underwriting decisions so I won’t even try. But I like the idea someone had about looking into seeing whether the barn could be preserved as a historic building.
That your barn is suddenly no longer insured just does not seem right. But who understands insurance companies?
As far as improvements increasing property taxes, yes, that’s true everywhere I would think. Supposedly the value of the building increases, thus the need to tax more on the higher value. I can see your point about this discouraging improvements.
Your lovely pigs are smarter than the tax man and the insurance company! Glad they know how to keep warm. Have a safe trip, Celi!
I once had my auto insurance cancelled by an insurance company that had covered me for 15 years (since getting my first driving license). When I called to complain I was told they did it because “I had NEVER had an accident and that statistically I was due for one.” 😯
Their lack of logic amazes me.
Merciful heaven.
Not about an insurance company refusal but our City Council refused to instal broken yellow lines at our street corner, which is hard to see around when there are parked cars, because there had been no accidents there. Same crazy logic or lack thereof.
Judith, this is not the first time I have heard of this. There is something diabolically wrong with a governing council that refuses to take a proactive stance… like putting in a stoplight where children have to cross a very busy boulevard to get to school and home again. The light eventually got put in, but not before my friend in grade school lost a sibling. 😦
Why do they do that? People should be encouraged to maintain building etc without rate rises. Damn that’s annoying ..