I have a full ride, so I don't want to forego such an awesome blessing despite the lack of necessity for college education in this field. 

Plus it’s a 7 hr bus ride in case you ever want to visit the city.

While many perils are insured, wind storm, fire, hail, etc. something like a railroad gas car overturning or an oil pipeline breaks, might cause a loss of tenants and that will take time to sort out, all the while, you'll have clean up, repairs and leasing duties to get back into the business.  

(Regular deductibles and hail deductibles are often the highest)Here’s a cost example to show the potential savings:Let’s say the total cost of the Deductible Buy Down policy is $20,000/yr with a $10,000 deductible.Your normal insurance policy deductible is $110,000/occurrence. $20,000 + $10,000 = $30,000$110,000 - $30,000= $80,000 in savings!

It sounds like you've done your homework and may have to ride this increase out for the time being.

I’m part of the hunter/jumper English riding set.

As Thomas S.has pointed out it seems you're in the passenger seat being taken for a ride.  

I cook a nice breakfast, offer them a ride downtown for the football game, and they have their own bathroom to use, so its not particularly awkward in that regard.  

And on her page her most recent post was a request by her to her fb friends requesting a ride to work.

We were going to ride them out until they stopped working but I found a local guy that gets brand new appliances really cheap (don't know how he does it, but I don't ask questions) I also browse through the ding and dent sections at local appliance stores.