I lost the neutral to a squirrel chomping on our wire from the pole. Fried my refrigerator and range. And every surge protector in the house, which did protect my electronic devices. I am definitely getting one on the panel. Not sure what Duke Energy charges, but I just spent $3000, so I would have been ahead.
BTW, a very interesting experience. My house was haunted, with the lights in some rooms blinding and barely lit in the adjacent room. Every bulb that was suspect blew too.