Douglas Johnson wrote:

dpb wrote:

Douglas Johnson wrote:
...
I'd guess it is far more cost effective to invest in an automatic defibrillator
than a tornado shelter.
...
And one might as well not bother to buy fire insurance, either. Odds
just aren't that good on collecting.

Actually, fire insurance is pretty cheap for what you are insuring because the
odds of collecting are low. Besides, it is required by mortgage companies and
is bundled with homeowner's insurance, which, at least for me, has paid off
pretty well.

But that's not my point. If you are going to spend money reducing your risk of
death, you should spend on the high risks, not the low ones. The risk of death
from heart attacks is about 5000 times that of tornadoes.

The problem is you are comparing the proverbial apples and oranges.
Heart attacks are a risk for the entire country, while tornadoes, while
technically possible anywhere, are primarily a risk in tornado alley.
Find the population of tornado alley and adjust your heart attack
numbers to that population and then you might have a valid comparison.