I was online when lightning hit a tree 25 feet from my service entrance.
My phone service went dead due to a blown fuse on the telephone pole,
but I had no damage. Like you, I've had good experience, but I wish I
could find statistics and I wish I knew how some models are designed to
be more reliable than others.

All I know is that the APC wasnt cheap. Some "surge" protected bars were
around $ 10-15
The APC was closer to $30+ ( cheap considering the computer system it was
protecting cost 3 grand)
but sure worked well and of course, I got its replacement free.
Its now protecting my 46" Hitachi HDTV

R