<prompt> Human: Our snow plowing contractor in Minnesota gave us two options. Pay each time it snows 50 or one amount upfront 490 to cover for any number of snow events in the 5 month period from November to March. How does one calculate which is the better option in this case? In the past couple of years there were 8 and 12 snow events. In one year I came out ahead for not paying upfront but lost money the next year. My question is in general how much you should pay for insurance against unforeseen events? If you are going to save 100-200 over 5 months, is it worth paying 50-100 more for that?  <response>: One of the reasons I really like this sub. Simple question, some really thought-out responses. Just saying thanks, is all. 