My boss was complaining that COTS were expensive and gave gnat as an example. I asked him why do we pay for it ? We use support less than once every 5 years and

My boss was complaining that COTS were expensive and gave gnat as an example. I asked him why do we pay for it ? We use support less than once every 5 years and in case of real problems, public forums exist. He was completely against this idea. For the company, paying for support is like having an insurance, they do not want to drive without insurance.