Yes, good point, and "load dump" is that weird and wonderful thing that certainly happens in theory....but in reality?...I doubt it. I used to work in an auto warning beacon place and none of the beacons were load dump protected, and it never gave a problem.
To get a load dump, you need the engine to start up, then the alternator to get running at full power, then somehow the battery connection terminals have to somehow disconnect themselves, and then the energy in the alternator goes down all the circuit wires and makes a big voltage there since it no longer has a big battery to clamp it.
Alternately, it could be by somebody jump starting a dead battery, and then of course when the jump start is removed, the alternator is running into a dead battery which won't clamp it.
In truth, "load dump" only occurs with very poorly serviced vehicles.
I reckon your best bet is just to use a zener diode which activates on an overvoltage and switchs off an inline transistor before the voltage gets too big across your circuit. By all means use a tvs downstream of the inline fet to make it more snappy.