The smart home industry is beginning to take hold, and safety and security are going to play a key role. Consumers will be spending $130 billion annually on smart home systems by 2020, according to Strategy Analytics, and applications that focus on safety and security could generate in excess of $26 billion for service providers.

This trend represents a major opportunity for insurers to back smart home monitoring systems that can flag problems early, potentially helping policyholders avoid incidents that would otherwise end in damage claims.