Given unlimited time and money, you could truly make your home an Internet of Things showplace with smarts everywhere you turn. Of course, you would probably not have enough room on your smartphone to manage all the apps that control the smart things. So how to make sense of all the options? And how should insurers capitalize on the smart home trend? For starters, it is useful to think of smart home devices in four categories:

Security/safety: Existing home security companies are all evolving to provide smarter systems using wireless technologies and more sophisticated sensors. In addition, companies like Ring and Glue provide smart locks and doorbells for secure entry. Others focus on safety through monitoring and pre-emptive alerts for leaky pipes, smoke alarms, failing sump pumps, and other things.
Entertainment/information: Smart TVs are already a fixture in many homes, with availability from a variety of suppliers. The Amazon Echo responds to voice questions and prompts to provide news, weather, and information among other capabilities. Devices for gaming are incredibly powerful, and virtual reality headsets are gaining in adoption.
Energy/environment: The Nest Thermostat device has led the way in providing a smart, connected way to monitor and manage the temperature and environment throughout the home for comfort and energy efficiency. Others, such as Lutron, offer controls for lights, shades, and temperature aimed at saving energy.
Commerce: The Amazon Dash Button may seem a gimmick, but it has opened up new possibilities for e-commerce by allowing homeowners to reorder items with literally the touch of a button. Smart appliances and embedded touch screens automate the ordering of parts before they fail or common supply items before they run out.

Then come the questions about how (and even if) all of these devices will work with each other. There is a great deal of overlap and potential interaction between devices both within and between these categories. Enter the smart home hub. There are a number of companies and devices purporting to be hubs to connect the smart things in your home. Some operate well within just one domain — coordinating security related devices, for instance. Others are broader and have the capability to connect a wider range of smart devices. The Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings Hub, and Amazon Echo are a few of the well-known hubs, but others are emerging.

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Home is where the (smart) hub is

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