Are smart home monitoring devices actually worth it?

Smart sensors catch the small issues (water leaks, smoke, break-in attempts) that turn into large homeowners claims if unnoticed. A $200 water leak repair becomes a $20,000 water damage claim when nobody is home for a weekend. For Georgia homeowners who travel, own vacation homes, or have finished basements, the prevention value is real. For homeowners who are home most of the time and already have monitored systems, the discount value is the primary benefit, not prevention.