Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Neutral Condition Documentation for Insurance Appraisal
When a policy's appraisal provision has been invoked, Delator Claims Division documents the current condition of the property or vehicle for the parties involved. Delator is not the appraiser or the umpire and gives no opinion on the amount of loss.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
Many property and auto policies contain an appraisal provision that the insurer and policyholder can use when they disagree about the amount of a loss. In general terms, each side names an appraiser, and an umpire resolves the differences between them. The process runs on what the appraisers and umpire can see, and by the time it starts the property may be partly repaired, tarped, or exposed to months of further weather.
Delator's role is narrow. Field personnel record the condition of the property or vehicle as it stands on the date of the visit, in a format that either appraiser and the umpire can use. The same photographs, measurements and notes go to whoever requested them, and can be shared with all participants. Delator does not estimate, price repairs, scope work, or argue for either figure.
Points in an appraisal where a record helps
- Appraisal has been demanded on a roof claim, and temporary repairs are about to be replaced with permanent ones.
- Two appraisers disagree about how many slopes, rooms or elevations show damage, and the umpire has not yet visited.
- A total-loss vehicle is being held at a salvage yard and may be moved or sold before the valuation dispute ends.
- An umpire wants a single photographic record that both appraisers agree shows the property as it was on one date.
- An out-of-state appraiser needs current, labeled photographs of a Tennessee property before traveling for a joint inspection.
Condition record prepared for the panel
- Room-by-room interior views
- Each room photographed wall by wall, ceiling and floor, labeled by location so that claimed and unclaimed areas are equally represented.
- Elevation and slope sets
- Every exterior elevation and roof slope photographed overall and in sections, labeled by compass direction, whether or not damage is alleged there.
- Dimensions
- Room sizes, wall heights, slope lengths and other measurements where the property allows, recorded with the method used and the reference points.
- Material identification
- Visible manufacturer marks, shingle type, siding profile, flooring and finish details photographed with a scale, without any opinion on matching or availability.
- Repairs made to date
- Tarps, patches, replaced sections, drying equipment and completed work as found, with any dated invoices or permits posted or presented on site.
- Vehicle condition and options
- For auto appraisals, odometer reading, trim level, installed options, prior damage, tire condition and interior wear, photographed panel by panel.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
Why a dated, neutral record helps the process
Appraisal can begin many months after the loss. In that time a tarp fails, a ceiling stain spreads, a contractor replaces part of a roof, or a vehicle sits outdoors in a storage lot. Each appraiser may have inspected on a different date and photographed different things. When their figures are far apart, part of the gap is often a disagreement about what was there, not about what it costs.
A condition record made on one date by someone with no stake in the figure gives the panel a common reference. Delator's field personnel photograph the whole property, including areas nobody is claiming, so the record cannot be read as selective. Where both sides agree, field personnel can attend a joint inspection and document it as it proceeds, recording what each appraiser points out without endorsing either view.
The limits of Delator's role
Delator does not act as an appraiser, an umpire or a public adjuster, and it does not accept an assignment to value a loss for a policyholder. It does not write estimates, apply pricing, state whether damage is covered, or say whether a condition resulted from the claimed event. Wind, hail, wear, installation and age are described only as visible conditions: what the surface looks like, where, and how much of it.
It also does not advise on the appraisal provision itself. Whether appraisal is available, how to invoke it, who may serve and what the award means are questions for the policy and for an attorney. Requests come from policyholders, carriers, appraisers on either side and umpires, and the documentation is prepared the same way for each. The file is delivered securely, typically the same day as the visit.
On this assignment Delator field personnel record what is physically present: photographs, video, measurements and factual notes. They do not adjust, appraise or value the loss, do not determine coverage, cause or fault, and do not represent any party to the claim.
Delator Claims Division is not a law firm, an insurer or an engineering firm, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Common questions about this service
Can Delator serve as my appraiser or as the umpire?
No. Delator is not an appraiser or umpire and does not determine the amount of loss. It provides neutral condition documentation that the people serving in those roles can use. Selecting an appraiser or umpire is up to the parties under the terms of their policy.
Will the report include a repair estimate?
No. The report contains photographs, measurements, material identification and factual notes. It carries no pricing, scope of repair or valuation. Appraisers apply their own judgment to those questions, and they can take quantities from the recorded measurements if they choose to rely on them.
Can both sides share one documentation visit?
Yes. A single visit can be requested jointly, or by one party who then shares the file. The content is identical either way. If both appraisers attend, field personnel record what each identifies and label it by who pointed it out, without comment on whether it is damage.
Do you go on the roof?
Field personnel access roofs where it can be done safely given pitch, height, surface condition and weather. Where a slope cannot be walked, it is photographed from the eaves, a ladder or the ground, and the report states which method was used for each slope and why.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.