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
Business Interruption Documentation: Recording Premises Condition
Delator Claims Division records the physical condition of business premises after a loss, including which areas and equipment are unusable, for owners, risk managers, carriers, and counsel. Delator documents condition and dates. It does not calculate lost income.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A business interruption claim turns on two kinds of information. The financial side, meaning sales records, payroll and projections, belongs to the business and is analyzed by accountants and adjusters. The physical side is simpler to describe and harder to recover later: what the premises looked like on a given date, which parts could be used, and when that changed. Delator documents the physical side.
The investigator records the premises as found, area by area, with every photograph dated and timed. Where a closure lasts weeks or months, return visits at intervals build a dated sequence showing the state of repairs at each point. For business owners and their attorneys this is neutral documentation only. Delator does not measure income, estimate a period of restoration, or advise on what a policy covers.
When a dated record of the premises matters
- A restaurant, shop or clinic is closed after fire or water damage and the owner wants the unusable areas recorded by date.
- A manufacturer loses one production line while the remainder of the plant runs, and the affected area needs to be clearly delineated.
- Repairs are taking longer than expected and the business or its carrier wants periodic dated photographs of progress.
- A business reopens in part, using some rooms or reduced hours, and the extent of the usable space is in question.
- A carrier or forensic accountant needs an independent record of site conditions to read alongside the financial submission.
What each visit records
- Usable and unusable areas
- Each room or zone photographed and described as in use, partly in use or not in use at the time of the visit, keyed to a simple floor sketch.
- Customer-facing condition
- Entrances, signage, closure notices, parking access and storefront appearance as a customer would see them on the date of the visit.
- Key equipment status
- Production machines, kitchen lines, coolers, registers or servers observed running, idle, damaged or removed, as seen and as described by staff, without testing.
- Utilities as observed
- Whether lights, water, refrigeration and climate control appeared to be operating in each area, with temporary power or drying equipment noted.
- Repair progress
- Work completed, work under way, materials staged and trades present on the date of each visit, recorded from the same vantage points each time.
- Temporary arrangements
- Relocated operations, rented equipment, trailers, tents or partitioned sections the business is using to keep operating, photographed in use.
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.
Dates are the evidence
Months after a loss, people remember that the dining room was closed for a while and that the kitchen came back first. They rarely agree on the dates. Contractors' invoices show when work was billed, not when a space became usable. A dated photographic record resolves much of that. It shows that on a particular day the floor was still bare concrete, the walk-in cooler was not running, or half the sales floor was behind plastic sheeting.
For that reason the first visit is most useful soon after the loss, before cleanup, and later visits are scheduled around milestones the business identifies: demolition complete, utilities restored, partial reopening, full reopening. The investigator returns to the same positions each time so that the sequence can be read as a series. Each set is delivered to the requesting party after the visit, typically the same day, and the business keeps its own financial records throughout.
Where the documentation stops
Delator does not review financial statements, project sales, calculate lost income or extra expense, or give an opinion on how long repairs ought to have taken. Those tasks belong to accountants, adjusters and the parties. The report does not state whether a closure was necessary or whether the business could have operated from the space in a reduced way. It describes the space and leaves that assessment to the people qualified and authorized to make it.
Carriers and self-insured entities sometimes want more than a condition record, for example a check on whether a location was operating on dates when it was reported closed. That is investigative work, available to carriers, self-insured entities, third-party administrators and their counsel, and it relies on lawful methods such as observation from public places and open-source research. Business owners and their attorneys receive neutral documentation of their premises.
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
Do you calculate lost income?
No. Delator documents the physical condition of the premises and the dates on which that condition was observed. Income, expense and restoration period calculations are prepared by the business, its accountants, and the carrier's adjusters or forensic accountants, who can use the dated record as one input.
How often are return visits scheduled?
The requesting party decides. Some clients choose fixed intervals, such as every two weeks, and others tie visits to repair milestones. Each visit is a separate assignment under the published flat-rate tiers, and the investigator photographs from the same positions so that the sets can be compared.
Our landlord's repairs are what is keeping us closed. Can you document the landlord's areas?
Areas the business controls can be documented at its request. Common areas and building systems controlled by the landlord require the landlord's or property manager's permission to enter. Conditions visible from the tenant's space or from public areas can be recorded without it. Delator does not advise on lease rights.
Can the visit be done without disrupting a partial reopening?
Yes. Visits can be scheduled before opening, after closing or during quiet hours, since dispatch operates around the clock. The investigator does not photograph customers or staff as subjects and works around operations. If documenting activity levels during business hours is the point, the request can say so.
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.