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
Catastrophic Loss and Disaster Claim Documentation
High-volume field documentation after tornadoes, floods, ice storms and other widespread events in Tennessee. Delator Claims Division records large numbers of loss sites for carriers, TPAs, property owners and counsel, with realistic scheduling when affected areas are hard to reach.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A catastrophe produces hundreds of loss sites at the same moment, and every one of them starts changing right away. Debris is pushed to the curb, tarps go on, water recedes, and volunteers begin clearing lots. Carriers and property owners need a consistent record of each site while it still shows the event. That calls for many trained people working to one standard, with assignments organized by area. A single photographer making individual trips does not meet that need.
Delator Claims Division runs on the statewide dispatch network of Delator Field Services and uses licensed Tennessee private investigators, with no subcontracting to unaffiliated third parties. After a widespread event, assignments are grouped by neighborhood or route and documented to a common shot list. The work for property owners is neutral documentation. Carriers, self-insured entities and TPAs may separately retain Delator for field adjusting, which is described on its own page.
Events and requests this service is built for
- A carrier has a large batch of claims in one county after a tornado and needs each address photographed to the same checklist.
- An owner of multiple rental or commercial properties needs every affected location documented before cleanup contractors arrive.
- Floodwater has receded from a neighborhood and high-water marks on walls and contents will be lost once drying and tear-out begin.
- An ice storm has brought down limbs and power lines across several counties and losses are scattered over rural roads.
- A TPA or self-insured entity needs a first-look record of its facilities before sending adjusters or engineers to selected sites.
The record made at every address
- Standardized exterior set
- Address identifier, all four elevations, roof slopes visible from the ground and each outbuilding, taken in the same order at every site so files can be compared.
- Neighborhood and street context
- Views up and down the street showing the condition of adjacent properties, debris lines and the general extent of damage around the insured location.
- High-water and debris marks
- Water lines on siding, doors, interior walls and appliances measured from the floor or grade, plus silt and debris lines on fences and vegetation.
- Site status on arrival
- Whether the structure is standing, tarped, boarded, posted by authorities, occupied or vacant, and whether cleanup or demolition had begun before the visit.
- Displaced contents and curbside piles
- Contents moved outside, items stacked at the curb for pickup and materials already removed, photographed before collection so they remain part of the record.
- Access notes for each address
- Road closures, checkpoints, downed lines and other conditions that delayed or limited the visit, with the date and time the site was first reached.
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.
Access, timing and honest scheduling after a disaster
Normal deployment tiers assume that roads are open. After a tornado, flood or ice storm they may not be. Emergency management may restrict entry to a damaged area, bridges and low crossings may be under water, and rural roads may be blocked by trees and lines for days. When an area is inaccessible, on-site timing can be delayed, and Delator says so at dispatch. Requesters are told which sites can be reached now and which are waiting on access.
Field personnel do not cross closures, enter areas restricted by authorities or work around energized lines. Assignments are sequenced so that reachable sites are documented first and the rest are picked up as roads reopen. Each file records when the site was first reached and what had changed by then, such as tarping or debris removal. Where credentials or a letter of assignment are needed to enter a controlled area, the requesting party is asked to provide them.
Consistency across many sites
In a large event the value of documentation comes from uniformity. If every address is photographed in the same order, with the same identifiers and the same naming convention, a desk adjuster or claims manager can review many files quickly and decide which need an on-site adjuster, an engineer or a contractor. Requesters can supply their own shot list or use Delator's. Files are delivered securely in batches as sites are completed. Delivery does not wait for the whole assignment to finish.
The documentation does not sort damage into covered and uncovered causes. In tornado and flood losses, the distinction between wind and water or between flood and other water damage is often contested, and that analysis belongs to adjusters, engineers and the courts. Delator records what is physically present at each site. For policyholders and their counsel that is the full extent of the service. No adjusting, valuation or negotiation is performed on their behalf.
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
How fast can you reach sites after a tornado or flood?
Dispatch remains available around the clock, and field personnel deploy on the normal tiers wherever roads are open. When an area is closed by authorities, flooded or otherwise unreachable, arrival at those sites may be delayed until access is restored. Dispatch tells the requester which locations are affected when the assignment is placed.
How are large batches of addresses handled?
The requester sends a list of addresses with any claim numbers and a shot list. Dispatch groups the sites by area, assigns them to field personnel and reports progress as files are completed. Capacity and scheduling for a specific event are confirmed when the list is received.
Do you adjust catastrophe claims for policyholders?
No. Delator Claims Division does not act as a public adjuster and does not value, negotiate or interpret coverage for policyholders. Property owners receive neutral documentation only. Field adjusting is available separately to insurance carriers, self-insured entities, TPAs and their counsel.
What if the property has already been tarped or cleaned up?
The site is documented as found, and the file states what mitigation or cleanup had taken place before arrival. Tarps, board-up, debris piles and removed materials are photographed. If the owner or a contractor has earlier photographs, the requester can keep them alongside ours.
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.