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
Commercial Property Claim Documentation Across Tennessee
Delator Claims Division documents the physical condition of damaged commercial buildings, tenant spaces, and contents for owners, property managers, tenants, and carriers. The record shows what is there. It does not value the loss or decide coverage.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A loss at a commercial building rarely involves one party. The owner insures the structure, each tenant insures its build-out and stock, a property manager controls access, and a mitigation crew may already be cutting out wet drywall. Every one of them changes the scene a little. Delator records the building and its contents in the condition found, with each photograph tied to a location in the building, before cleanup and temporary repairs alter what can be seen.
The investigator works floor by floor and suite by suite, from the roof down. Photographs, video and measurements are delivered to the requesting party, typically the same day. For owners, tenants and their attorneys the assignment is neutral documentation only. Delator does not adjust, estimate or negotiate for a policyholder. Carriers and self-insured entities can separately retain Delator for field adjusting on their own claims.
When a commercial loss needs a field record
- A multi-tenant building takes roof or water damage and the owner and tenants need a shared record of which suites were affected.
- A mitigation contractor is scheduled to begin demolition and the owner wants conditions recorded before materials are removed and discarded.
- A carrier's adjuster cannot reach a commercial loss for several days and asks for an initial photographic record of the premises.
- A tenant is vacating after a loss and both landlord and tenant want the space documented before fixtures are pulled out.
- An owner of several locations is hit by the same storm and needs each building documented in a consistent format.
From the roof down: what is documented
- Roof and rooftop equipment
- Membrane, seams, flashing, parapets, drains, scuppers and HVAC units as visible from safe access, including ponding and displaced ballast or debris.
- Building envelope
- Storefront glazing, curtain wall, overhead doors, canopies, signage, masonry and metal panels, photographed on each elevation with damaged areas shown in close detail.
- Interior by suite
- Ceilings, walls and floors in each tenant space and common area, labeled by suite number so that photographs can be matched to a floor plan.
- Stock and contents
- Inventory, racking, furniture and fixtures in place, with wide views of quantity and position and closer views of visible damage, without counting or pricing.
- Building systems as seen
- Electrical panels, sprinkler risers, water heaters and mechanical rooms, limited to what is visible without opening or operating equipment.
- Mitigation in progress
- Drying equipment, tarps, board-up, removed materials and debris piles, recorded with the date so later reviewers can tell what was done and when.
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.
Commercial losses change fast once work begins
A business that is closed is losing money, so cleanup at a commercial loss starts quickly. Wet ceiling tile goes into a dumpster, damaged stock is hauled away, and a roofer patches the membrane before the next rain. Each of those steps is reasonable and each removes something an adjuster, appraiser or consultant would have wanted to see. A photographic record made before or during that work, with debris and removed materials included, keeps the original condition available to them.
Delator's investigators are not engineers, roofers or building consultants, and the report does not state what caused the damage or how old it is. It shows the condition in enough detail for qualified people to form their own views. Where access allows, the investigator photographs interior damage and then the roof or wall area directly above or beside it, so the reader can see the two in relation to each other.
Owners, tenants and carriers working from one record
Leases divide responsibility for the structure, improvements and contents in ways that differ from building to building, and Delator does not interpret them. What the report can do is separate the physical record along the same lines that people tend to ask about: base building, tenant improvements, trade fixtures, stock. Photographs are labeled by suite and by area, so an owner's carrier and a tenant's carrier can each pull the portion that concerns them.
Access is arranged through whoever controls the space. The property manager typically opens the roof hatch and common areas, and each tenant admits the investigator to its own suite. If a tenant cannot be reached, that suite is noted as not entered. The investigator does not move stock, open sealed cartons, or operate equipment, and areas that appear unsafe to enter are photographed from the doorway and described as such.
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 estimate repair costs or the value of damaged stock?
No. Delator documents condition. It does not write estimates, price inventory, or give an opinion on the amount of a loss for a policyholder. Carriers and self-insured entities can retain Delator separately for field adjusting on their own claims, which is a different assignment.
Can you get on the roof?
Where there is a fixed ladder, roof hatch or stair and the surface appears safe to walk, yes. Steep, damaged or wet roofs are documented from the ground, from adjacent vantage points, or from the roof edge. The report states which method was used for each area.
The tenant and landlord disagree about who is responsible. Can you help with that?
Delator can give both the same factual record of the space. It cannot say who is responsible, because that depends on the lease and the policies involved. Either party may request documentation, and the requesting party decides who receives the report.
How soon after a loss can someone be on site?
Emergency assignments place an investigator on site in 30 minutes to 4 hours, Rush in 12 to 20 hours, and Routine in one to two days. Dispatch operates around the clock in all 95 counties, so a request made overnight or on a weekend is handled when it comes in.
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.