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
Liability Investigation for Carriers and Self-Insureds
Delator Claims Division investigates the facts behind liability claims for insurance carriers, self-insured entities, third-party administrators and the attorneys who represent them. This investigative service is not offered to policyholders or claimants, who can instead request neutral documentation of a scene or property.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A liability claim asks the carrier to pay for harm its insured is said to have caused. Before the adjuster can evaluate that, the file needs facts the claimant's demand letter will not supply: what the insured knew, what the insured did, what the claimant was doing at the time, and who else had a hand in the conditions that led to the loss.
Delator collects those facts in the field. The work combines scene inspection with interviews of the insured's employees, review of the insured's own records, and identification of other parties whose conduct may matter. Tennessee uses modified comparative fault, so how fault is allocated among everyone involved affects the outcome. Delator supplies the facts for that analysis; the carrier and its counsel decide what the facts mean.
Files that need facts from the field
- A customer alleges a fall at an insured business, and the adjuster needs to know when the area was last inspected and by whom.
- An insured driver and a claimant give opposing accounts of a collision, and the carrier must decide whether to accept, deny or share fault.
- A demand names the insured property owner, but a tenant, contractor or maintenance vendor may have controlled the area where the loss occurred.
- A claim arrives months after the incident, and the insured has no incident report and only a general memory of the day.
- An insured contractor is blamed for damage at a job site where several other trades were working during the same period.
What the investigation covers
- Insured and employee interviews
- Detailed accounts from the insured and staff about the incident, their usual practices, and what they observed before and after, taken while memories are still usable.
- Notice and prior complaints
- Whether the insured had been told of the condition before the loss, through complaints, work orders, earlier incidents or inspection findings.
- Inspection and maintenance records
- Collection of sweep logs, maintenance tickets, driver logs, training records and similar documents the insured keeps, with a note of any gaps.
- Control of the premises or task
- Leases, service contracts and on-site facts showing who was responsible for the area, equipment or activity involved in the loss.
- Claimant's actions at the time
- Facts about footwear, route, lighting, distraction, speed or warnings passed, drawn from witnesses, video and the physical layout.
- Other potentially responsible parties
- Identification of vendors, contractors, drivers or owners whose involvement the carrier may need to evaluate or place on notice.
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.
The insured's side of the file is often the thinnest
Claimants and their attorneys begin assembling evidence early. The insured often does not, because a small business owner or driver may not expect a claim until a letter arrives. By then the employee who cleaned the spill has left, the camera system has recorded over the day, and the delivery schedule has been discarded. A prompt investigation captures what the insured still has and records clearly what is already gone.
Interviews with the insured's people are conducted with the carrier's instructions in mind and, where defense counsel is involved, under counsel's direction. Delator asks what the person saw and did, and does not coach or suggest answers. Unfavorable facts are reported along with favorable ones. An adjuster who learns early that the sweep log was blank for the afternoon in question is better placed than one who learns it later.
Facts that bear on how fault is shared
Because fault can be divided among several people, the investigation looks beyond the insured. At a premises loss, that includes what a person walking the claimant's route would have been able to see, whether a warning cone or sign was in place, and whether the hazard came from a third party such as a vendor restocking a shelf. In a vehicle loss, it includes each driver's position, view and options in the seconds before contact.
Delator reports these facts without assigning percentages or stating who was at fault. The report identifies each person or business with a possible role, describes what they did according to the evidence found, and attaches the photographs, records and statements that support the description. Defense counsel or the carrier's liability analyst can then apply the governing standard to a record that is organized and sourced.
This service is available to insurance carriers, self-insured entities, third-party administrators and the attorneys who represent them. Delator reports facts and observed indicators; decisions on coverage, liability, settlement and any fraud referral remain with the client.
It is not offered to policyholders or claimants, and Delator does not act as a public adjuster. Policyholders and claimants can request neutral scene documentation instead.
Common questions about this service
Does Delator decide who was at fault?
No. Delator gathers and reports the facts that bear on fault, including the conduct of the insured, the claimant and any third parties. Evaluating those facts and allocating fault is done by the carrier, its counsel and, if the claim is litigated, the court.
Can you interview the claimant?
If the claimant is unrepresented and agrees to speak, a voluntary interview or recorded statement can be taken at the carrier's request. If the claimant has an attorney, contact goes through that attorney, and Delator does not approach the claimant directly.
How is this different from liability claim documentation?
Liability claim documentation is a neutral record of physical conditions, available to any party. A liability investigation is carrier-side work that also includes interviewing the insured's personnel, collecting the insured's internal records and identifying other responsible parties, and it is offered only to carriers, self-insureds, administrators and their counsel.
What if the incident happened months ago?
The investigation still proceeds. Records, former employees and repair histories can often be located, and the present condition of the location is documented with a note of what has changed. The report distinguishes between facts confirmed from the time of the loss and conditions observed only later.
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.