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
Scene and Neighborhood Canvass Investigation
Delator Claims Division canvasses the area around a loss location to find witnesses, cameras and local knowledge for insurance carriers, self-insured entities, third-party administrators and their counsel. This investigative canvass is not offered to policyholders or claimants, who can instead request neutral documentation.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
The people named in a claim file are rarely the only ones who know something about the loss. The resident across the street heard the impact. The clerk at the corner store saw who got out of which car. The neighbor two doors down knows the vacant house had been empty for months before the fire. None of them called anyone, and none will be found without knocking on doors.
A canvass is methodical. Delator's investigators work outward from the loss location, contact each home and business with a view of the scene or the approach to it, and log every address whether or not anyone answers. Conversations are voluntary, and the investigator says who they are and why they are asking. The result is a list of who was reached, what each person said, and which cameras exist.
Claims where knocking on doors pays off
- A crash report lists no independent witnesses, though the collision happened on a residential street lined with occupied homes.
- A carrier needs to know whether a dwelling was occupied, vacant or under renovation in the weeks before a reported fire or water loss.
- A vehicle theft is reported from a driveway, and neighbors may know when the vehicle was last seen parked there.
- The time of a loss is disputed, and nearby businesses may be able to say when they first noticed emergency vehicles or damage.
- An insured reports vandalism or a break-in, and the carrier wants to learn whether neighbors experienced or noticed anything similar that night.
What a canvass assignment covers
- Address-by-address contact log
- Every home and business approached, with the date and time of each attempt and whether there was contact, no answer or a refusal.
- Witness accounts
- What each person reports having seen or heard, in their own words, with contact details for anyone willing to give a fuller statement later.
- Camera inventory
- Location, direction and owner of doorbell, residential and business cameras that may have captured the scene, with the retention period where the owner knows it.
- Video preservation requests
- A request to each camera owner to save the relevant period, and collection of a copy where the owner agrees to provide one.
- Local background
- Neighbors' knowledge of occupancy, routine activity, vehicles normally present and earlier incidents at the location, reported as their statements and not as verified fact.
- Canvass map
- A marked overhead image showing the loss location, each address contacted, each camera found and the line of sight from each witness position.
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.
A canvass has a short useful life
Camera footage is the most time-sensitive result. Many doorbell and small-business systems keep recordings for only a matter of days or weeks before overwriting them, and the owner often does not know the exact period until asked. A canvass that begins a month after the loss may find the cameras and nothing on them. Where video might exist, a Rush or Emergency deployment improves the chance of reaching the owner while the recording is still stored.
Human memory follows a similar course. A neighbor asked the next day can usually say what they heard and roughly when. Asked two months later, the same person may recall only that something happened. Residents also move, shift workers change schedules, and short-term rentals turn over. The contact log records who lived or worked at each address at the time of the canvass so later follow-up starts from a known point.
Working the canvass at the right hours and reporting it honestly
People who were home at the time of a loss tend to be home at that same hour on other days. Delator schedules the first pass to match the day of the week and time of the incident where possible, then returns at a different hour to reach addresses that did not answer. Businesses are visited when the same shift is working. Each return visit is logged, so the carrier can see how many attempts each address received.
The report does not smooth over thin results. If twelve addresses were approached and nine did not answer after two attempts, the report says that. If a witness's account contradicts the insured, it is reported in the same detail as one that supports the insured. Hearsay is labeled as hearsay. Delator draws no conclusion about any person's honesty; it supplies the carrier with names, accounts and footage to evaluate.
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
How far from the scene does a canvass extend?
It depends on the setting. On a residential street it normally covers every address with a view of the location and the approaches to it. On a commercial corridor it follows the route the vehicles or people took. The carrier can define the area, or Delator can propose one after viewing the scene.
Can you make a camera owner hand over footage?
No. Delator asks, explains why the footage matters, and requests that it be saved. Many owners agree to share a copy. When an owner declines, the report identifies the camera and the owner so the carrier or its counsel can decide whether to pursue the recording through formal means.
How is this different from the surveillance video canvass service?
The surveillance video canvass is neutral documentation available to any party and is limited to locating cameras and footage. This investigative canvass is carrier-side work that also seeks witness accounts and background about the people and property involved, and is offered only to carriers, self-insureds, administrators and their counsel.
Do residents have to speak with your investigator?
No. Every conversation is voluntary. The investigator identifies themselves and the purpose of the visit, and anyone may decline. A refusal is logged without comment. Investigators do not enter fenced or posted property and leave when asked.
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.