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
Suspected Staged Accident Investigation
When a reported collision raises questions about whether it happened as described, Delator Claims Division examines the scene, the vehicles and the people involved for insurance carriers, self-insured entities, third-party administrators and their counsel. It is not offered to policyholders or claimants, who can 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
A collision leaves a physical record. Vehicles that struck each other show contact at matching heights, with paint and material exchanged in both directions. The roadway usually holds debris, fluid or tire marks near the point of contact. When a claim describes a collision and that record is missing, incomplete or shaped differently than the account would produce, the carrier has a reason to look more closely.
Delator inspects both vehicles where they can be reached, visits the reported location, canvasses nearby homes and businesses, and researches whether the occupants knew each other before the loss. The findings are reported as facts and indicators. Delator does not conclude that a collision was staged or that any person committed fraud; that determination is left to the carrier, its special investigations unit, or the authorities.
Loss reports that warrant a closer look
- A low-speed collision with minor vehicle damage produces injury claims from several passengers in the claimant vehicle.
- The collision is reported on a quiet side street or empty lot late at night, with no police response and no independent witnesses.
- Both drivers give nearly identical accounts using the same phrases, or neither can describe the moments before impact.
- The claimant vehicle is an older, high-mileage car that was insured or retitled shortly before the reported collision.
- A sudden stop in flowing traffic is reported with no hazard ahead, and a third vehicle said to have caused it cannot be identified.
What the investigation covers
- Contact height and profile match
- Measured heights and shapes of damage on each vehicle, compared to determine whether the two damage areas physically correspond to one another.
- Paint and material transfer
- Close photography of transfer on both vehicles, recording color, direction and location, and whether transfer expected from the described contact is present.
- Reported point of impact
- Inspection of the roadway at the stated location for debris, fluid staining, gouges or tire marks, and a record of their absence where none are found.
- Occupant and seating accounts
- Voluntary interviews recording who each person says was in which seat, where they were coming from, and where they were going.
- Prior connections
- Public-records and open-source research into shared addresses, employers, phone listings or online associations among drivers, passengers and listed witnesses.
- Post-loss handling
- Who towed each vehicle, where it went, which shop or clinic the occupants were directed to, and who made those arrangements.
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.
What the vehicles and the roadway can and cannot show
Damage inconsistency is the most common indicator and the easiest to misread. A bumper struck at an angle can show damage that looks wrong for a straight rear-end contact and still be from that contact. Delator records the measurements and photographs that allow a carrier or its retained specialist to evaluate the match. Delator's personnel have accident reconstruction experience, and that experience informs what is measured, but the field report presents findings and does not assign fault.
The scene is examined with the same caution. Debris on a busy street is swept or scattered within hours, so its absence a week later means little. Its absence the morning after a reported late-night collision on a dead-end street means more. The report states when the scene was visited relative to the loss date, what the traffic and weather conditions had been in the interval if known, and what was and was not found.
People, relationships and the canvass around the location
Collisions between strangers involve people with no reason to know each other. When public records show that the at-fault driver and a claimant passenger once shared an address, or that two unrelated claims list the same witness, that is an indicator worth reporting. It is also sometimes a coincidence in a small community. Delator reports the connection, the source that shows it, and the dates involved, and leaves the weight of it to the carrier.
A canvass of the reported location tests the account against people who had no stake in it. Residents and employees nearby are asked whether they heard or saw a collision, whether vehicles were present before the reported time, and whether cameras cover the street. Statements are voluntary. A canvass that finds nobody who noticed anything is reported as exactly that, with the addresses contacted and the times of the attempts.
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
Do you determine whether the accident was staged?
No. Delator reports what the vehicles, the scene, the canvass and the records show, and identifies indicators such as damage that does not correspond or prior relationships between parties. The carrier, its special investigations unit, or the authorities decide what those findings mean.
What if one of the vehicles has already been repaired or sold?
The remaining vehicle is still inspected, and the repair shop or buyer is contacted for photographs, estimates and parts records where they will provide them. The report notes what could not be examined and when the vehicle left the claimant's control, so the gap in the record is itself documented.
How soon after the reported loss should the scene be visited?
As soon as the concern is identified. Roadway debris, fluid stains and camera recordings are short-lived. Emergency deployment places an investigator on site within 30 minutes to four hours, and Rush deployment within 12 to 20 hours, anywhere in Tennessee.
Is this service available to a driver who believes the other party caused a collision on purpose?
The investigation is offered to carriers, self-insured entities, third-party administrators and their counsel. A driver can request neutral documentation of the scene and their own vehicle, and can report their concern to their insurer, which decides whether to open an investigation.
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.