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
Surveillance Video Canvass for Missing Accident Evidence
Delator Claims Division canvasses businesses and residences near a loss for camera footage before it is overwritten. Licensed private investigators identify each camera, ask its owner for the recording, and document what was provided, declined or already gone.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
Many claims have no dashcam, no independent witness, and a police report that does not mention video. Footage may still exist. A gas station canopy camera, a doorbell across the street or a loading dock camera at a warehouse may have recorded the approach, the impact or the minutes afterward. Nobody involved in the claim knows it is there, and the system holding it is recording over itself.
A canvass is a door-to-door search for those cameras. Field personnel walk the area, note every camera with a possible view, and ask the owner or manager whether footage from the date and time still exists. Footage is requested, never taken. An owner may share it, decline, or ask for a formal request, and each response is recorded for the requesting party.
When a camera canvass is worth ordering
- A collision happened in front of a strip of storefronts, and nobody has asked the tenants whether their cameras face the road.
- A vehicle left the area after a collision, and cameras along its likely route may show a plate or distinguishing damage.
- A parking lot incident occurred on private property where no officer responded and no report was written.
- A fall or injury happened near a building entrance, and the requester wants to know which cameras cover that doorway.
- A loss was reported days ago, and the requester needs to learn quickly whether any recording has survived.
What the canvass records
- Camera inventory
- Every visible camera with a possible view is listed by address, mounting position and direction faced, including cameras whose owners could not be reached.
- Field-of-view photographs
- A photograph taken from beneath or beside each camera shows roughly what it can see, with the loss location identified in the frame.
- Owner and custodian contacts
- The name, role and contact details of the person who controls each system, and whether footage is held on site, by a corporate office or by a vendor.
- Retention information
- What each owner reports about how long their system keeps recordings, noted as stated by the owner and not independently tested.
- Footage obtained
- Files the owner chooses to provide are received in the format offered, logged with who supplied them and when, and passed on unedited.
- System clock offset
- Where an owner permits, the time shown on the recorder is compared with actual time and the difference is noted, so events can be placed correctly.
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.
Why footage disappears and how fast
Most camera systems record in a loop. When storage fills, the oldest video is replaced by the newest, with no notice to anyone. How long that takes depends on the system: the number of cameras, the storage size, the recording quality, and whether it records continuously or only on motion. Some small systems cycle within days. Owners frequently do not know their own retention period until someone asks them to look.
Cloud-connected doorbell and home cameras add another variable, since clips may be kept only under a paid plan or for a limited period. Businesses change equipment, close, or pass management to a new tenant. For these reasons a canvass ordered in the first days after a loss finds more than one ordered in the second month. Even a late canvass has value, because it establishes which cameras existed and who controlled them.
Asking for footage the right way
Field personnel identify themselves, explain the date, time and location of interest, and ask whether the owner is willing to check. They do not access a recorder without permission, enter areas closed to the public, or misrepresent why they are asking. If a manager needs approval from a corporate office or wants a written request, the report gives the requester the contact and the stated procedure. Delator does not issue legal demands.
When an owner agrees, the preferred result is an export made by the owner from the system itself. If the owner can only play the video on a monitor, field personnel may record the screen with permission and label it as a secondary copy. The report distinguishes between the two. Delator does not enhance, clip or interpret footage, and it does not state what the video proves about fault.
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
Can you make a business hand over its footage?
No. A canvass depends on voluntary cooperation. If an owner declines, field personnel record the refusal, the custodian's name and any procedure the owner describes. Whether to pursue the footage through a preservation letter, subpoena or other legal step is a decision for the requesting party and its attorney.
How far from the scene do you canvass?
The default is every property with a possible line of sight to the loss location. For a vehicle that left the scene, the canvass can be extended along the likely approach and departure routes. The requester sets the scope at intake, and the report maps the area that was covered.
What if the footage has already been overwritten?
The report says so, along with the retention period the owner described and the date of the visit. That record shows the search was made and when. The camera inventory may still be useful, since owners and staff at those addresses may have seen or heard the event themselves.
Do you canvass residential doorbell cameras?
Yes. Field personnel knock, explain what they are looking for, and ask whether the resident is willing to check their camera history. Residents are approached only at the front door and at reasonable hours. Many prefer to send a clip by phone, and the method of transfer is noted.
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.