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
Total-Loss Vehicle Documentation Before Salvage
When a vehicle is declared a total loss, it usually moves to salvage quickly. Delator Claims Division records its condition, equipment, and identifying details beforehand for the appraiser or adjuster the client chooses. We do not value the vehicle.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
An insurer generally treats a vehicle as a total loss when repairing it is not economical compared with its value before the loss. The settlement then rests on what the vehicle was: its trim level, options, mileage, and condition. After the vehicle is released to a salvage facility and sold, those facts can only be shown through records made while it was still available.
Delator sends a licensed Tennessee private investigator to the tow yard, storage lot, or residence to document the vehicle as it sits. The record covers both the damage and the features that describe the vehicle apart from the damage. It goes to the owner, the owner's attorney, the adjuster, or an appraiser the client has selected. Delator does not determine actual cash value, assess a settlement offer, or decide whether a vehicle is a total loss.
Before the vehicle is released to salvage
- The insurer has declared a total loss and the vehicle will be picked up by a salvage company within days.
- The owner believes the vehicle's options, upgrades, or condition are not reflected accurately and wants them recorded for an appraiser.
- An attorney wants the wreck preserved in photographs because it is also evidence in a related injury claim.
- A lender, lessor, or fleet owner needs the unit's final condition and installed equipment on record before title is transferred.
- A carrier needs a vehicle at a remote storage lot documented to confirm equipment and mileage before settlement.
Vehicle facts recorded before it is gone
- VIN plate and door-jamb labels
- The dash VIN, door-jamb label, and any option or build codes present, photographed legibly to confirm exactly which vehicle and configuration was documented.
- Odometer and instrument cluster
- The mileage reading when the display is visible without starting the vehicle, or a note that it could not be read and why.
- Trim, options, and packages
- Factory features such as seating material, sunroof, wheels, driver-assistance sensors, towing equipment, and infotainment, photographed individually so trim level can be verified.
- Aftermarket additions
- Lift kits, toolboxes, racks, audio equipment, bed liners, wraps, and similar installed items, recorded with visible brand or model markings.
- Upkeep shown in undamaged zones
- Paint, upholstery, carpet, and glass in the areas the loss did not reach, showing how the vehicle was kept before the event.
- Extent of the loss damage
- The collision, fire, flood, or other damage recorded overall and in detail, including water lines or burn patterns where they are present.
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 vehicle leaves and the questions stay
Total-loss handling is built for speed. Storage charges accumulate daily, so the vehicle is moved to a salvage pool and sold, sometimes before the owner and insurer have finished discussing the settlement. If a disagreement later arises about condition, options, or mileage, nobody can go back and look. Photographs taken by a tow operator or at salvage intake are made for inventory purposes and tend to be few.
A documentation visit before release closes that gap. The investigator works through the exterior, interior, engine bay where accessible, cargo area, and identifying labels in a set order. Personal property left inside is noted but not removed. If the vehicle has already been stripped of wheels, the battery, or other parts while in storage, the notes say so, with the date and location of the visit.
Supporting the people who set the value
Valuing a total loss is the work of the adjuster and, where one is engaged, an appraiser. They compare the vehicle with similar ones and adjust for condition, mileage, and equipment. Each of those adjustments depends on facts about the specific vehicle. Delator's file supplies those facts in visual form and leaves the comparison and the arithmetic to the people responsible for them.
For owners and their attorneys this is neutral documentation. Delator does not appraise the vehicle, comment on an offer, or negotiate with the insurer, and it is not a public adjuster. Some auto policies contain an appraisal provision for disagreements over the amount of loss; whether one applies is a question for the policy and an attorney. A separate page describes documentation support for that process.
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 Delator tell me whether the insurer's offer is fair?
No. Delator does not value vehicles or evaluate settlement offers. The documentation records what the vehicle is and what condition it was in when the investigator saw it. An appraiser you select, or your attorney, can use it in forming their own view of the offer.
The vehicle is already at a salvage yard. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. If the vehicle has not been sold or dismantled and the facility permits a visit, it can still be documented. Salvage facilities set their own access rules and may require authorization from the owner or the insurer, which the requesting party arranges. Rush and Emergency deployment tiers are available when time is short.
Do you decide whether my vehicle is a total loss?
No. That decision is made by the insurer. Delator does not estimate repair costs or compare them with value. The investigator documents the damage and the vehicle's features so that those who make the decision, or review it, can see the vehicle clearly.
What happens to items left in the vehicle?
Personal property visible in the vehicle is photographed and listed in the field notes as part of its condition. Delator's investigators do not remove, hold, or transport belongings. Retrieving them is arranged between the owner and the facility storing the vehicle.
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.