Insurance Claim Surveillance in Colorado

01Colorado law

Colorado's Fraudulent Insurance Act Rules and Why Surveillance Fits Them

Colorado writes fraud investigation into its insurance code. C.R.S. § 10-1-128 defines a fraudulent insurance act as knowingly presenting false material information to an insurer with intent to defraud, including medical records and bills. It requires insurers to maintain an anti-fraud plan that includes hiring or contracting for fraud investigators, and to report suspected fraud to law enforcement and regulators, with immunity for good-faith reporting. Surveillance by an outside firm is one ordinary way carriers meet that expectation. Our Colorado fraud risk audits can review how a plan works in practice.

The criminal side appears in C.R.S. § 18-5-211. Supplying false or withheld material information in an insurance application is a class 2 misdemeanor, and the statute separately addresses false claims, false supporting materials, false certificates of insurance and staged or fake vehicle accidents, several of which are felonies. Whether a claimant's conduct meets any of those definitions is a question for counsel and prosecutors. Our job is to document observed facts accurately, as our Colorado investigative consulting team explains to new SIU clients, and our Colorado scam investigations team handles organized schemes.

02Claim types

Injury, Disability, Liability and Property Claims We Cover

Bodily injury claims from auto accidents are the most common referrals. A claimant who reports neck and back injuries after a collision may still coach a team, move furniture or work a physical job, and footage of that activity can bear directly on the value of the claim. Long-term disability files raise similar questions over longer periods, and premises liability claims after a fall often turn on whether the claimant's daily routine matches the injury described. Our Colorado surveillance investigations team plans each type differently.

Property and commercial claims need a different approach. When a business reports stolen equipment or a homeowner claims a total loss, the useful work may be records, interviews and site observation rather than following a person. Colorado's Open Records Act lets any person inspect public records, and custodians generally respond within three working days, so permits, police reports and property records can be gathered quickly. Our Colorado stolen equipment investigations and asset investigations teams handle those files.

• Auto bodily injury and uninsured motorist claims
• Long-term and short-term disability claims
• Premises liability and slip-and-fall claims
• Commercial equipment and theft losses
• Suspected staged or organized accident rings

03The work

What Insurance Claim Surveillance Documents, and How

Each activity check is tied to the restrictions or symptoms the claimant reports. Investigators document walking, lifting, bending, driving, carrying children or groceries, exercising and working, and they record duration, apparent ease and any visible use of a brace or cane. Every clip carries a date and time, and the report notes location, distance, lighting and weather. Footage is shot from public roads, sidewalks and places open to the public, and audio is never recorded. Our explanation of Colorado recording law covers why sound stays off.

Neutral reporting protects the carrier. We describe what the claimant did and for how long, and we leave medical judgments to physicians and coverage decisions to the adjuster. A thirty-second clip of a claimant lifting a bag may mean little, while an afternoon of yard work may mean a great deal, and the report makes that context clear. When the claimant's address or identity is uncertain, our Colorado skip tracing service confirms it before any field days are spent.

04Legal limits

Trespass, Privacy and Pretext Limits That Keep Footage Usable

Evidence gathered unlawfully can hurt a claim more than it helps. Our investigators do not enter yards, driveways, gyms, private businesses or posted land, because third-degree criminal trespass under C.R.S. § 18-4-504 covers unlawfully entering or remaining on another's premises. They never photograph into a home, and Colorado's criminal invasion of privacy statute, § 18-7-801, makes it a class 2 misdemeanor to observe or photograph a person's intimate parts without consent where privacy is reasonably expected. Our Colorado investigator legal limits page summarizes these rules.

Pretext and inducement are excluded too. We do not pose as neighbors, delivery drivers or survey takers, and we do not create situations designed to make a claimant lift or run. Repeated, intrusive surveillance can raise stalking concerns under § 18-3-602, so we use limited shifts tied to a written plan. Online, we review only what a claimant has made public and never send friend requests or messages. Those rules keep our footage credible when opposing counsel challenges it, as our support for Colorado defense attorneys explains.

05Colorado realities

Winter Roads, Mountain Recreation and the Timing of Activity Checks

Colorado's roads generate a steady stream of injury claims. I-25 carries most Front Range traffic between Fort Collins, Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, and the I-70 mountain corridor runs under chain and traction rules from September through May, with closures near the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel. Winter crash claims often involve claimants who live in mountain counties or along the Front Range foothills, and reaching them takes planning. Our Lakewood claim investigators cover the west-metro gateway to I-70.

Recreation is the other Colorado constant. Claimants who report serious limitations may still ski, hike, fish, hunt or camp, and those activities tend to happen on weekends and in predictable seasons. We review the claim file and public social media to pick productive dates, then document activity from trailheads, parking areas and resort plazas open to the public. Trips outside the state are coordinated through our multi-state surveillance coordinators, and resort lodging through hotel surveillance in Colorado.

06Litigation

Reports and Testimony for Colorado Claim Litigation

Many disputed claims end up in court. Colorado county courts handle civil cases up to $25,000, small claims divisions handle disputes up to $7,500, and larger injury cases go to district court in one of the state's 23 judicial districts. Federal cases are heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, which sits in Denver and has court locations in Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Durango. Our reports are prepared with those settings in mind. Our Colorado litigation support for attorneys explains how we coordinate with defense firms.

Every report includes a chronological log, still images, preserved original video and notes on any period the claimant was out of view. The investigator can testify about how footage was obtained and what it shows, and contemporaneous notes support that testimony. If the footage is consistent with the claimant's reported limits, we say so, because an honest result helps carriers resolve claims fairly. When the claim involves an injured employee, our Colorado workers' comp surveillance team handles the employment side.

07Vetting and price

Selecting a Claim Surveillance Vendor in Colorado and What It Costs

Colorado ended its mandatory private investigator license after the 2020 veto, and the regulator's rules were repealed in 2022, so carriers must vet surveillance vendors themselves. Useful questions include how the firm avoids trespass and pretext, whether it records audio, how it preserves original footage and how often its investigators testify. Delator Group is a licensed Tennessee private investigation firm, insured, and it applies Tennessee's standard to Colorado claims. Our checklist for vetting Colorado investigators covers the rest.

Activity checks are billed at $100 per hour, the same rate we charge in Tennessee, with mileage and travel to mountain, plains or Western Slope claimants disclosed before work begins. A typical first assignment covers two or three targeted days, and we report after each so the adjuster can adjust. Locates start at $102 and background research at $102 or $300. Our Colorado pricing schedule lists every standard rate, or you can request a written quote for a specific file.

Services

Insurance Claim Surveillance Services in Colorado

• Bodily injury activity checksTargeted surveillance of auto and liability claimants, documenting physical activity that relates to the reported injuries with dated footage and neutral narrative reports.Learn more
• Disability claim observationPeriodic activity checks for long-term and short-term disability files, showing daily routines against the functional limits the claimant has reported over time.Learn more
• Staged accident investigationsInvestigation of relationships, repeat participants, vehicles and patterns behind suspicious collisions, coordinated with SIU staff and prepared for referral where appropriate.Learn more
• Claimant locatesAddress and identity confirmation for claimants who moved or cannot be found, starting at $102 for a basic database and records skip trace.Learn more
• Public social media reviewPreservation of information a claimant has posted publicly, dated and organized, without friend requests, messages, fake profiles or access to private accounts.Learn more
• Recreation and travel coverageObservation at trailheads, ski resorts and campgrounds, including trips outside Colorado, with travel costs estimated and approved in writing before anything is booked.Learn more
• Commercial loss investigationsRecords, interviews and site observation for equipment theft and commercial property losses, using Colorado public records where they help confirm the facts.Learn more
• Workers' comp coordinationCoordination with employment injury files when a claimant has both a liability claim and a workers' compensation claim open at the same time.Learn more
• Defense counsel supportSurveillance, preserved original footage, written reports and investigator testimony prepared with defense counsel for depositions, mediation and trial in Colorado state and federal courts.Learn more

How it works

How a Colorado Claim Surveillance Assignment Works

1. 01

   Claim referral

   The adjuster, SIU or counsel shares the claim, reported limits, address, vehicles and the reason for concern. We review public information and advise whether surveillance is likely to help.

2. 02

   Written plan and dates

   We recommend specific days tied to the claimant's likely activity and confirm investigative hours, travel and the total price in writing before an investigator is assigned.

3. 03

   Lawful field documentation

   Investigators film visible activity from public places without audio or pretext, note conditions and distance throughout, and send a brief update to the client after each day.

4. 04

   Report, footage and testimony

   The client receives a dated log, still images and preserved original video, and the investigator remains available to testify at deposition, arbitration or trial if needed.

Compare

Typical Claimant Activity Checks in Colorado

Statewide coverage

Claimant Surveillance for Carriers Across Colorado

We cover claimants statewide. Metro Denver files are handled by our Denver insurance investigators and the Arvada claim surveillance team, while south-metro claimants are covered from Centennial. El Paso County files go to our Colorado Springs investigators, northern Colorado to Fort Collins, and Western Slope claims to Grand Junction. Mountain and Eastern Plains claimants are scheduled as planned field trips with travel and weather margins quoted in writing, and every carrier receives the same reporting format and footage standard regardless of where the claimant lives.

• Denver
• Arvada
• Centennial
• Colorado Springs
• Fort Collins
• Grand Junction
• All of Colorado

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Every service

Investigations available in Colorado

Every service below is available in Colorado and across Colorado, run by the same Delator Group leadership that manages our Tennessee casework. Choose a service to read how it works in Colorado.

Service areas

Private investigators across Colorado