Surveillance: How Data-Driven Planning Leads to Success

Traditionally, one of the most common questions in surveillance has been simple: How long should it last?

The standard answer was typically a minimum of four hours, extending to eight or more for stronger cases, and even multi-day deployments when the stakes were high. That guidance still holds some value, but today, time alone is no longer what drives results.

With fraud accounting for billions of dollars in claims costs each year, efficiency matters more than ever. The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported over 1.7 million questionable claims referrals in a recent year, and that number continues to rise. At this scale, surveillance decisions can’t rely on guesswork.

The better question now is: What creates the highest probability of capturing meaningful activity?

A poorly planned surveillance can run all day and produce nothing, while a well-timed, well-placed deployment can significantly impact the outcome of a case.

What Drives Success in Surveillance?

Timing of Surveillance

Most claimants follow patterns, often without realizing it. Daily routines like school drop-offs, errands, appointments, and weekend activities create predictable windows of movement. The challenge is aligning surveillance with those windows.

If surveillance starts too early, investigators may remain idle for hours. If it starts too late, the most important activity may already be missed.

For example, if a claimant regularly leaves home around 8 a.m. to go to the gym, but surveillance does not begin until 10 a.m., the opportunity to capture meaningful activity may already be gone. In many cases, even a small shift in timing can mean the difference between no usable footage and clear contradictions of reported limitations.

Success depends on being present at the right time, not simply for a longer period of time.

Location of Surveillance

Traditional surveillance often focuses on the claimant’s home, but that’s only part of the story. Most meaningful activity happens elsewhere, such as:

• Gyms
• Grocery stores
• Coffee shops
• Medical appointments

Focusing exclusively on the residence can lead to long periods of inactivity and missed opportunities.

Consider a claimant alleging limited mobility who regularly visits a gym or runs errands multiple times per week. If surveillance remains fixed at the residence, those activities may never be observed.

Expanding surveillance to likely destinations:

• Increases the likelihood of capturing activity
• Reduces downtime
• Provides a more complete view of behavior

Investigator Selection

Surveillance outcomes depend heavily on execution, and execution depends on the investigator.

Performance can vary based on:

• Familiarity with the area
• Ability to blend into the environment
• Experience with similar claim types

For example, an investigator unfamiliar with a dense urban environment like Chicago may struggle to maintain visual contact in heavy traffic or crowded streets. A local investigator, on the other hand, understands traffic patterns, alternate routes, and common destinations. In quieter suburban or rural areas, the ability to remain unnoticed becomes even more critical, where unfamiliar vehicles or prolonged presence can quickly draw attention.

An investigator who is not well-suited for the assignment increases the risk of losing the subject or compromising the operation, while the right fit strengthens the likelihood of a successful outcome.

Deployment Strategy

Multi-day surveillance has long been considered best practice, but its value is not simply in adding more hours. It lies in how those hours are distributed.

Behavior often varies from day to day. A claimant may appear inactive on one day but resume normal routines later in the week. Strategic scheduling accounts for this variability.

According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, fraud often involves maintaining a consistent narrative over time, making it important to observe behavior across multiple days rather than relying on a single snapshot.

A structured deployment approach may include:

• Midweek days to capture routine behavior
• A weekend day to observe lifestyle activity

This approach increases the likelihood of identifying inconsistencies and reduces reliance on chance.

The Shift Toward Data-Driven Surveillance

As surveillance becomes more complex, relying solely on standard durations or past experience is becoming less effective. The volume of claims, combined with the variability in claimant behavior, requires a more intentional approach to planning.

At its core, effective surveillance is about probability—understanding when activity is most likely to occur, where it is most likely to happen, and how to position the right investigator to capture it.

This means moving beyond static approaches and incorporating more structured inputs into decision-making, such as:

• Patterns in claimant behavior by day and time
• Likely destinations based on lifestyle indicators
• Variability in activity across different days
• Investigator familiarity and success in specific environments

When these factors are considered together, surveillance becomes more focused from the start. Instead of relying on extended hours or multiple attempts, each deployment is designed to maximize the likelihood of capturing meaningful activity.

This is where more advanced tools are beginning to play a role. Solutions like Pathfinder apply these principles by analyzing available data points and generating a tailored surveillance plan, identifying optimal timing, relevant locations, and the most suitable investigator for the assignment. In addition, these approaches can provide a clearer view of expected success probability, helping guide decisions before resources are deployed.

The result is a more strategic approach to surveillance, one that prioritizes precision over duration, and planning over assumption. Ultimately, the question is no longer how long surveillance should last, but how effectively it is designed from the start.

Ready to make smarter surveillance decisions? Talk to us today.

Check out our sources:

Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. The Impact of Insurance Fraud on the U.S. Economy. 2022. Financial Policy Council,
https://financialpolicycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/The-Impact-of-Insurance-Fraud-on-the-U.S.-Economy-Report-2022-8.26.2022.pdf.

Insurance Information Institute. “Facts + Statistics: Insurance Fraud.” III.org,
https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-and-statistics-insurance-fraud.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners. “Insurance Fraud.” NAIC,
https://content.naic.org/insurance-topics/insurance-fraud.

National Insurance Crime Bureau. “Insurance Fraud Is Coming for Your Pocketbook.” NICB.org, 5 Nov. 2025,
https://www.nicb.org/news/news-releases/nicb-warns-consumers-nationwide-insurance-fraud-coming-your-pocketbook.