Surveillance Cost: Hourly, Day, and Flat Rates Explained

"How much is this going to cost?" is one of the first questions adjusters ask, and it's a reasonable one. Surveillance isn't a single product at a single price. It's a range of configurations with meaningfully different economics. Here's the pricing landscape for insurance surveillance.

Pricing Models

Three pricing models dominate the industry.

Hourly Rate

This is the most common model. Investigator time is billed at an hourly rate. Some firms add mileage, expenses, and a per-hour equipment or report-writing charge. For insurance work, hourly rates fall within a range. The exact number varies by region and firm.

Day Rate (Flat)

A flat price for a day of surveillance. For example: "eight hours of sub rosa, one investigator, HD video, full report, $X." Day rate simplifies budgeting. It may not align with how long specific cases actually run.

Flat-Fee Packages

Activity checks bundled as a flat-fee product. Multi-day sub rosa priced as a package rather than individual days.

What Drives Cost

Several factors move the price on any given engagement:

• Duration. Hours of surveillance is the biggest driver. An activity check of a few hours is a fraction of a full day. A two- or three-day operation is multiples of one day.
• Investigators. Single investigator is the baseline. Team (two-investigator) surveillance roughly doubles the cost and often significantly improves productivity.
• Travel and mileage. Rural or out-of-metro locations add mileage and sometimes overnight costs.
• Specialty equipment. Covert camera systems, long-lens rigs, drone where applicable, night vision. Most is included in standard pricing. Specialty equipment may carry an equipment line.
• Reporting format. A short activity check report is much less work than a detailed sub rosa narrative with exhibits.
• Urgency. Same-day or weekend deployment may carry a premium.

Typical Package Cost Ranges

As a rough guide. Specific pricing varies by firm, region, and complexity:

• Activity check (2-4 hours, short report, photos): the lowest-cost product, often a few hundred dollars
• Single day sub rosa (8-10 hours, full narrative report, HD video): several-hundred to low four-figure range
• Multi-day sub rosa (2-3 days over a week): mid four-figure range
• Extended or team surveillance: proportional scaling with day count and investigator count
• Social media investigation (authenticated and preserved): low to mid four-figure range depending on scope

These are rough illustrations, not quotes. Every engagement gets its own scope and estimate.

ROI on Surveillance

The economics of insurance surveillance are almost always framed around reserves and exposure:

• On a low-reserve claim, spending significant money on surveillance rarely makes sense
• On a high-reserve or litigated claim, surveillance that changes the valuation calculus by even a small percentage pays for itself many times over
• On a fraud-indicator claim, surveillance that supports denial can eliminate the entire exposure

A rough rule: surveillance becomes strong ROI when the claim reserve is in the five- and six-figure range and there's a specific hypothesis surveillance can test. Lower-reserve claims are better served by activity checks and social media investigation. See our activity check vs. surveillance post.

When Surveillance Won't Pay For Itself

Cases where surveillance is unlikely to produce ROI commensurate with cost:

• Medical-only claims
• Catastrophic injury cases where the defense is not contesting the nature of the injury
• Cases where the claimant has no identifiable pattern to observe
• Cases where the investigative hypothesis isn't clear before committing

Our when-to-order post walks through candidate selection.

Getting a Quote

A professional surveillance firm will:

• Ask about the claim before quoting
• Scope the right mix of activity check, sub rosa, and social media based on the file
• Provide written estimates with assumptions clearly stated
• Flag cases where surveillance is unlikely to be productive

A firm that sells a standard surveillance package regardless of the file is a firm that has stopped scoping.

What We Provide

Our surveillance and activity check services quote each engagement individually. We provide transparent pricing, scope documentation, and reporting formatted to SIU standards. For a confidential consultation on a specific file, contact Encyphir.