Like hitting "save" before a phone dies, a preservation letter is a fast written demand telling someone not to delete, destroy, repair, overwrite, or throw away evidence.

In legal and insurance matters, it is usually sent to a business, driver, property owner, insurer, or government agency as soon as a claim is likely. The letter identifies specific materials that must be kept, such as crash photos, surveillance video, maintenance logs, truck data, phone records, emails, and damaged parts. It does not automatically prove a case, but it puts the other side on notice that the evidence matters and may be needed in a lawsuit, insurance claim, or settlement.

Speed matters because some evidence disappears quickly. Video may be erased in days, vehicles get repaired, and electronic data can be overwritten. After a serious wreck, a well-timed preservation letter can protect the proof needed to show negligence, dangerous road conditions, or who had the last clear chance to avoid harm.

In Delaware, losing key evidence can be especially damaging because fault percentages matter. Under Delaware's modified comparative fault rule, 10 Del. C. § 8132, an injured person cannot recover if found more than 50% at fault. A preservation letter can help keep the records needed to fight blame before that evidence is gone for good.