National Business Investigations

What National Business Investigations does

National Business Investigations, Inc. (NBI) is a family-owned and operated private investigation firm founded in 1967 in Fullerton, California and now headquartered in Murrieta, California. The firm provides a full suite of investigative services across four primary customer segments: insurance carriers and third-party administrators (workers' compensation defense, subrosa surveillance, subrogation), corporate clients (due diligence, background investigations, embezzlement and trade secret theft cases, workplace misconduct), legal professionals (witness locates, evidence recovery, asset search and recovery, civil litigation support), and individual clients (child custody, stalking documentation, skip tracing). Services are delivered by licensed investigators, predominantly former law enforcement, who produce court-admissible evidence with documented chain of custody.

The firm's operational backbone is an encrypted, cloud-based case management portal that provides clients real-time access to reports, activity logs, billing, statements, photographs, and video evidence during active engagements. Core methodology combines human-driven surveillance (including subrosa intelligence-led planning, covert recording, and long-range optics), public records research, financial analysis, digital forensics, and skip tracing. NBI is licensed as a California Private Investigator (#21463), California Private Patrol Operator (#14788), and Nevada Private Investigator (#1383), with its MPS Security division additionally licensed to provide physical security services across seven states (CA, CO, WA, AZ, NV, TX, FL). A strategic partnership network extends coverage nationwide and selectively internationally.

The business model is professional services fee-for-service, with engagements scoped on a per-case basis and billed at mutually agreed rates; the firm explicitly does not work on contingency. Go-to-market is sales-led and referral-driven, anchored by relationships with attorneys, insurance carriers, TPAs, and HR/legal professionals, supplemented by content marketing via the NBI Insights blog and industry association memberships (CALI-PI, TALI, NCISS, FALI, WAD, SCFIA). The company has two wholly-owned sub-brands: MPS Security & Protection (uniformed officers, executive protection, event security, loss prevention) and A.L.I.V.E. (Assess, Leave, Impede, Violence, Expose) Active Shooter Survival, the latter launched in 2014 alongside the bestselling book "10 Minutes to Live." Leadership comprises founder Ron Julian (former law enforcement, US Navy veteran), CEO Michael Julian (30+ years experience, former CALI President 2005-2015), President Michael Speirs, and Investigations Director Diedre Lane (25+ years law enforcement).

Name

National Business Investigations

Legal name

National Business Investigations, Inc.

Website

https://investigations-nbi.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

National Business Investigations is a family-owned private investigation firm founded in 1967, delivering surveillance, insurance defense, corporate due diligence, and legal investigation services to insurers, law firms, corporations, and individuals across seven U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Investigation Services

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigations & Background Screening Services (IMAIAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Litigation Support & Civil Investigations (Witness/Asset/Skip Tracing) (BPAKAEAE), Workplace Misconduct, Ethics & Compliance Investigations (BPAKAEAH), Due Diligence & Investigative Research (BPAHALAI), Domestic/Family & Matrimonial Investigations (BPAKAEAG), White-Collar Defense & Investigations (BPAHAAAJ)

Keywords

• Private investigation services
• Insurance fraud investigations
• Corporate due diligence
• Workers compensation defense
• Surveillance and asset search

Headquarters

HQ city

Murrieta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Investigation Services: NBI charges professional fees for investigative services including surveillance, background checks, asset searches, workers' compensation defense, corporate investigations, legal investigations, and due diligence. The firm operates on a fee-for-service model, billing at mutually agreed rates. The company explicitly does not work on contingency fees.
2. Security Services (MPS Security Division): MPS Security, a division of NBI, provides uniformed security officers, executive protection agents, event security, access control, and loss prevention services across seven licensed states, generating revenue through service contracts for ongoing and project-based security coverage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

National Business Investigations is a full-service private investigation firm delivering surveillance, asset search and recovery, witness location, background investigations, due diligence, workers' compensation fraud defense, insurance defense, corporate investigations, and legal investigations to insurance carriers, self-insured employers, law firms, corporations, and individuals. Licensed investigators produce court-admissible evidence supported by a cloud-based encrypted case management portal for real-time client access to reports, photographs, and video.

Product overview

National Business Investigations (NBI) is a family-owned private investigation firm founded in 1967, offering a comprehensive suite of investigative services. The core offerings include Legal Investigations (witness locates, evidence recovery, asset search), Insurance Defense and Workers Compensation Fraud investigations, Corporate Investigations (due diligence, background checks, business intelligence), and Surveillance Services. The company operates a cloud-based case management platform providing clients real-time access to reports, activity logs, billing, documentation, photographs, and video through a secure client portal. A subsidiary brand, MPS Security, provides complementary physical security services including uniformed officers, executive protection, and event security. Services are delivered by licensed investigators across California, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and Washington through strategic partnerships enabling nationwide coverage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MPS Security & Protection: Division of National Business Investigations providing elite security solutions including Uniformed Security Officers, Executive Protection Agents, physical and asset protection, event security, and threat management services
• A.L.I.V.E. Active Shooter Survival

Products and services

• Legal Investigations Comprehensive legal investigation services including witness locates, interviews, evidence recovery, financial records investigations, cyber crimes investigation, and asset search and recovery for civil litigation support, delivered to attorneys and law firms.
• Insurance Defense Investigations Insurance investigation services validating claims, identifying red flags, documenting claimant activity, and supporting defensible decisions in potential fraud matters for insurance carriers, self-insured employers, third-party administrators, and defense counsel.
• Corporate Investigations Corporate investigation services including executive background investigations, due diligence, business intelligence, theft investigation, computer forensics, and protection support for companies requiring internal fraud investigation, embezzlement investigation, asset searches, M&A due diligence, and executive vetting.
• Workers' Compensation Fraud Investigations Specialized workers' compensation fraud investigation services gathering investigative information to evaluate claim legitimacy and disability level, including Arising Out of Employment / Course of Employment (AOE/COE) determinations and subrogation investigations for insurance carriers and self-insured employers.
• Asset Search and Recovery Asset discovery and recovery services operating pre-litigation, mid-case, or post-judgment to identify where assets may reside to support appropriate strategy and settlement, for attorneys, creditors, and judgment holders.
• Surveillance Services Professional surveillance services obtaining evidence that may not otherwise be provable in or out of court through lawful, documented observation from appropriate vantage points, including intelligence-led Subrosa Surveillance for insurance, legal, and corporate matters.
• Background Investigations Structured background investigations verifying individual history, identity, address records, employment and education confirmation, public records research, and known associations, for corporate pre-employment screening and legal proceedings.
• Skip Tracing Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Several hundred million dollars in savings for clients over 40+ years through insurance defense and subrogation
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MPS Security & ProtectioncoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMPS Security is a division of National Business Investigations, Inc., providing elite uniformed security officers, executive protection agents, plain-clothes protection, event security, access control, security patrols, loss prevention, and threat management. Licensed in California, Colorado, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and Florida. Shares the same leadership (Michael D. Julian) and headquarters in Murrieta, CA.
• A.L.I.V.E. Active Shooter SurvivalminorOthersA.L.I.V.E. (Assess, Leave, Impede, Violence, Expose) is a training program and philosophy created by Michael D. Julian in 2014, launched as a corporate security training program. It is a separate brand (activeshootersurvivaltraining.com) associated with NBI leadership. The program is used globally as part of corporate security training.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kroll: Kroll is a global investigations, due diligence, and security consulting firm serving corporations, law firms, and financial institutions. It competes with NBI in corporate due diligence, asset tracing, cyber investigations, and litigation support at a much larger enterprise scale.
• HireRight: HireRight is a large-scale background check and pre-employment screening provider serving enterprise HR, competing with NBI's corporate background investigations and pre-employment screening service line via automated, high-volume offerings.
• Allied Universal: Allied Universal is a major North American security services provider offering uniformed officers, event security, and executive protection — directly comparable to NBI's MPS Security & Protection division at significantly larger scale.
• Sterling (Sterling Talent Solutions): Sterling provides enterprise background screening, identity verification, and due diligence services. It competes with NBI's background investigations and due diligence practices via technology-enabled, volume-oriented delivery.
• LexisNexis Risk Solutions: LexisNexis Risk Solutions provides data-driven background checks, public records research, due diligence, and identity verification at massive scale, competing with NBI's traditional records-based investigations via technology and proprietary databases.
• Control Risks: Control Risks provides corporate security and investigative services including due diligence, fraud investigations, and asset tracing for multinational clients. It competes with NBI's corporate investigations and due diligence practice, particularly for enterprise and cross-border matters.

Emerging players

• Diligentia Investigative Group: Diligentia is a regional licensed private investigation firm offering surveillance, insurance defense, workers' comp, and domestic investigations — a comparable emerging competitor targeting similar Southwest and California markets as NBI.

Direct peers

• Guidepost Solutions: Guidepost Solutions is a mid-sized investigations, security consulting, and monitoring firm offering corporate investigations, workplace misconduct probes, due diligence, and security services — closely comparable to NBI's insurance defense, corporate, and security divisions.
• Pinkerton (Securitas): Pinkerton is one of the most recognized corporate investigation and security firms in the US, offering surveillance, background checks, fraud investigation, and corporate due diligence — directly overlapping NBI's insurance defense, corporate investigations, and asset search offerings at much larger scale.
• Jenkins Investigations Agency: Jenkins Investigations is a regional, multi-state licensed private investigation firm offering surveillance, insurance defense, workers' comp fraud, and corporate investigations — a comparable mid-sized competitor to NBI in the Southwestern US market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-business-investigations-inc.
• Xx.com/USInvestigators
• Facebookfacebook.com/investigations.nbi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Business Investigations