Chip Merlin

Chip Merlin Since 1983, Chip Merlin has served as a plaintiff’s attorney with a focus on commercial & residential property insurance claim disputes and bad faith insurance litigation. Chip is a noted national authority on insurance bad faith, lecturing to national trade groups and publishing a number of papers and articles on the subject for organizations such as The American Association for Justice, The Florida Justice Association, The Windstorm Insurance Network, and Trial Magazine. As founder and president of Merlin Law Group, Chip has dedicated his practice to the representation and advocacy of insurance policyholders in disputes with insurance companies nationwide. Chip served as Chair for the Bad Faith Insurance Litigation Group and Secretary for the Fire and Property Insurance Litigation Group for the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). He was also Vice-Chair for the Subcommittee on Property Insurance Law for the American Bar Association.

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Insurance Agent Versus Experienced Policyholder Attorney Viewpoints About Insurance Coverage Denials

By Chip Merlin on Posted in Insurance
Ed Eshoo works out of Merlin Law Group’s Chicago office and is one of the best property insurance policyholder coverage attorneys you could find. I do not think there is anybody with a national reputation as being “the expert” on the 165-line Standard Fire Insurance Policy on a national, rather than state, basis. Ed is an … Continue Reading

Property Insurance Claims Procedures Should Be Transparent and Uncovered in Market Conduct Studies

By Chip Merlin on Posted in Bad Faith
Merlin The Moose is a client favorite at the Chicago Merlin Law Group office. We won him at a charity auction last year. He also led me to some creative research uncovering a problem with market conduct studies and the transparency of property insurance claims procedures many insurers keep hidden from their customers and insurance … Continue Reading

Insurance Lobbyist Describes His Personal Story of Insurance Company Bad Faith

By Chip Merlin on Posted in Bad Faith, Insurance Claim
Insurance lobbyist Scott Johnson is a bulldog advocate for the insurance industry. He usually is trying to make policyholders, their attorneys or anybody other than the insurance claims executives and adjusters look bad to support the insurance industry’s legislative efforts. I fell out of my chair when he described his own personal claim and why … Continue Reading

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Requires More Thorough Investigation of Hidden Water Damage and Hurricane Florence Claims

By Chip Merlin on Posted in Insurance
The North Carolina Insurance Commissioner, Mike Causey, gets an A+ grade for his recent bulletin requiring greater investigation of otherwise hidden areas behind walls to ensure losses are being adjusted properly. This bulletin will certainly help victims of Hurricane Florence with hurricane claims.… Continue Reading

Should Insurance Agents Get Sued for Selling Insurance Which Requires Arbitration in a Far Away Location and Deprives Their Customers of Consumer Protection Laws?

By Chip Merlin on Posted in Insurance
Why would any insurance agent sell a customer an insurance policy that allows the insurance company to low-ball, delay payment, and otherwise not pay, and then force the insurance customer to obtain justice through an arbitration in a far-away jurisdiction applying foreign law? That is exactly what many commercial policyholders are being sold in Texas … Continue Reading

Move Out and Lose Coverage—Common Property Insurance Minefields Caused By Changes of Residency

By Chip Merlin on Posted in Insurance
Insurance agents, divorce attorneys, elder law attorneys, wills, trusts and estate attorneys, and real estate attorneys need to read this post. They also need to read “Where You Reside” – The “Where’s Waldo®?” Catastrophic Homeowners Policy ‘Exclusion’ That Could Bankrupt Your Insureds, by insurance coverage expert Bill Wilson. Wilson’s article shows how often coverage can … Continue Reading

A CATastrophe! Is Damage Caused By Pets Covered?

By Chip Merlin on Posted in Insurance
Are you covered if your pet cat causes a CATastrophe to your property? I was posed this question after being referred to an article on celebrity Frankie Muniz who found his home “flooded with 3 feet of water because his cat had accidentally turned on the faucet while he was away at his uncle’s funeral.” … Continue Reading

Adjusters and Insurance Companies Should Not Pressure Hurricane Florence Policyholders To Use Favored Contractors

By Chip Merlin on Posted in Consumer Protection, Insurance
Managed repair is the rage of many insurance companies. To reduce claims costs and better compete on low price, some insurance company adjusters use various techniques to steer or pressure policyholders into using contractors the insurance company wants the policyholder to hire. Independent restoration contractors and public adjusters have legions of stories about how adjusters … Continue Reading

Being on The Side of Angels—Public Adjusters Will Lose If They Fail to Follow This Philosophy

By Chip Merlin on Posted in Consumer Protection, Insurance
The interests and needs of policyholders is why public adjusters get to make a living adjusting claims. The financial interests of the public adjuster are not paramount to the policyholder. The public interest is paramount over the public adjuster trade. So long as public adjusters properly serve policyholders, serve the public interest, and strive to … Continue Reading
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