How Donald Worley makes his living

“Always interested in clients, as this is how I make my living.”

That's how Houston attorney Donald Worley responded when asked if a recent press release could be seen as a prospecting effort.

Worley's refreshing candor was not evident in the release he sent out last Wednesday, trumpeting his avowed concern for the victims of the May flooding and declaring his determination to see “that no valid damage claimants looking for just compensation from their flood insurance company shall be ignored.”

Worley and his firm “are making themselves available for members of the community who feel their insurers aren’t living up to their obligations, or are taking too long to compensate them fairly for their losses.”

Worley's not the only local attorney hoping to profit from the latest disaster, but he may be the smarmiest.

“The people impacted by the widespread flooding in Texas are our friends and neighbors,” he gushed, “and I (Worley) won’t stand for their being treated unfairly by giant insurance companies. . . .”

Of course, it's a little premature for victims of last month's flooding to “feel their insurers aren’t living up to their obligations, or are taking too long to compensate them fairly.”

It's still a bit early yet for flood victims – or attorneys eager to represent them –  to conclude that they're “being treated unfairly by giant insurance companies.”

As Mark Hanna of the Insurance Council of Texas notes, “It does take time to reach all of those policyholders who have been affected, and that process is taking place as we speak.”

Hanna urges policyholders to speak with their insurance agents first if they're dissatisfied with the settlement offered. If still unhappy, they can file a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance, which is “much quicker, and all of the money that is due a policyholder goes to the policyholder, rather than to any attorney who enters the picture.”

Or you can ask for advice from someone who's “always interested in clients.”