About Response Insurance
Our Management Team
Online Auto Insurance Company

Response Insurance Group has a seasoned senior management team drawn from the nation’s leading corporations. Together they lead a team of dedicated staff in four offices around the country.

Mory Katz
(Joined Response in April 1998)
President & Chief Executive Officer of Direct Response Corporation (the holding company of the Response Insurance Group) Chairman of Response Insurance and other subsidiary companies

Mr. Katz came to Response from Trans Union Corporation where he was Vice President and founder of the Insurance Division. Mr. Katz was instrumental in introducing to the property/casualty industry the use of demographic information for underwriting and marketing purposes. Prior to joining Trans Union, Mr. Katz was a Senior National Account Executive at Equifax Inc., another leading information provider, where he specialized in serving the insurance industry.

Mr. Katz received his Masters of Business Administration degree from the Tobin School of Business at St. John’s University. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the nation’s leading transportation safety organization, and on the Board of the Property Casualty Insurance Association of America, the nation’s premier insurer trade association, representing more than 1,000 companies.

John Ammendola
(Joined Response in October 2007)
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Direct Response Corporation President of Response Insurance companies

Mr. Ammendola was most recently Senior Vice President of Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis at Safeco Insurance Company where one of his key responsibilities was corporate strategy and business development. Prior to that role he was the head of their personal lines insurance division. Before joining Safeco in 2002, He was the Assistant Vice President of GEICO’s Mid-Atlantic Region. Mr. Ammendola spent a decade with GEICO where he held a variety of management positions in claims, service, sales and underwriting. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the New York Institute of Technology’s School of Management and a Diploma in Electronic Technology from Suburban Technical School.

Susan Stonehill Claflin
(Joined Response in October 2007)
Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary – Legal, Human Resources & Facilities of Direct Response Corporation and subsidiary companies

Prior to joining Response, Ms. Claflin spent 25 years in the legal and insurance industries, including 18 years at Travelers. She served as General Counsel of Travelers Property Casualty when it was a member of Travelers Group, as Group General Counsel & Senior Vice President – Claims at St. Paul Travelers, as Executive Vice President and as General Counsel – Environmental Litigation at Travelers Property Casualty Corp. Prior to joining Travelers, she was an Associate at the law firm of Morrison, Mahoney & Miller. Ms. Claflin received her Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and her J.D. from Western New England College of Law. She is a member of the bar of the state of Connecticut. Ms. Claflin is a Certified Arbitrator (ARIAS), and has served on numerous insurance and law committees.

Danny Collins
(Joined Response in April 2002)
Vice President of Claims Operations – Direct Response Corporation and subsidiary companies

Mr. Collins was with The Hartford Financial Services Group for nearly thirty years. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in History from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Steven Hancock
(Joined Response in February 2008)
Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer – Direct Response Corporation and subsidiary companies

Prior to joining Response, Mr. Hancock had a twenty-four year career with Citigroup, the last four as Chief Marketing Officer. More recently, he was Chief Marketing Officer at Kaplan Higher Education and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines / Celebrity Cruises. He has a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University, and his MA and BA from Queens College.

George Kowalsky
(Joined Response in September 2000)
Vice President of Finance – Direct Response Corporation and subsidiary companies

Prior to joining Response, Mr. Kowalsky was with Reliance National for twelve years, Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company of America and American International Group’s AIG Specialty Agencies Inc. and AIU. Mr. Kowalsky earned his Bachelor’s degree from American University and his Masters of Business Administration in Accounting from New York University. He is a CPA and CPCU.

Frank M. Quido
(Joined Response in June 1999)
Vice President of Information Technology – Direct Response Corporation and subsidiary companies

Prior to joining Response, Mr. Quido was with Southern New England Telecommunications. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Southern Connecticut State University and was the founder of PageProse Inc., a web-development firm based in Connecticut.

Clifford Wess
(Joined Response in May 2000)
Vice President & Chief Actuary – Direct Response Corporation and subsidiary companies

Clifford Wess came to Response having worked at Employer Reinsurance Corporation, Selective Insurance Group, CIGNA Property & Casualty Group and the National Council on Compensation Insurance. He has a Bachelor’s degree from State University of New York at Albany and a Masters from Indiana University. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.