The acquisition was announced earlier this month
Clark Insurance of Portland, Maine has acquired The James L. Cooney Insurance Agency of Lowell. Founded in 1946 as the Cooney and Lynn Agency, the independent agency has been a fixture in Lowell for over 70 years, espousing its motto of being “Small enough to know you, Large enough to protect you.”
According to Clark Insurance, the agency will remain in its same location and will retain all of the agency’s employees. The
James L. Cooney Real Estate Agency, begun at the same time as the Insurance Agency, was not a part of the sale. It will continue to service its real estate clients from its Gorham Street offices.
In a January 12th profile of the Agency in the Lowell Sun, owner Jim Cooney, who began working at his father’s agency at the tender age of eight, said the time was right to sell. “We had a good run” he told the Sun, adding that since both he and his wife Susan were turning 70, they knew it was time to let go.
Mr. Cooney also told the Sun that his decision to sell to Clark Insurance was easy, since both agencies have a long history of deep community involvement and personal customer service.
Established in Portland in 1931, Clark Insurance is an employee-owned agency that has grown over the years to more than 100 employees in six locations: Four Maine locations, plus an office in Manchester, NH and now its newest office in Lowell. It is considered one of the top 5% of agencies in the United States according the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association of America. While Clark Insurance has long been planning to expand in Massachusetts, with its acquisition of the Cooney Agency, it says that it has no plans for further acquisitions in the Commonwealth in the near future.
