World Insurance Associates LLC has acquired the business of Clarke Insurance of Mount Holly, New Jersey, effective March 1, 2026.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Clarke Insurance was founded in 1979 and provides auto, home, business and employee benefits insurance to customers throughout New Jersey.
The deal is the latest in a long run of acquisitions for World, which was founded by Rich Eknoian in 2011. According to OPTIS Partners, World completed nine acquisitions in Q1 2026 alone, amking it the third-most active acquirer in the insurance distribution sector behind Inszone Insurance Services and BroadStreet Partners.
Eknoian stepped back from day-to-day leadership in April 2026, moving into the executive chairman role after 15 years as chief executive, with John Newell, formerly of Newfront and Marsh, taking over as CEO. World's growth has been backed by private equity, with Charlesbank Capital Partners investing in 2020 and Goldman Sachs Asset Management joining as a co-lead investor in 2023 in a deal that valued the company at approximately $3.4 billion.
"I'd like to extend a warm welcome to Clarke Insurance as they join the World family. Clarke has a strong reputation and will strengthen our presence in New Jersey. I look forward to their continued success," said Eknoian.
Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla provided legal counsel to World on the transaction, while Connell Foley LLP represented Clarke. No other advisors, diligence firms or legal counsel were disclosed.
The Clarke acquisition comes as overall consolidation in the US insurance distribution sector has slowed from its 2021-2022 peak. OPTIS Partners recorded 148 agency M&A transactions in Q1 2026, a 6% decline from the same period a year earlier and the lowest first-quarter total since 2016, extending a three-year decline that analysts believe is beginning to bottom out at around 650 deals annually. Private equity-backed and hybrid buyers, including firms like World, continued to dominate the market, accounting for 72% of all announced deals in the quarter.
Despite the slower overall pace, analysts note that demand for acquisitions remains structurally supported: an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 independent agencies still operate in the US, the majority of them small and expected to eventually be sold, sustaining a long pipeline of targets for scaled platforms such as World.
The acquisition adds to World's footprint in a state where personal auto insurance, one of Clarke's core lines, is going through a turbulent stretch. New Jersey implemented the second and final phase of a legislatively mandated increase to minimum auto liability limits on January 1, 2026, raising the bodily injury floor to $35,000 per person and $70,000 per accident, up from $25,000 and $50,000 under the first phase enacted in 2023. Insurers were required to update rate filings and notify policyholders of the higher limits at renewal.
That change is a significant contributor to New Jersey posting the largest average auto insurance rate increase of any state in 2026, at 10.46%, according to a report from LendingTree's ValuePenguin, compared with a roughly flat 0.67% national average.
New Jersey drivers are expected to pay an average of $249 a month for auto coverage in 2026, placing the state among the 10 most expensive in the country. The shifting rate and coverage environment increases the value of experienced local advice, a dynamic that may make well-established regional agencies more attractive acquisition targets for national platforms such as World.
