William J. Cleary, III — President, Cleary Insurance
William J. Cleary III is the President and co-founder of Cleary Insurance, an independent insurance brokerage he founded with his father, William J. Cleary Jr., in 1991.
A 1985 graduate of Harvard University, Bill didn’t take the conventional path into insurance. After Harvard, he headed to France to play professional hockey and complete a program of study at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. That combination of competition and curiosity set the tone for what came next. He returned to the States and entered the industry on the carrier side, completing a rigorous multi-discipline training program as a commercial underwriter at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company in Novato, California. From there, he moved into brokerage as an account executive before he and his father launched Cleary Insurance in 1991.
In the years since, Bill has grown the agency from a small team into an established independent brokerage, serving businesses and individuals throughout Massachusetts and New England. Under his leadership, Cleary Insurance has grown at an average of 13.5% annually — a track record built on a straightforward premise: independent advice, broad market access, and an advisor who stays personally involved.
Bill remains deeply connected to his alma maters, Belmont Hill School and Harvard University, and has spent years coaching youth sports. He knows firsthand what it means to be on a team where someone is watching out for you, and that’s exactly the relationship he aims to build with every client.
Bill’s philosophy is simple: you can’t accomplish anything truly meaningful without some level of risk. As the father of four boys, he sees that play out every day. It’s the same belief that took him from the ice rink to building a business from scratch — and it’s what keeps him personally involved in client accounts.
Committed to ongoing professional development, Bill holds the Certified Risk Manager designation from the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research and the Certified Insurance Counselor designation from The Institutes. He also holds FINRA Series 6 and Series 63 licenses. His Massachusetts insurance license number is 779611.
