As the insurance market transitions into a softer phase, Victor Insurance is staying firmly on its front foot. According to global CEO Charles Williamson (pictured), the company’s multi-year growth plan includes both organic and inorganic growth, with acquisitions intended to form “a major part” of that strategy.
“We’re a fairly discerning buyer,” Williamson said, acknowledging that this makes dealmaking less frequent. “But yeah, it’s definitely part of our mandate.”
That appetite for growth has been reflected in Victor’s recent acquisition history. In April 2022, it entered the reinsurance space with the acquisition of Newport RI-based MGU Regional Treaty Services Corporation (RTSC). The deal led to the formation of Victor Reinsurance Managers, and the hiring of Everest Re’s John Tarpey to lead its U.S. operations.
Most recently, in June 2025, Victor acquired ProWriters, the professional liability wholesaler based in Pennsylvania. The deal supports Victor’s drive into wholesale.
For Williamson, acquisitions are not simply about scale but strategic fit. “Does the acquisition target make us a better business?” he said. That improvement could take various forms – expanding into new products, entering untapped geographies, gaining distribution capabilities, or acquiring standout teams or technology. “Most importantly,” he said, is the presence of “really good underwriting pedigree and strong capital backing up the MGA operators.”
When asked what kinds of insurance lines or business sizes are ideal for Victor, Williamson emphasized that financial strength enables the company to consider large-scale deals – but size isn’t the core metric. “We’re very fortunate, due to our financial strength, to be able to look at the largest of deals,” he said. “That said, size is not key for us. We focus more on the underwriting and team quality, the motivation of the sellers, and the niche they fill in relation to expanding our existing capabilities.”
On valuation, Victor blends qualitative assessment with financial rigor. “We try to understand very much what the financial metrics are, what the growth prospects are, what the sustainability of capital looks like,” Williamson said. From there, the company reduces that to “an earnings stream and an EBITDA,” before applying a valuation based on those fundamentals and market context.
Williamson said the current M&A environment may be ripening, especially as market conditions shift. With carriers focused on organic growth over the past several years due to strong pricing, he said it’s likely they will increasingly look to acquisitions as the market softens. “Classically, as the market starts to soften, carriers look for different ways to grow, including acquisition,” he said, pointing to the ongoing Sompo-Aspen deal as an example of momentum in the space.
He also noted that the M&A process at Victor is highly relational and long-term in nature. “The very best opportunities come from cultivating relationships with the business leaders at companies we're considering,” he said. “This is something we're actively doing all the time and is often a multi-month or even multi-year process of getting to know each other first.”
In terms of demand, Williamson said growth is visible “across the board,” driven by strong macroeconomic conditions in North America and Europe. Construction and business investment remain active, and liability lines – particularly in the U.S. – continue to perform. “Liability is probably continuing to grow the strongest just because the hard market has continued on a little longer in that space,” he said, citing loss cost opacity and social inflation as contributing factors.
Victor’s partnership strategy with carriers mirrors its approach to acquisitions. Over the past 18 months, the firm has tiered its carrier partners based on alignment, flexibility, and commitment. “We kind of underwrite the carrier,” Williamson said, evaluating whether the relationship makes Victor “better” through strengths in claims, product, capital, or geography.
He said breadth and depth of trading relationships are paramount: “That really allows you to become meaningful to one another.” A diverse product set enables resilience – if one business underperforms, others may balance it out. “That covariance offset on a performance standpoint” is essential, he said, and trumps other considerations like balance sheet size or single-product offerings.
Victor’s trajectory reflects its position as one of the world’s largest MGUs, managing over $3.7 billion in annual premiums and working with more than 20,000 brokers and agents globally. With operations spanning the U.S., Canada, UK, Europe, and Australia, the firm continues to blend underwriting expertise with digital infrastructure and measured acquisition strategy.
As Williamson said: “How does it make our business better? That’s the primary lens we look at.”
