Speed to value is no longer a “nice to have” in insurance. It’s a competitive necessity. In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden speaks with Brian McDermott, Chief Information Officer at Victor Insurance, joined by Steve Abel, Partner at Oliver Wyman, to unpack how a global MGA is modernising at scale—without losing momentum, trust, or operational resilience. This episode is different by design. It offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how Victor Insurance, a Marsh McLennan subsidiary, is leveraging strategic partnerships to accelerate technology delivery in one of the most complex parts of the insurance value chain. Brian starts by demystifying what an MGA (Managing General Agent) really is. Victor sits squarely in the middle of the ecosystem: brokers on one side, carriers on the other. While the carrier provides capital and holds the risk, Victor underwrites, administers, services, processes claims, manages data, and delivers digital customer experiences—at scale. In short, Victor does everything an insurer does, except hold the balance sheet. Operating across eight countries, with roughly 80% of premiums generated in the US, Victor is now setting its sights on the “right side of the globe”—international markets that remain largely untapped for scalable, digitally delivered specialty products. That ambition puts enormous pressure on technology: platforms must be fast, modular, and capable of handling low-premium, high-volume transactions with precision. This is where Oliver Wyman comes in. Steve Abel explains why traditional, long-cycle technology programmes no longer work in this environment. The challenge isn’t just modernising legacy systems—it’s doing so while continuing to integrate, scale, and deliver value. Together, Victor and Oliver Wyman are focused on reducing friction from idea to implementation, proving value early, and avoiding the classic trap of multi-year transformations that deliver too late. A particularly sharp contrast emerges between Victor and its parent, Marsh McLennan. While Marsh operates in a high-touch, enterprise-focused, relationship-driven model, Victor functions more like a digital marketplace—what Brian calls an ambition to become “the Amazon for brokers” in the small commercial and specialty space. That difference fundamentally shapes technology choices, data strategy, and operating models. Data sits at the heart of Victor’s next phase of growth. Harvesting historical underwriting and claims data—and augmenting it with machine learning, AI, and enriched external data sources—is critical to improving decision-making, broker experience, and speed. For enterprise leaders, this episode delivers: A clear-eyed view of MGA economics and operating models Practical insight into modernising while scaling globally Lessons on partnering effectively to accelerate tech delivery A case study in aligning innovation with real commercial outcomes For InsurTechs and founders, it’s a valuable reality check on: Why great products often struggle to scale without carrier leverage How incumbents think about speed, risk, and value creation 🎧 If you’re navigating digital transformation in insurance, building platforms at scale, or trying to shorten the distance between strategy and execution—this episode is essential listening. Because in today’s market, speed to value is strategy.