EPISODE · Apr 3, 2025 · 46 MIN
Alex Schmelkin: Transforming Insurance Underwriting with GenAI and AI Agents
from Scouting for Growth · host Sabine VdL
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Alex Schmelkin, a visionary entrepreneur who's reshaping the future of insurance operations. Alex is the Founder and CEO of Sixfold, a company at the forefront of harnessing Generative AI to empower insurance underwriters with groundbreaking tools and capabilities. Today, we'll explore how Sixfold is leveraging Generative AI to transform underwriting practices, the challenges and opportunities in implementing AI at scale, and Alex's vision for the future of insurance operations. KEY TAKEAWAYS There’s close to $7 trillion of premium written around the globe every year. That equals 7% of global GDP, it’s an enormous amount of premium that’s needed for the world to function and for people and businesses to take risks. The most underserved population are the underwriters, the people making decisions day in day out on that $7 trillion worth of business trying to figure out the good and bad risks and why. There’s so little support for these unsung heroes. The typical underwriter is reading the equivalent of a novel every 2-3 days in documentation. These are not interesting fiction novels, they’re information-dense losses, statements of values of property and exposures. We’ve expected them to consume more and more but it’s information overload. Enter language models and AI, in the first time in human history we have the ability to take in a nearly limitless volume of data and help the underwriter to see through that to find the patterns without having to read every single word on every single page and free them to do the extra research at the end to find the best result for the end customer. Regulators understand that AI is here and have already embraced it. They’re not as ahead of it as we would like them to be, as an industry, and they’re not getting everything right. But by putting a few fence posts around the problem we’re trying to solve they’ve forced the conversation and the industry to respond to it and to start rolling out the way we are with some of these AI transparency partner models. The single challenge we run into everywhere is underwriter trust. The underwriters, despite being overworked, there not being enough of them, and despite it being a challenging job, are really good at what they do. The reason is they’ve been trained over the years to do everything they can to get the right answer. They’re the front line protecting insurance companies from bringing on bad risks. The hardest thing is to convince them is that AI is accurate. If they have a bad experience with AI first time they may not go back ever. BEST MOMENTS ‘I found insurance – or it found me – almost 20 years ago and I’ve never looked back, and it’s all underwriting all the time.’ ‘The biggest use of GenAI today is helping underwriters to find more accuracy, be more effective, and more transparent in their underwriting efforts.’ ‘We attempt to arm the human with a bevy of different things for those who are the less value-producing part of their jobs.’ ‘The human is so much more effective when they’re working beside a robot that helps them be more accurate and more efficient at their job.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Alex Schmelkin is the Founder and CEO of Sixfold and is at the forefront of revolutionizing how insurance underwriters operate through Generative AI—a game-changing approach that not only enhances decision-making but also streamlines processes for a more efficient future. His knack for identifying industry pain points and transforming them into innovative solutions has been the backbone of his success. With a deep-rooted belief in the power of technology to drive growth, Alex has consistently pushed the envelope, challenging norms and inspiring those around him. Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavors, Alex is a dynamic speaker who captivates audiences with insights on SaaS, customer experience, and technology ethics. His passion for responsible innovation shines through in every conversation, as he advocates for solutions that not only meet business needs but also uphold ethical standards. LinkedIn ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]
What this episode covers
On this episode of Scouting For Growth, Sabine VdL speaks with Alex Schmelkin, Founder & CEO of Sixfold, to spotlight the most overlooked workforce in the insurance economy: underwriters. They’re the decision-makers behind nearly $7 trillion in global premium — roughly 7% of global GDP — yet they’re often the least supported people in the value chain. And Alex is on a mission to change that using Generative AI designed to make underwriting faster, clearer, and more accurate—without compromising trust or accountability. Underwriters are drowning in data (and expected to be perfect) Alex paints a vivid picture of modern underwriting reality: the typical underwriter is reading the equivalent of a novel every 2–3 days — except the “novels” are dense submissions, loss runs, statements of values, and exposure details. It’s not just workload. It’s information overload. And when volume increases, risk decision quality becomes harder to sustain—unless the system evolves. That’s where GenAI becomes transformational: for the first time, we can process massive volumes of unstructured data and surface patterns, insights, and risk signals without requiring humans to read every word on every page. The goal isn’t to replace expertise—it’s to free underwriters to focus on what they do best: judgment, nuance, and final decision-making. The real value of GenAI: accuracy + transparency at speed Alex explains that the biggest use of GenAI today isn’t hype or novelty. It’s helping underwriters become: more accurate more effective more transparent Sixfold’s approach is to “arm the human” by automating the low-value parts of the job while strengthening the high-value ones. Because an underwriter is most powerful when working beside an intelligent assistant that improves decision quality, not just throughput. Regulators aren’t blocking AI — they’re shaping it A key insight from Alex: regulators know AI is here. They may not be perfectly ahead of it, but by putting “fence posts” around the problem—requirements for transparency, controls, and accountability—they’ve forced the industry to engage seriously. And that’s accelerating the rise of more responsible, explainable AI models that can actually operate in regulated environments. The biggest barrier isn’t tech. It’s trust. Alex is blunt about the real adoption challenge: underwriter trust. Underwriters are highly skilled, deeply trained, and accountable for protecting the carrier from bad risk. They don’t reject AI because they’re stubborn. They reject it because they’re responsible. And the first experience matters. If AI gets it wrong early, many underwriters won’t come back. That’s why Sixfold’s success depends on more than models—it depends on building confidence through reliability, transparency, and outcomes underwriters can verify. Why this episode matters For carrier executives, this conversation is a clear signal: underwriting transformation isn’t only an efficiency play. It’s a capability upgrade in a market where talent is scarce and submission volume keeps rising. For founders and operators, it’s a blueprint for how vertical GenAI wins: solve the hardest workflow, earn trust with the front line, and scale responsibly. Because the future of underwriting isn’t humans vs machines. It’s humans — made stronger — by machines that finally understand the work.
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Alex Schmelkin: Transforming Insurance Underwriting with GenAI and AI Agents
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