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.