Sixfold Content

Not sure what an AI agent is? You’re in good company. We sat down with Sixfold CTO Brian Moseley to unpack: 

• What “agentic AI” really means
• Why it’s suddenly everywhere
• Why it matters for insurance underwriting
• How we’re putting this technology to work at Sixfold

The Definition Dilemma

What exactly are agents in the context of AI?
That’s harder to answer than it should be.

The industry hasn’t coalesced around a standard definition. According to swyx, a software engineer might say that an agent is “LLM calls in a for loop.” Pretty reductive. If you buy them a beer, they’ll probably start talking about tools, memory, and LLM-based control flow - fascinating but deeply technical concepts that don’t offer much pragmatic insight.

Basically, an agent can accomplish a complex task by choosing how to progress through a complex, evolving process without ongoing human input.

For my money, Addy Osmani offers the most useful working definition. He says that “AI agents [...] are autonomous systems designed to perceive their environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals, all while maintaining context and adapting their approach based on results.” Basically, an agent can accomplish a complex task by choosing how to progress through a complex, evolving process without ongoing human input. Contrast this with the typical chatbot interaction, where a human submits a sequence of one-shot requests.

How do you define the difference between a workflow and an agent?
The key difference is that a workflow is consistent and predictable. Given the same set of inputs, it will proceed the same way every time. A workflow can be dynamic, with conditional or looping steps, but it is inherently deterministic.

An agent’s process is driven by probabilities. Even if given the same inputs twice in a row, an agent may choose a different plan of attack each time and will almost certainly generate different outputs on every run.

An agent’s process is driven by probabilities. Even if given the same inputs twice in a row, an agent may choose a different plan of attack each time and will almost certainly generate different outputs on every run. You can reason about what is likely to happen, but there are no guarantees. You have to be comfortable with a range of outputs and have some tolerance for error.

The flexibility is exactly what makes agents so powerful, and why they’re now at the center of so many AI conversations.

Why Everyone’s Talking About Them

Why do you think agents have become such a hot topic?
Businesses are always looking for ways to do more with their resources. First, we automate repetitive tasks that are consistent and predictable from one execution to another. But once those possibilities have been exhausted, the next leap is enabling software to handle more complex, reasoning-based work.

If this is successful, we can offload even more, not just the rote work that is often done on autopilot, but also the tasks that require real thinking.

If this is successful, we can offload even more, not just the rote work that is often done on autopilot, but also the tasks that require real thinking. That’s the promise.

But it gets even better. We can envision a world where, as the cost of intelligence is driven down, every worker becomes a manager of a team of agents, setting goals, reviewing work, testing many ideas simultaneously, and picking the best with high confidence. This goes beyond improving productivity — it’s evolution.

Where Agents Fit Into Underwriting

Where do you see agents making an impact in underwriting?
The underwriting process itself is relatively structured and rules-based. But within that structure, underwriters deal in nuance, like recognizing when a 10-story building without sprinklers is still acceptable due to fire-resistive construction and strong safety measures, or approving a contractor engaged in high-risk work because of rigorous safety protocols and certified staff. They have to understand a risk so completely that they can craft a very thoughtful quote and risk management solution for the customer.

The underwriting workflow itself might remain orchestrated traditionally, but each step, the "needle-in-the-haystack" moments, could be powered by intelligent agents making context-based decisions.

That’s where agents come in. The underwriting workflow itself might remain orchestrated traditionally, but each step, the "needle-in-the-haystack" moments, could be powered by intelligent agents making context-based decisions. And instead of one underwriter doing all the work, an entire network of specialized agents can be turned loose on the risk to each solve a specific, context-rich problem, then synthesize the findings.

Agents at Sixfold

How are we using agents across Sixfold today?
The most obvious starting point is our Q&A feature. It starts with pre-set underwriting questions, scanning applicant data to find the answers, and summarizing them for the underwriter. While the feature began life as a simple one-shot LLM interaction, it has evolved over time. Now, if the input is complex, the system breaks it down into simpler sub-questions, answers each separately, and then summarizes those outputs into a final response.

Next up is our Research Assistant, an agent that performs targeted web searches depending on the context of the business. For a given question, it decides how to search, what sources to consult, and how to rank results. We anticipate the research assistant will boost our ability to answer 30% more critical questions, giving underwriters a more complete understanding of risk before quoting.

We’re researching ever-more advanced techniques for document extraction. We’re experimenting with agentic approaches to classifying documents and routing to customized pipelines that can better extract information from complex structured documents like loss runs—use cases where traditional methods often fall short.

The Future of Agents

Are there limitations to agents today?
Technically, we’re still in the early days. As discussed earlier, we can’t even agree on a shared definition yet. And the methods by which agents interact with their environment (MCP) and each other (A2A) are evolving quickly.

But there are plenty of tools that help engineers build and deploy agents, singly or in swarms, and the landscape is rich and competitive. Amazing engineers like Simon Willison are doing yeoman’s work to help us understand the new models, tools, and techniques that pop up every day. It’s a great time to be a builder!

I think the bigger challenge is societal. What does the world look like when every person has a thousand agents at their fingertips? How will we experience the changes that advance us to that point? What will work - and leisure - look like?

Are there historical tech shifts you’d compare this to, like the internet or the iPhone?
Those were 10x changes, but what we’ve seen and will see in the five years after ChatGPT feels like 100x or even 1,000x. I don’t think anything else in modern history really compares.

There’s a lot of agentic hype right now, and some of it feels over the top, like the idea that AI will be writing most code in just a few months. You have to take some of this stuff with more than one grain of salt.

At the end of the day, it has to make sense for underwriters. We’re all about using the best tool for the job, regardless of what everybody happens to be talking about at the moment.

But overall, this feels different. Even if I’m naturally skeptical about the flavor of the day,I think there’s something real and lasting here, and we are leaning heavily into it at Sixfold. On top of what I mentioned earlier, we’re working through several new concepts that could make it into our roadmap. 

That said, we’re not doing agents for the sake of it. At the end of the day, it has to make sense for underwriters. We’re all about using the best tool for the job, regardless of what everybody happens to be talking about at the moment.

References

latent.space/p/agent
docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SWoBIvTQu__uNEvSawmNcROiUx-n86O_fP0arZcTGb8/edit#slide=id.g2d9839ccb1c_0_0
addyo.substack.com/p/what-are-ai-agents-why-do-they-matter
huyenchip.com/2025/01/07/agents.html

Insurance underwriting has long struggled with a data challenge: finding a way to handle the daily flood of information quickly and accurately. Why? Because the ability to process data significantly impacts the profitability and growth of insurers.

If this sounds familiar, here’s some good news: there’s now a better way to tackle these challenges. Underwriting-focused AI is transforming underwriting by processing complex data, providing risk summaries, and delivering tailored risk recommendations—all in ways that were previously unimaginable.

Most of the information underwriters need to make an underwriting decision comes in a mix of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured formats.

Most of the information underwriters need to make an underwriting decision comes in a mix of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured formats, including various types of documents such as broker emails, application forms, and loss runs. This data is often handled manually, consuming 30% to 40% of underwriters' time and ultimately impacting Gross Written Premium (McKinsey & Company). 

To address this, insurers have long sought technological solutions. Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) tools were a key step forward, using technologies like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract and organize data. However, while IDP helps digitize information, it doesn’t fully solve the problem of turning data into actionable insights. 

Comparing IDP and Underwriting AI

‍IDPs have been the predominant way of approaching underwriting efficiency, primarily used by insurers to automate tasks in underwriting, policy administration, and claims processing. These tools focus on converting generic documents into structured data by capturing text, classifying document types, and extracting key fields, offering a general solution across different industries.

Digitizing documents - sounds like a no-brainer right? But, what happens if you go beyond simply digitizing documents?

Digitizing documents - sounds like a no-brainer right? But, what happens if you go beyond simply digitizing documents? Underwriting AI makes this possible by offering a new approach to improving efficiency and accuracy for underwriters — by not just bringing in all the data but also generating risk analysis and actionable insights. AI empower underwriting teams to focus only on the information that truly matters for underwriting decisions.

The difference between these technologies becomes clearer when comparing the outputs of underwriting AI with traditional technologies like IDPs. Instead of only extracting every data field, risk assessment solutions that leverage LLMs—like Sixfold— use their trained understanding of what underwriters care about to decide what risk information to summarize and present to underwriters.

This approach differs from IDP by focusing on presenting contextual insights for underwriters, such as risk patterns and appetite alignment. Instead of only providing the extracted data, it highlights key information that directly supports faster decision-making.

Different Approaches to Accuracy

By now, we already know that IDPs and AI solutions aim to improve efficiency and save underwriters time. But what about accuracy? Accuracy is the key component of a successful underwriting decision, which is why evaluating it is so important for tools focused on supporting underwriters. Let’s highlight the differences between what matters for IDP versus AI tools in terms of accuracy. 

IDPs -  Accuracy is about precise field extraction

‍IDPs focus on data processing, so their success is measured by how accurately they extract each text field. This makes sense given their role in automating structured data collection. If the data field in a document says “Loss run is: $10,000” and the IDP extracts “$1,000” then it’s easy to say that it was not an accurate extraction. 

Underwriting AI - Accuracy is about human-like reasoning‍

The accuracy of underwriting AI lies in their ability to align reasoning and output with the task, presenting the key risk data underwriters themselves would choose to prioritize. Evaluating AI accuracy therefore means determining how closely the AI mirrors an underwriter in assessing risk submissions.

The reality is that, with AI and data extraction, small mistakes don't matter much. For example, consider a loss run: as an underwriter, what’s important isn’t necessarily every individual line or small loss but rather recognizing patterns — such as total losses exceeding $10,000 within a specific timeframe or recurring trends in certain types of losses. An underwriting AI can uncover these insights by focusing on significant trends and aggregating relevant data, looking at a case the same way a human would do.

How to Choose the Right Tool?

‍The answer isn’t as simple as this or that. There are successful examples of insurers using one, the other, or even both solutions, depending on their needs.

IDP can be a great tool for extracting fields like names, addresses, and other key information from documents to feed into downstream systems. Meanwhile, AI-focused technologies like Sixfold are great for risk analysis. It’s important to note that a company doesn’t need to have an IDP solution in place to adopt an AI solution like Sixfold – these technologies can work independently.

If your goal is to reduce the manual workload for underwriters, start by identifying the exact inefficiencies.

To decide which use of technology is the best fit for your underwriting needs – whether it’s one of these solutions or potentially both – consider the specific challenges you’re addressing. If your goal is to reduce the manual workload for underwriters, start by identifying the exact inefficiencies. For instance, if the issue is that underwriters spend a significant amount of time manually extracting text fields from one document and re-entering it into another system, IDP could be a good option — it’s built for that kind of work, what you are paying for is extracting fields. 

However, if you want to address larger inefficiencies in the underwriting process — such as reducing the total time it takes for underwriters to respond to customers — you’ll need to tackle bigger bottlenecks. While it’s true that manual data entry is a challenge, much more of underwriters’ time is spent on manual research tasks such as reviewing hundreds of pages looking for specific risk data, or finding the right NAICS code for a business. These are areas where underwriting AI would be better suited. ‍

So, What's Next for Underwriting?

IDP can efficiently digitize key information, but it doesn’t solve the broader challenges of manual inefficiencies that underwriters deal with daily.

Imagine a future in underwriting where IDP effortlessly extracts core data fields essential for accurate rating, ensuring consistent and reliable input into downstream systems. Meanwhile, specialized underwriting AI takes on the rest of the heavy manual lifting—matching risks to appetite, delivering critical context for decisions, and significantly reducing the time it takes to quote.

By combining the OCR capabilities of IDP with the intelligence of underwriting AI, insurers can make underwriting a lot less manual.

By combining the OCR capabilities of IDP with the intelligence of underwriting AI, insurers can make underwriting a lot less manual. These tools promise a 2025 where underwriters spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time making smart risk decisions.

This post was originally posted on LinkedIn

Here at Sixfold, we talk to underwriters all the time—on calls, in meetings, at conferences, and through feedback on everything we create. Why? Because understanding the real challenges underwriters face is at the core of what we do.

From those conversations, we realized there’s no central digital space where underwriters can stay updated on industry innovations, exchange insights, and find tools to grow their careers.

That got us thinking — what if we built that place?

So, we did! I’m super excited to introduce Beyond the Policy, Sixfold’s innovation hub designed exclusively for underwriters. Here’s what you can expect:

Real Stories From the Frontlines

Why? Great advice comes from those who’ve faced the same challenges. That’s why Beyond the Policy features interviews with experienced underwriters who share their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities shaping the industry today. These Q&As provide practical insights, lessons learned, and tips you can apply directly to your own work.

We began our interviews with underwriters from major players like Sompo International and NSM, as well as from smaller MGAs and consultancies, ensuring a diverse (and always personal) perspectives.‍

AI Crash Course for Underwriting Leaders

Why? AI is transforming underwriting, but getting started can feel overwhelming. To help, we’ve created a crash course specifically for underwriting leaders. It’s designed to provide clear, actionable steps for getting started. 

This course brings together insights from top AI experts across diverse fields, including the Head of AI at Sixfold and a Lead AI Counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton. Whether you're new to AI or looking to enhance your approach, this resource is a great starting point.

Will we launch more courses in the future? Absolutely - stay tuned for our next one.

The Best of the Web for Underwriters

Why? The internet is full of information, but finding what’s truly relevant can be a challenge. That’s why we’re doing the work for you. Beyond the Policy features curated content tailored to underwriters, pulling together key industry updates and trends - and updating it frequently. Fresh content, every week! 

This week's recommended content includes a great episode from The Insurance Podcast featuring Send (underwriting insurance software) and an article from Deloitte on the insurance outlook in 2025.

Monthly Emails You’ll Actually Want to Read

Why? We know you’re busy, so we’ve packed our monthly emails with the best of what Beyond the Policy has to offer. Expect updates on the latest Q&As, new resources like the AI crash course, and handpicked articles that are worth your time.

These emails are designed to keep you ahead (without adding to your email load).

➡️ Beyond the Policy is now live!

If you’re an underwriter, I invite you to check it out, sign up for our monthly emails and hopefully learn a new thing or two.

Enjoy!

October 18, 2024 - Sixfold, the AI solution designed to streamline end-to-end risk assessments for underwriters, announced its partnership with AXIS, a global leader in specialty insurance and reinsurance, a collaboration that has yielded positive results in its initial rollout. Within the first month of deployment, AXIS underwriters leveraged Sixfold’s solution to improve efficiency, accurately classifying businesses and aligning cases with their risk appetite.

“This partnership is all about leveraging AI to empower our underwriters and even further enhance the service we provide to our customers. We were searching for a solution that could reliably deliver precision, and Sixfold has done just that and more.

The real game-changer has been the time savings—freeing up valuable hours so our underwriters can zero in on the work that drives results while ultimately benefiting the customer” said Josh Fishkind, Head of Innovation at AXIS.

“Our goal is to provide meaningful ROI for all our customers, and AXIS has already begun to see these benefits,” said Alex Schmelkin, Sixfold's Founder & CEO. “We look forward to continuing our partnership as AXIS discovers more ways Sixfold can enhance their underwriting processes.”

Read the full customer story here and check out the Insurance Post article covering our work with AXIS.

In 2025, the cyber risk landscape is expected to become more complex with increasing threats driven by rising privacy violations, data breaches, the rise of AI, and external factors such as emerging regulations. According to Munich Re, the cyber insurance market has nearly tripled in size over the past five years, with global premiums projected to surpass $20 billion by 2025, up from nearly $15 billion in 2023, as reported by CyberSecurity Dive.

Reflecting the rapid market growth and emerging threats, Sixfold has seen increased demand from specialty insurers in the cyber sector and has successfully brought on several industry leaders as customers.  "In the near future, cyber policies will become as essential as General Liability or Property & Casualty coverage. Given the world we live in, this shift is inevitable. Cyber policies are poised to become the most specific and highly customized policies available" said Jane Tran, Co-founder & COO at Sixfold.

"In the near future, cyber policies will become as essential as General Liability or Property & Casualty coverage. Given the world we live in, this shift is inevitable. Cyber policies are poised to become the most specific and highly customized policies available"

Empowering Underwriters to Quickly Adapt to New Cyber Risks

As cyber risks grow, the pressure on underwriters to assess risks accurately and expedite the case review process continues to increase. Sixfold’s AI solution for cyber insurance addresses these challenges by securely ingesting each insurer’s underwriting guidelines and aggregating all necessary business information to quickly provide recommendations that align with the carrier’s risk appetite. This capability allows insurers to quickly adjust their risk strategies in response to new cyber threats.

“With Sixfold, insurers can synchronize their underwriting guidelines across the board and adapt quickly. For example, when a new malware threat is identified, you can instantly incorporate it into your risk criteria through Sixfold. This ensures that the entire cyber team factors it into their assessments immediately without needing to learn every detail or the threat or spending hours digging for the right information” said Alex Schmelkin, Founder & CEO of Sixfold.

Besides, effective cyber underwriting demands deep expertise in IT systems, cybersecurity measures, and industry developments. This need for specific expertise presents a significant talent issue for insurers, especially with 50% of the underwriting workforce set to retire by 2028. Sixfold bridges the knowledge gap by instantly providing underwriters with the specialized knowledge they need for accurate risk assessments. 

“Underwriters no longer need to be cyber experts; they can rely on Sixfold to spotlight the critical information needed for accurate underwriting decisions. Our platform simplifies the complex world of cyber risk and empowers underwriters to make more confident decisions, faster” said Jane Tran, Co-founder & COO at Sixfold.

Sixfold Partners with CyberCube to Enhance Cyber Risk Assessments

‍Sixfold has teamed up with CyberCube, the world’s leading analytics provider to quantify cyber risk. This integration of CyberCube's advanced cyber risk analytics with Sixfold's AI underwriting solution enables insurers to achieve faster and more accurate risk assessments. The partnership enhances underwriting efficiency, strengthens regulatory compliance, and offers highly tailored cyber insurance solutions, empowering insurers to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape. "The partnership between CyberCube’s comprehensive cyber data and Sixfold’s innovative risk assessment is setting a new standard for the future of underwriting, keeping insurers prepared for new challenges in determining accurate cyber policies.” said Ross Wirth, Head of Partnership and Ecosystem for CyberCube.

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"The partnership between CyberCube’s comprehensive cyber data and Sixfold’s innovative risk assessment is setting a new standard for the future of underwriting, keeping insurers prepared for new challenges in determining accurate cyber policies.”
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To see our Sixfold speeds up the cyber underwriting process join our upcoming live product demo.

This content was originally published on PR Web

With the rise of AI solutions in the Insurance market, questions around AI regulations and compliance are increasingly at the forefront. Key questions such as “What happens when we use data in the context of AI?” and “What are the key focus areas in the new regulations?” are top of mind for both consumers and industry leaders.

To address these topics, Sixfold’s founder and CEO, Alex Schmelkin, hosted the webinar “How to Secure Your AI Compliance Team’s Approval”. Joined by industry experts Jason D. Lapham, Deputy Commissioner for P&C Insurance for the State of Colorado, and Matt Kelly, Data Strategy & Security Counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton, the discussion provided essential insights into navigating AI regulations and compliance.

Here are the key insights from the session:

AI Regulation Developments: Colorado Leads the Way in the U.S

“There’s a requirement in almost any regulatory regime to protect consumer data. But now, what happens when we start using that data in AI? Are things different?” — Alex Schmelkin

Both nationally and globally, AI regulations are being implemented. In the U.S., Colorado became the first state to pass a law and implement regulations related to AI in the insurance sector. Jason Lapham explained that the key components of this legislation revolve around two major requirements:

1. Governance and Risk Management Frameworks: Companies must establish robust frameworks to manage the risks associated with AI and predictive models.
2. Quantitative Testing: Businesses must test their AI models to ensure that outcomes generated from non-traditional data sources (e.g., external consumer data) do not lead to unfairly discriminatory results. The legislation also mandates a stakeholder process prior to adopting rules.

Initially, the focus was on life insurance, as it played a critical role in shaping the legislative process. The first regulation, implementing Colorado’s Bill 169, adopted in late 2023, addressed governance and risk management. This regulation applies to life insurers across all practices, and the Regulatory Agency received the first reports this year from companies using predictive models and external consumer data sources.

So, what’s the next move for the first-moving state in terms of AI regulations? Colorado Division of Insurance is developing a framework for quantitative testing to help insurers assess whether their models produce unfairly discriminatory outcomes. Insurers are expected to take action if their models do lead to such outcomes.

Compliance Approach: Develop Governance Programs

“When we’re discussing with clients, we say focus on the operational risk side, and it will get you largely where you need to be for most regulations out there.” — Matt Kelly

With AI regulations differing across U.S. states and globally, companies face challenges. Matt Kelly described how his team at Debevoise & Plimpton navigate these challenges by building a framework that prioritizes managing operational risk related to technology. Their approach involves asking questions such as :

• What AI is being used?
• What risks are associated with its use?
• How is the company governing or mitigating those risks?

By focusing on these questions, companies can develop strong governance programs that align with most regulatory frameworks. Kelly advises clients to center their efforts on addressing operational risks, which takes them a long way toward compliance.

The Four Pillars of AI Compliance 

Across different AI regulatory regimes, four common themes emerge:

1. Transparency and Accountability: Companies must understand and clearly explain their AI processes. Transparency is a universal requirement.
2. Ethical and Fair Usage: Organizations must ensure their AI models do not introduce bias and must be able to demonstrate fairness.
3. Consumer Protection: In all regulatory contexts, protecting consumer data is essential. With AI, this extends to ensuring models do not misuse consumer information.
4. Governance Structure: Insurance companies are responsible for ensuring that they—and any third-party model providers—comply with AI regulations. While third-party providers play a role, carriers are ultimately accountable.

Matt Kelly emphasizes that insurers can navigate these four themes successfully by establishing the right frameworks and governance structures. 

Protection vs. Innovation: Striking the Right Balance 

“We tend not to look at innovation as a risk. We see it as aligned with protecting consumers when managed correctly.” — Matt Kelly

Balancing consumer protection with innovation is crucial for insurers. When done correctly, these goals align. Matt noted that the focus should be on leveraging technology to improve services without compromising consumer rights.

One major concern in insurance is unfair discrimination, particularly in how companies categorize risks using AI and consumer data. Regulators ask whether these categorizations are justified based on coverage or risk pool considerations, or whether they are unfairly based on unrelated characteristics. Aligning these concerns with technological innovation can lead to more accurate and fair coverage decisions while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

Want to learn more? 

Watch the full webinar recording and download Sixfold’s Responsible AI framework for Sixfold’s approach to safe AI usage. 

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