Leandro DalleMulle: Trailblazing AI in Commercial Insurance Underwriting
Leandro DalleMulle: Trailblazing AI in Commercial Insurance Underwriting  
Podcast: Scouting for Growth
Published On: Thu Jan 25 2024
Description: On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Leandro DalleMule, who brings a dynamic perspective shaped by nearly 30 years of driving growth through data and AI. Today, Global Head of AI and Data at Deloitte(but at the time at Planck), Leandro, spearheads the most sophisticated generative AI platform serving commercial insurers across four continents. Through the "Scouting for Growth" podcast, Leandro will unveil his playbook for activating cross-industry partnerships and investments to future-proof success. His globetrotting career stands as a testament to the power of bridging geographic and sector divides to drive innovation. KEY TAKEAWAYS We’ve been using large language models since the beginning of the company; they just weren’t very popular because ChatGPT hadn’t launched yet. But now we can open the black box. It’s very addictive once you start asking the chat part questions. There are two major pain points we solve with technology: Efficiency is super important for underwriters, as margins are very thin in any line. Accuracy is also important; how precisely are you finding the correct information rather than misleading or wrong data? The beauty of the technology is that it can work from multiple sources, bring it all together & make sense of that information.  Before I give an overview of large language models, I always ask: “How many of you have heard of ChatGPT, generative AI?” It’s about 50% in traditional carriers (higher in the digital NGA space), surprisingly, or not – insurance isn’t a very innovative space. Then I ask how many have used it & the number drops to about 30%. There’s much more room to grow. Generative AI is the future, it’s coming from all directions, not just insurance, we’ll be seeing more and more natural interaction with technology rather than it being distanced from us.  BEST MOMENTS ‘We went from being a data provider, at the very early stages years ago, to providing a risk & underwriting insights workbench with an AI co-pilot to help underwriters be more productive.’ ‘For anyone that’s used ChatGPT once, it’s impressive, it’s surprising the amount of investment in such a short period of time & the adoption, which surpassed the launch of any other product, ever.’ ‘Once people start using AI, they understand the power of it.' ‘Talk to your kids, they’ll know.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Leandro DalleMule has nearly 30 years of experience helping businesses in the retail, energy, manufacturing, telecom, and financial services industries achieve sustained increased profitability through data and analytics. Leandro is a leading artificial intelligence data platform for commercial insurers. Previously, he spent 6 years as AIG's chief data officer. Prior to AIG, he held several senior leadership positions, including senior director of big data analytics at Citibank and head of marketing analytics at BlackRock. Today, he returned to lead AI and Data at Deloitte's advanced analytics practice. Leandro holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, a magna cum laude MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a graduate certificate in applied mathematics from Columbia University.  He has published several articles on analytics, risk, and economics, the most recent ones for the Harvard Business Review on data strategy and analytics. 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 hello@alchemycrew.ventures