Innovation & AI: Reimagining Insurance Risk with Ashish Srivastava

We're coming to you LIVE from ITC 2025! In this new, limited series of Risk Management: Brick by Brick, host Jason Reichl sits down with Ashish Srivastava, Head of North America, Insurance & Risk Management for Blackstone Real Estate, to explore the massive gap between what insurance customers need and what the market actually delivers. With experience spanning McKinsey & Company, Zurich Insurance, and now managing one of the largest real estate insurance portfolios in the world, Ashish reveals why InsurTechs are positioned to bridge this gap and how AI will transform risk from a cost center into a strategic value-add.

Discover how portfolio scale creates competitive advantages, why innovation should trump brand names when selecting partners, and what it takes for insurance carriers and brokers to keep pace with evolving customer expectations. Whether you are a risk manager at a global enterprise or a carrier trying to modernize, this conversation reveals why intellectual curiosity and innovation are the only ways to survive the shifting landscape.

To find out how TrustLayer manages risk so that people can build the physical world around us, head to TrustLayer.io.

Podcast Host: Jason Reichl

Executive Producer: Don Halliwell

Episode Highlights:

• 00:00 - Intro: Welcome to Risk Management Brick by Brick
• 00:25 - From McKinsey to Blackstone: Ashish's Journey into Insurance
• 01:25 - Scale as Strategy: Managing Risk Across Portfolio Companies
• 02:45 - The Customer Report Card: What Buyers Need vs. What They Get
• 03:55 - AI's Role in Transforming Risk Management
• 05:05 - From Reactive to Proactive: Preventing Claims Before They Happen
• 06:37 - Practical AI Applications: Sensors, Cameras, and Pattern Recognition
• 07:07 - How AI Will Reshape Insurance Carriers and Brokers
• 08:35 - The "Three in a Box" Model: Building Effective AI Teams
• 10:23 - Why Risk Managers Must Be Part of AI Conversations
• 12:06 - Leadership and the Innovation Gap in Insurance
• 14:17 - Innovation vs. Brand Names: Selecting the Right Partners
• 16:06 - Advice for Risk Managers: Curiosity and Influence
• 17:17 - Getting Started in Insurance: Resources for Young Professionals
• 19:27 - Why Insurance Affects Everything in the World
  
  

Episode Resources:

• Ashish Srivastava’s LinkedIn
• Revantage, A Blackstone Portfolio Company
• TrustLayer

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Risk Management: Brick by Brick is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Previous guests include: Seth Hausman of Kraus-Anderson Insurance, Matthew Meyer of The Horton Group, Diana Rich of Foundation Building Materials, Christy McHenry of Suffolk Construction, Mark Rieder of NFP, and Cory Mangum of Primoris Services Corporation.

Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Managing Your Risk Portfolio with Seth Hausman
• Focusing on Specialization with Matthew Meyer
• Risk Management is Everywhere with Diana Rich

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