The evolution of risk engineering: Four decades of change
A 40-year view on how risk engineering evolved from site visits and film cameras to data-driven insight, and the principles that continue to guide the work.
Over the past four decades, risk engineering has undergone a quiet transformation. What was once defined by physical site visits, paper reports, and manual verification has evolved into a discipline shaped by digital tools, geospatial data, and real-time collaboration.
As insurance has evolved, so too have the expectations placed on risk engineers. Brokers and underwriters now operate in a landscape shaped by expanding data sources and tighter turnaround times, which means engineers must do more than identify exposures; they must interpret complex information quickly and translate it into clear, actionable insight.
Few people have seen that shift as closely as Vince Squadrito.
When Vince joined Mitti Insurance in January 2024, he was already more than forty years into a career in insurance risk control. We sat down with Vince to reflect on how risk engineering has evolved, what has changed, and what has remained constant.
Early foundations of risk engineering
Before digital tools, satellite overlays, and virtual walkthroughs became common practice, risk engineering was grounded in physical inspection and technical discipline. The role demanded a strong understanding of engineering principles, policy interpretation, and real-world operations.
Q: How did you first come into risk engineering, and what did the job demand in those early years?
“I started in land surveying, so you learn very quickly to read the ground properly and pay attention to detail,” Vince explains. He later became a trainee insurance risk surveyor and, while working, completed a fire technology course at TAFE at night to build his technical base in fire engineering. That combination of on-the-job experience and formal study proved invaluable in his insurance risk work.
In those early years, risk engineers were expected to interpret policy language, assess complex operations, and communicate recommendations in a way people would act on. Technical knowledge was essential, but so was judgment.
How the work has changed
Over the past forty years, the mechanics of risk engineering have shifted significantly.
Q: What did inspections look like when you started, compared to now?
“Back then, you’d travel out, spend the whole day walking through the site, take photos on film, and then go back and write everything up,” Vince says. Images had to be developed before they could be reviewed properly, and reports were compiled manually. Verification depended on careful note-taking and memory.
The process left little room for error, but it also left little room for speed.
As technology advanced, digital cameras eliminated delays, and reporting moved from paper files to structured templates. Data could be stored, searched, and shared instantly. Today, virtual inspections form part of the risk engineering toolkit, supported by satellite imagery, mapping platforms, and third-party datasets that allow deeper analysis before a site visit even begins.
“You’ve got a lot more information at your fingertips,” Vince notes. “It helps you make decisions more quickly, but you still have to know what you’re looking at.”
Beyond textbooks
The expansion of digital tools has changed how risk engineering is delivered, but it has not removed the need for experience. In fact, as the volume of available data grows, the ability to interpret it responsibly becomes even more important.
Q: With so much technology available today, what still cannot be replaced?
“Textbooks give you the framework,” Vince says. “Experience teaches you how to use it.”
He describes walking into a site and sensing when something does not quite align, even if documentation appears compliant. That instinct, developed over years of exposure to real-world risk, cannot be downloaded or automated.
Experience also shapes how recommendations are delivered. Identifying a risk is one part of the role. Explaining it in a way that leads to action is another.
For brokers and underwriters navigating increasingly complex exposures, the strength of modern risk engineering lies in that balance. Technology expands visibility, and experience ensures clarity. Together, they shape a discipline that continues to evolve without losing its core purpose.
Technology and the acceleration of risk insight
The last decade has seen risk engineering shift from being primarily site-driven to data-enabled. Digital reporting, remote collaboration, and geospatial analysis are no longer supplementary tools; they are embedded into the workflow. Industry research reflects this acceleration. According to McKinsey, insurers that integrate advanced analytics into underwriting and risk assessment processes can improve loss ratios by 3-5% while reducing turnaround time significantly.
Read: How data and analytics are redefining excellence in P&C underwriting
Deloitte reports that digital inspection platforms and remote assessment tools have cut certain survey cycle times by up to 30%, allowing brokers and underwriters to respond to risks faster without sacrificing depth of analysis.
Read: The Many High-impact Applications of Data and Analytics in Insurance
The impact is not just speed, but clarity. Geospatial overlays can identify flood exposure in minutes, while third-party datasets flag risks such as cladding or wildfire proximity before a site visit begins. Structured digital forms reduce reporting variability and improve portfolio-wide consistency. What once required multiple touchpoints and manual consolidation can now be reviewed in near real time.
For risk engineers, the role has expanded. They must understand engineering fundamentals and regulatory standards while also interpreting layered data responsibly. The expectation is no longer simply to document exposure, but to synthesize information into clear, actionable insight for brokers and underwriters managing increasingly complex risks. Technology has made risk more visible and raised the standard for how that visibility is used. The tools are sharper and the data richer, yet the fundamentals have remained steady.
The next chapter
Vince has spent more than forty years watching risk engineering evolve. The tools changed, the pace accelerated, and the data expanded, but the responsibility remained the same. Much of his career was built around preventing things from happening, which means success can (sometimes) be nothing at all. He has always believed that risk must be understood in detail.
Vague understanding, he would say, does not protect anyone. Whether he was walking a site in person or reviewing a virtual inspection through Mitti’s platform, the expectation was the same: look closely, verify what you are seeing, and make sure the conclusion holds up.
After four decades of thinking that way, stepping back does not feel abrupt. Retirement, for Vince, is less a closing chapter and more a change in pace. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he does not hesitate. “I did my job, and I tried to do it well.”
Steve Case, his manager, hopes that even after Vince’s final day, his influence will continue in a practical way. When something complex arises, he imagines someone pausing and asking, “What would Vince do?” If that question continues to shape decisions, then Vince’s forty years in risk engineering will not simply sit in the past. They will live on in the practice itself, a steady continuation of a career well-lived and well-loved.
Happy Retirement Vince!
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