insurer asks for turnover data for the policy why is that necessary

Turnover is the basis for premium and coverage, not for customer due diligence

The insurer asks for turnover figures because the premium and insured amount are usually directly linked to turnover. For a liability insurance or credit insurance policy, turnover determines how much risk the insurer runs, and therefore how much premium should be charged. This is separate from the customer due diligence that stems from the Anti-Money Laundering Directive and the Financing of Terrorism Regulation — that investigation concerns identity, the source of funds and ultimate beneficial owners, not turnover. Anyone who receives the question in a format alongside, for example, a question about credit assessment, can treat those two separately: one substantiates the risk, the other the identity.

In practice, the insurer usually asks for turnover from the last financial year, sometimes broken down by activity or country if the policy requires it — for example in export credit insurance where the risk differs per sales market. You can enter an estimate, but indicate that it is an estimate; insurers often compare this figure with the annual accounts once they are available. If you are unsure whether the deposited figure already matches the current financial year, it is best to check this separately with whether the annual accounts have already been filed, because a difference between the two figures will otherwise only raise further questions.

Where turnover comes from as official data

The turnover that an insurer verifies ultimately traces back to the data that the business itself records and files under the Trade Register Act 2007 — the annual accounts are the formal source of that, not the questionnaire itself. For larger businesses, there is an additional layer from the reporting obligations of Directive (EU) 2022/2464: turnover broken down by sustainability criteria, which explains why some insurers do not ask for one total figure but for a breakdown.