how do I determine the value of our machines and inventory for insurance

Replacement value and current value are not the same amount

This question is almost always about replacement value: the amount to repurchase machines and inventory anew, new and in the same location, not the book value from the financial statements and not the market value at sale. For machines, the insurer usually requests the new value per machine or a total amount per business assets category, possibly with year of manufacture. For inventory, the average value over the year is often requested, or the maximum value at the busiest time — this makes a significant difference with seasonal inventory, so read the question carefully to see what point in time they are referring to.

If you don't have those amounts exactly, a substantiated estimate is common practice: acquisition value from the administration, possibly corrected for price increases, or a valuation report if one already exists. This is separate from the financial questions an insurer may also ask, such as insurer asks about our financial health what should I enter — that concerns the solvency of the company, this concerns the replacement value of assets. Do not confuse them in your file: one figure for creditworthiness, another figure for business assets, and both should be in a separate answer so you don't accidentally mix them into the next list.

Why these amounts are not standard in the chain file

Unlike UBO data or financial statements, there is no statutory source that records the replacement value of machines or inventory — these are not data from the Trade Register Act 2007 or a comparable registration, but company-specific valuations and accounting entries. This means that in most cases this field remains "to be determined" until someone in the company provides the amount themselves, possibly with the latest valuation report or purchase invoices as evidence. In case of doubt about the requested valuation date or method, the insurance policy conditions text is the source, not a law. This is also why this question is asked differently than a comparable question from the bank, as explained in why does the bank ask completely different questions than the insurer when it is about the same thing: the bank looks at credit risk, the insurer at repair costs after damage, and that requires a different figure from a different source.