Risk assessment is a procedure for assessing the risk of a potential policyholder or insurance contract before the start of the contract. Risk assessment also refers to the process between the application by the policyholder (insurance application) and the acceptance of the insurance contract by the insurance company.

The purpose of risk assessment is to determine whether an applicant or the risk to be insured is considered insurable under the General Terms and Conditions of Insurance (GTC) or whether there is a significantly increased risk compared to the calculation for “normal risk” (e.g. due to a recent heart attack of an applicant for life insurance).