Starting a business, insurance ? should i have it, what does it cover

[Thunderchild]

I'm seriously considering starting my own business to manufacture electronics and cabling. These would be small niche items.

Should I get insurance of any kind ? say something I sell goes wrong and i get sued or asked to pay costs, can you insure for that ? what does it cost ?

Can my current employer object to me starting up ? I'm not competing with them, infact I could supply them.

How do I stand with business rates ? I'd be working from home in a semidedicated room (considering this is my hobby to)

Any thoughts would be great, I'll be going down the job centre tomorrow and making inquiries

[LCDMAN]

You need some Public Liability Insurance and Product Liability Insurance (if you are making and selling things). Google those. If you are a member of any trade associations they often have good deals with insurers for their members. Expect to pay around £55-60 for £2M of Public L I, anything more expensive is a rip-off.

Don't bother with the Job Centre for your enquiry - they will know NOTHING. Try Business Link instead - that's what they're there for.

[spudqueen]

Have a look here to see what the Post Office business insurance covers
http://www2.postoffic...ss/business-insurance

[Thunderchild]

well I've asked for a quote from the post office. Yes I suppose I should head over to business links instead. I did have a chat with a guy there but that was in relation to being a sole trader buying and selling goods but now I want to ensure I covered for making stuff too.

[Thunderchild]

the post office wants £530 for up to £2M product liability :(