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Renewed partnership to offer cannabis prescribers affordable insurance

Towergate Insurance and the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society (MCCS) have extended their partnership

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Renewed partnership to offer cannabis prescribers affordable insurance
Doctors wishing to prescribe medical cannabis must be covered by indemnity insurance

Doctors can continue to access more affordable insurance needed to prescribe medical cannabis, thanks to a renewed partnership.

Towergate Insurance and the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society (MCCS) have signed a mutually beneficial deal for the second year running after a positive initial response.

The arrangement sees Towergate offer medical indemnity insurance to doctors who are members of the society, providing them with protection when prescribing cannabis medicines.

Towergate currently offers private doctors specialised insurance, and through this partnership prescribers are able to access it at a more affordable cost.

Meanwhile, the MCCS, an independent community of medical cannabis pioneers, who are dedicated to making the treatment more accessible to those with chronic conditions, gets a financial boost from the partnership.

The expert-led, not-for-profit community receives 15 per cent of the cost of all first-year subscriptions which go towards its running costs.

Professor Mike Barnes, chair of the MCCS, spoke to Cannabis Health about the benefits of the renewed partnership.

The neurologist and medical cannabis expert explained that while NHS doctors are automatically given indemnity insurance, private doctors have to source their own. But a lack of expert knowledge in most insurance companies has meant that many medical professionals have met a brick wall when attempting to obtain the correct insurance.

He explained that either they could not get it at all or were offered “ridiculously” high quotes – as much as £1,000 per session.

Saving the day is Towergate Insurance which offers the insurance for a fraction of the cost and “is very good and reasonable,” Professor Barnes said.

The company continues to move with changes in the industry and is also looking at creating insurance for doctors that see medical cannabis patients during their normal surgery hours.

Boosting the industry

According to the General Medical Council, the UK’s private doctors must have “adequate and appropriate insurance or indemnity arrangements in place” for their entire practice.

Following the legalisation of medical cannabis in November 2018, private doctors wishing to join the burgeoning industry were required to seek appropriate cover.

This would protect them in case of any financial loss or damages resulting from mistakes made when prescribing the medicine.

“With cannabis it would be extremely unusual because it’s such a safe medicine,” Professor Barnes said. “Even if you write a prescription for the wrong amount it’s unlikely to cause any harm.”

However, as an unlicensed medicine, doctors prescribe it at their own risk, and any damages would be directed at the doctor, not a pharmaceutical company.

“A sensible doctor would not want to do this without insurance to cover just in case he or she did make an error,” Professor Barnes continued.

But existing insurers did not seem to have a policy on that type of cover and what they were able to provide was expensive and patchy, he said.

Ultimately, by offering indemnity insurance, Towergate Insurance has helped to open up the industry in the UK.

“Towergate is the first and at the moment the only one doing it, so well done to them. They have filled a gap and it’s a very important gap, and I think because of them it’s enabled many doctors to prescribe who wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Professor Barnes.

Positive partnership

Following the success of the first year, members of the MCCS have expressed their support for Towergate, particularly the firm’s head of corporate medical, Richard Cupit.

“He’s very helpful and very efficient,” said Professor Barnes.

“I’m not aware that anyone has claimed anything through them…but the feedback of the whole process has been really very positive. He’s done a great job in basically allowing the private cannabis sector to get off the ground.”

Professor Barnes said the partnership is likely to continue on into the future: “It’s a very good partnership. It works for us, it works for them, and it works for the doctors and clinics and other people involved.”

According to its website, 25-year-old Towergate Insurance is moving with the times.

“By working closely with the UK’s leading insurers, professional bodies and experts we can offer relevant cover, helpful guidance and other services that make the best of innovation to make insurance easier,” it states.

Towergate is also a member of the Cannabis Industry Council which brings together organisations to promote the use of cannabis and hemp in various industries. 

According to Prof Barnes, a “generous donation” from the firm’s charitable arm has contributed to getting one of the council’s first major lobbying projects off the ground.

In February, Cupit told Cannabis Health: “The benefits of medicinal cannabis in relieving symptoms in patients of any age, across a range of conditions, can be extraordinary and help improve their quality of life.

“Ethically, it is a wonderful sector in which to be involved.”

For more information on Towergate Insurance visit www.towergateinsurance.co.uk

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