The UK medical cannabis market has grown faster than the insurance infrastructure supporting it. NHS Business Services Authority dispensing records show private cannabis prescriptions rising from 282,920 items in 2023 to 659,293 in 2024, with wider estimates putting the active patient population at between 80,000 and 90,000. Coversure Network has now launched Cupican Insurance Brokers in Stevenage, a specialist brokerage led by Richard Cupit (pictured) with a focus on medical cannabis risks.
Cupit previously led medical cannabis insurance coverage at Towergate Insurance Brokers before serving as head of healthcare at PIB Insurance Brokers, where he developed cover for clinics, importers, and prescribing doctors since 2018.
The sector presents a coverage challenge that generalist commercial lines brokers are not well-positioned to handle. Clinics, importers, pharmacies, and prescribing doctors each carry distinct exposures, spanning medical malpractice, professional indemnity, product liability, and regulatory cover. Standard policies routinely exclude cannabis-related work unless explicitly addressed.
The General Medical Council's (GMC) Good Medical Practice (2024) guidance states that doctors must hold “appropriate and adequate insurance or indemnity that covers the full scope of your practice.” That requirement has proved difficult to satisfy for those prescribing in this sector.
“The medical cannabis market is a developing and increasingly sophisticated sector that requires specialist insurance expertise and an understanding of the unique challenges businesses face,” Cupit said. “Joining Coversure gives me the freedom to build a niche proposition, backed by the support, market access and infrastructure of an established network.”
According to Prohibition Partners’ UK Medical Cannabis Market Update 2026, the market is now estimated at between £302 million and £389 million, with more than 140,000 patients and over 800 products available. The overwhelming majority of prescribed supply is imported, which adds supply chain and cargo risks to the liability exposures already present at the clinic and prescription level.
Each link in that chain requires tailored cover that reflects its specific regulatory position. Coverage needs vary enough between operator types that a single generalist policy is unlikely to respond adequately across all of them.
Jordan Maskell, Coversure network director, said Cupit had identified an area of the market where expertise was increasingly important. “As a network, we are always looking to broaden the range of specialist capabilities available across Coversure,” Maskell said, “and Cupican Insurance Brokers is a great example of that.”
The launch is also a reflection of how the Coversure network has been growing. The network has passed 90 offices and reported its second consecutive year of record growth, with much of that expansion driven by experienced brokers who want to build specialist propositions rather than generalist books.
The number of independent broking firms in the UK has nearly halved over the past 15 years, according to MarshBerry’s Insurance Distribution in Europe 2025 Market Report. That trend has pushed some specialist practitioners toward network models that offer regulatory infrastructure and market access without the constraints of employment.
The Coversure franchise structure, which provides Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) appointed representative status alongside operational support, offers a faster route to market than a standalone authorisation, and a more viable one for a broker building a niche book that may take time to scale.
Stevenage is a new geography for Coversure in Hertfordshire, and Cupican becomes the network’s first brokerage with a dedicated medical cannabis focus.
