Duo pretended to be selling insurance for British Gas

Jail

Two men have been jailed for selling bogus insurance policies to at least 500 victims across the country.

John Annett and Jay Firmager have been jailed for 18 months and 15 months respectively for their part in an insurance scam.

They were sentenced in Croydon Crown Court today by Judge Jeremy Gold after Annett pleaded guilty to fraud in January and Firmager was found guilty of defrauding 12 people in April.

The pair pretended to be selling boiler and central heating cover for British Gas Services Limited. They employed innocent staff to cold-call potential customers with a high-pressure sales script in an effort to sell what their staff believed were genuine insurance policies, but were in fact worthless.

At their sentencing Gold said “you both involved yourselves in a serious and blatant fraud on the public” and ordered Firmager to pay back half of the £1,994 he defrauded from his 12 victims. Annett must pay back all the money he defrauded and has also been disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.

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