PRESS RELEASE : Warning on ‘Cestui Que Vie Trust’ car insurance scams [February 2023]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 7 February 2023.

Fraudsters are offering false ‘common law’ car insurance and claiming that the insurance is backed by the holder’s ‘cestui que vie trust’.

We’re aware of fraudsters claiming to sell car insurance and advising users to claim the funds from a personal trust held by the government. They have called it a ‘cestui que vie trust’. Others are selling instructions on how to claim the funds.

Cestui que vie trusts

A cestui que vie trust does not exist and there’s no such trust held by the government. The phrase appears to be a combination of 2 genuine legal terms:

• ‘cestui que trust’, which means someone entitled to money in a trust which has been set up for their benefit
• ‘cestui qui vie’, which means a holder of a life interest in land which was settled on them before life interests were abolished in 1997, or the holder of a lifetime lease

The term has been used from time to time by people claiming that it means they do not have to pay debts or comply with court orders, but there’s no reported example of this being successful in the UK.

What this means

A cestui que vie trust is a made-up term and does not exist.  There’s no fund held by the government which you can claim against. This means that the car insurance is not backed by any funds and holders are driving without insurance.

It’s illegal to drive a vehicle on a road or public place without valid insurance. If you’re not correctly insured, you can be penalised. You could receive a fixed penalty, or be prosecuted in court, and the police might seize your car.

Protecting yourself from scams

We advise you to:

• recognise the signs – always take a moment to stop and think before parting with money or your personal information
• check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams