For years the young, male driver has been the pariah of the insurance industry, condemned to pay premiums that often cost more than the vehicle being insured.

But those facing yearly premiums ranging from £1,200 to £2,500 were offered a glimmer of hope with the announcement that Guardian PMPA is to give a 6 per cent discount to young male drivers on a trial basis to see if they are as high risk as most in the industry believe.

The company, Ireland's largest motor insurance provider with a market share of 30 per cent, says it will review its position at the end of the year.

"There has been a marginal improvement in the experience of young male drivers on our account and we have taken this opportunity to reflect this improvement in rates for 1998," a spokeswoman said.

Guardian PMPA's move reflects a slight thawing in the industry's previously frosty attitude to the young, male driver.

Along with the realisation that young, male drivers often form part of family units, with other cars and houses to insure, the growth in the younger segment of the market has made it harder to ignore. Hibernian, ranked second in the motor market behind Guardian PMPA, last year introduced a new policy of granting a no-claims discount to drivers previously named on an insurance policy.

The move, which primarily benefited young drivers, was designed to build customer relations and has been well received, the company says.

"It's a question of building a relationship with the household rather than just an individual," Mr Terry Dinnigan, Hibernian's head of home and motor insurance, said.

FBD Insurance also provides discounts to young drivers named on a parent's policy and says it tries to accommodate younger drivers, particularly where there is a family connection.

Others have repositioned themselves in the youth market as the general economic prosperity sees more young people take to the road.

Church & General says it broadened its acceptance criteria to include a younger range of ages some 12 to 15 months ago and has also adjusted its prices. "Part of the reason we widened our acceptance criteria is the significant growth in that market in recent years. There are plenty of Celtic Tigers roaming around out there," says Mr David O'Connor, a member of the management board.

The industry increasingly appears to be trying to weed out the lower risk young driver, those who can demonstrate some kind of safety record or can prove they have good driving skills rather than simply punishing all young drivers for their age.

Royal Sun Alliance provides an automatic discount of 10 per cent to young drivers who have taken a 25-hour course with an instructor named under the Driving Instructor Registration Scheme.

"We actively reward careful drivers, no matter what age," says Mr Patrick Nally, head of marketing.

But despite the various discounts available, most young drivers still face hefty premiums and a sea change in the industry's attitude is unlikely as long as the fundamental factors which led to high premiums in the first place remain unchanged.

Until a climate is created where fewer accidents occur and fewer personal injury claims are made, Irish motor insurance premiums in general and those of young drivers in particular are set to remain high.

The Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) notes that the downward trend in road accidents seen in the 1992-1995 period, which led to a consequent drop in premiums, has been reversed over the last two years.

Provisional Garda statistics show that the death toll on Irish roads rose to 470 last year, the highest level for seven years, with 17 more people killed than in 1996.

And the statistics consistently show that younger drivers are involved in more road accidents than their seniors.

Claims in Ireland also tend to be higher than elsewhere in Europe. This is partly because Ireland, with a large rural road network and lower traffic density, has an increased proportion of high-speed accidents involving personal injury while Ireland's system of compensation for personal injuries is also among the most generous in Europe.

Again, claims involving younger drivers tend to be higher than those made by older drivers.

Deloitte & Touche, in a 1996 report on the cost of insurance in Ireland, found that the average amount paid in claims involving drivers in the 17-24 age group was £6,122 against £2,937 for drivers in the 36-40 age bracket.

The insurance industry says there can be no long-term, sustained reduction in overall motor insurance premium levels until the cost of underwriting motor insurance reduces in Ireland.

The IIF points out that it has been decades since the Irish motor insurance industry has reported an underwriting profit, deriving any money it makes from investment income.

Last year, underwriting losses more than doubled to £90 million from £41 million although the industry made a technical profit of £31 million once investment income was taken into account.

The industry believes driving standards must be improved and also calls for additional resources for the Garda to improve enforcement.

"We were encouraged by the success of Operation Lifesaver in Louth and Meath," an IIF spokeswoman said, noting that the high-profile Garda road safety campaign had resulted in a drop in the number of hospital admissions in the area.

But the spokeswoman added that improving road safety in the Louth and Meath areas was not enough. It had to be done all over the country.

Industry sources also suggest that high insurance costs can only be lowered by addressing the factors which push up the cost of claims.

Some progress has already been made in this direction by improving the speed, efficiency and accessibility of the courts.

Industry sources say it once took up to two and a half years for personal injury cases to be heard but this is now down by at least a half.