The motorcycle insurance business is experiencing its first ripples in two decades with the entry of British firm Carole Nash into the Irish market, breaking a monopoly enjoyed by Norwich Union for most of the last 24 years.

The ensuing battle for customers is timely, potentially reducing insurance costs just as two-wheeled transport is getting more popular. But who is this new kid on the block which Norwich Union accuses of cherry-picking the market?

Manchester-based Carole Nash calls itself an insurance consultant, or intermediary, and is effectively a broker. Last January, following discussions with the Motorcycle Union of Ireland and the Irish branch of the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), it introduced its Emerald policy here, offering cover to members of recognised motorcycling clubs. The policies are underwritten by the Independent Insurance Company.

The company has targeted enthusiasts since it was formed by Ms Carole Nash in 1985, using redundancy money from a previous insurance company where she had been involved in a classic motorcycle scheme. Working initially from home, the business grew as she attended motorcycle shows and became popular among club members throughout Britain. By 1996 she became the first woman president of the Vintage Motorcycle Club of Great Britain.

Her company now insures modern bikes, and boasts 80,000 customers with 200,000 bikes, grossing £9 million sterling (£10.6 million) in premium income last year.

Since its introduction last January, the company says the Emerald policy has attracted 1,200 customers with 1,500 motorbikes, many first hearing of the company by word of mouth at bike shows.

The policy suits enthusiasts, insuring the bike rather than the rider, with bikes categorised by power rather than simply by engine size. Besides third-party-only and comprehensive cover, it offers third-party, fire and theft cover, previously unavailable. Pillion passenger cover is included, as is cover for up to 45 days travelling in most European countries.

There is a special scheme for vintage bikes (more than 15 years old) based on an agreed value of the bike. The company has done a deal with Esat Telecom and provides £5 call cards to policy holders to compensate for the lack of an Irish office.

The entry of a new player into the market comes at a time when motorcycling in Ireland is growing in popularity, following a long decline.

MAG's figures show the number of bikes fell from 39,000 in 1972 to 23,000 in 1995, but has been rising since. Norwich Union says it has 27,000 bikes insured, which when added to Carole Nash's figure puts the number of bikes at close to 29,000. MAG says motorbikes accounted for 1.76 per cent of vehicles at the end of 1996, compared to the European average of 14 per cent.

Mr John Wheeler, the general secretary of MAG Ireland, attributes the rise in biking to the general improvement in the economy and to the realisation that motorbikes offer a cheap and fast way to get around busy cities.

Another likely reason is the availability of manoeuvrable scooters which are ideal for city conditions.

Mr Wheeler, a lifetime biking enthusiast, welcomes the entry of Carole Nash to the market, describing it as a "first ray of hope on the insurance front in many a long year".

Using examples of mature riders with clean policy records, full licences and medium performance bikes which are kept overnight in garages, he found that Carole Nash's quotes could be one-third to one-half the rates quoted by Norwich Union.

Carole Nash is unashamedly targeting the better-risk motorcyclists, who, according to Mr Wheeler, have been paying over the odds. But its policy has several limitations, including the need to be a club member and to be at least 25 years old.

It excludes non-vintage bikes of less than 250cc engine size and certain sports bikes commonly stolen in Britain. Comprehensive or third-party, fire and theft cover is only available in Dublin if the bike is kept in a garage overnight, and a full licence is required for classic (vintage) cover and for some high-performance bikes.

Mr Wheeler estimates only a quarter of Irish riders qualify for Carole Nash cover.

For this reason, Norwich Union accuses Carole Nash of "cherry picking" and "just testing the water".

Its spokeswoman, Ms Anne Mathews, says: "Carole Nash in real terms would have no experience of the Irish market."

She says theft is a major problem with one in seven of comprehensively insured bikes being stolen, 70 per cent of them in Dublin. She puts the proportion of bikes insured comprehensively at "probably one in 20".

Ms Mathews defends the company's rider policy, which insures a motorcyclist on any bike up to a particular cubic capacity regardless of its power, saying it is very popular. "Once there's demand for it we'll keep it," she says, explaining that it works out a lot cheaper for many riders than Carole Nash's policies, which group bikes according to engine power.

Norwich Union has already responded by announcing cheaper premiums for full licence holders and a 20 per cent loading on provisional licence holders. The battle lines are thus drawn for the lower-risk business.

In the meantime Norwich Union is still the only insurer for under-25s and those with sub-250cc machines.