So insurance is getting cheaper? Try telling Mr Ian Martin, owner of a Dublin hygiene-product distribution company, Martin Services.

"They've told me it definitely won't be going down next year - and that it might even go up," says Mr Martin. The reason? How long have you got?

"Insurance companies don't give reasons - they make excuses," he claims. With his premiums having climbed by around 300 per cent in the past five years, he is cynical of the line of reasoning employed by insurers.

"First off they tried to blame the increases on September 11th, although the connection is not obvious to me. Then they told me my premises might pose a potential health risk, although it is brand new and constructed to modern standards - they're just looking around for excuses"

Since 1995 the public liability insurance for Bluebell Business Park, the south Dublin industrial estate where his business is located, has shot up from €6,980 per annum to €60,000.

"Ridiculous insurance costs have definitely eaten into turnover and profits. When I hear the industry say its premiums are falling, I find it difficult to believe," Mr Martin says.