The Insurance Ombudsman, Ms Paulyn Marrinan Quinn, has said that she intends to step down from the position in August to pursue her career as a barrister.

Ms Marrinan Quinn will have spent six years establishing and developing the office, which has led to savings of some £17 million in court costs for the complainants and companies that have availed of its services.

Running costs of the office since it was set up in 1992 have amounted to less than £1.5 million.

Speaking at the launch of a five-year review of the office, Ms Quinn said that the insurance ombudsman had overseen the settlement of 2,000 cases since its foundation and managed in excess of 17,000 written and telephone complaints in that period.

Over the past five years, 53 per cent of the cases referred have been related to life assurance and 47 per cent to general insurance. The four main causes of complaint are the repudiation of policy benefits, disputes over surrender values, poor administration of policies and alleged misrepresentation.

Launching the review, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Ms Mary Harney said that the insurance ombudsman's office had played a vital dispute resolution role in the Irish insurance industry.

She said that when the office first opened for business, it was viewed with some cynicism by people both inside and outside the insurance industry.

She said the office had offered a simple, accessible and user-friendly system and operated effectively in the interests of policyholders and their insurers. The service, which is free to those who avail of it, also operates on a highly cost effective basis.