Five High Court proceedings have been issued against Quinn Insurance since the start of the year.

Four of the cases relate to fire or flood damage at a place of business, with the largest case initiated by Katsura Ltd after flood damage at Toss Byrne's bar in Wexford.

The other cases relate to flood damage at Murray's Bar in Lusk; storm damage at The Royal Hotel in Tipperary; and a fire that destroyed Cafe Connell Bistro's premises in Cavan. The final case relates to flood damage in a private house.

It is understood that in some cases Quinn will not indemnify the damage while in others the plaintiffs are unsatisfied with the terms of the settlement offered by the company.

Quinn Insurance's spokesman said the company could not comment on individual cases but that it deals with about 100,000 claims annually with only 1,000 of those becoming legal cases.

Meanwhile, a settlement has been reached in a €2.5m dispute between Quinn and the proprietors of the Old Mill Bar in Julianstown, which burned down in 2007. Proprietors Michael Durkan and John Lynch brought the case after Quinn refused to indemnify the bar.