As many as 95,000 Irish people are in line for windfall payouts of up to €1,400 after members of Scottish insurer Standard Life voted overwhelmingly in favour of demutualisation.

More than 1.54 million members, or 98 per cent of members voting, backed the decision to become a publicly listed company, according to results released at a special general meeting in Edinburgh. There were only 32,474 votes opposing the move. Standard Life has 2.4 million members and needed the approval of more than three quarters of those voting to proceed with demutualisation and listing.

The process is subject to court approval. It will see the firm's Irish members receive windfalls of between €70 and €1,400 depending on the size of their fund and the length of time they held the policy. This compares with average payouts of £1,700 in the UK.

According to sources, about one-third of the Irish members are "carpet baggers" - people who took out policies late in the day specifically to benefit from the flotation.

In addition to the payouts, the biggest benefit for the Republic will be increased access to capital afforded by the public listing, Michael Leahy, chief executive of the group's Irish operations, said.

Standard Life is aiming for a full initial public offering in July. It plans to sell its shares at between £2.40 and £2.90, raising £1.1 billion (€1.6 billion).

The listing would value it at as much as £5.5 billion.