You should write to AIB/Ark Life and ask them
i) Why you were advised to set up a 'new' policy each time
ii) What the initial and ongoing charges are on each policy
iii) What fund/s each of the policies are invested in and what the associated charges are
If you feel that there was no 'reasonable' reason why you should have three different policies (based on their reply), you should take issue with them first. If you are not happy with their explaniation you can then refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman.
It should have been possible to reinstate either of first two policies. I assume that you dealt with a different advisor each time you went back to them(?).
It may well be that the charging structure on the first policy was more prohibitive than the latter two
or it may have had something to do with the remuneration system to the advisor.
In any event, if you are comfortable with selecting the pension product and funds that suit you best you can buy an 'execution only' pension product online that does not have contribution charges (up to 5%) or policy fees. There would be an annual management charge of 1%.
If the ongoing charges on the existing policies are greater than 1%, you could also look at transferring the existing policies into a new low-cost plan.
GS