Chartis and All Risks Ltd., a Hunt Valley, Md.-based independent wholesale brokerage, are expanding their relationship to include a program for temporary staffing agencies.

Two North Carolina men were arrested Feb. 9 for allegedly conspiring to file a fraudulent insurance claim on a damaged property and blaming it on Hurricane Irene.

A Northumberland, Pa.-based company with more than 230 independent insurance agency franchise partners in seven states, intends to add partners in Georgia in the second quarter.

LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, plans to acquire Fortigent, a Rockville, Md.-based provider of high-net-worth solutions and consulting services to RIAs, banks, and trust companies.

Natural disasters cost insurance companies more than $32 billion in direct insured losses in the first nine months of 2011, nearly double the average of other years, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

The latest estimates of catastrophic losses from August’s Hurricane Irene project total property damage at $4.3 billion, with the worst damage in New Jersey and North Carolina.

A Wake Forest, N.C., man pleaded guilty Nov. 29 to his role in a $2.7 million workers’ compensation scheme, according to Florida insurance regulators.

The 2011 Atlantic Hurricane season ended Nov. 30 after producing seven major hurricanes, including three major ones, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Charlotte, N.C.-based AmWINS Group intends to acquire THB Group plc of London, as the company looks to expand its specialty insurance distribution efforts.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big I) recently recognized 18 independent insurance agent associations with Excellence in Insurance Education Awards at its education convocation in Minneapolis, Minn.