A new catastrophic weather service has been put in operationthat will provide insurers with 10-day predictions regarding thepath and intensity of hurricanes and named tropical storms, it wasannounced.

The service, called WSI LiveCat Forecast, was introduced by GuyCarpenter & Company, LLC, and WSI Corporation, a provider ofweather-driven business solutions.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) provides a five-day forecastperiod for these storms, Guy Carpenter and WSI said. This newservice, using meteorological models, "allows insurers to establishadvantageous market positions days ahead of those relying on NHCinformation alone," the companies added.

The service will be offered through Guy Carpenter's online datamanagement platform, i-aXs, and will begin providing data on June1. According to the companies, WSI LiveCat Forecast will providetwice-daily track and intensity forecasts for each named tropicalstorm and hurricane, as well as landfall probability forecasts.

"WSI and Guy Carpenter have developed a forecast that goes wellbeyond what is currently available for the insurance marketplace,"Ira Scharf, general manager of WSI's Energy and Risk Services, saidin a statement.

"By applying WSI's deep understanding of weather prediction toadvance hurricane forecasting to the next level, WSI LiveCatForecast gives insurance companies an edge by predicting a storm'spath and intensity up to five days longer than the NationalHurricane Center," he said.

Michelle Harnick, managing director, Guy Carpenter, added, "AsWSI LiveCat Forecast provides insurers with extra time to identifyareas of greatest exposure and mitigate their risk, Guy Carpentercan help its clients create effective reinsurance solutions."