A new catastrophic weather service has been put in operation that will provide insurers with 10-day predictions regarding the path and intensity of hurricanes and named tropical storms, it was announced.
The service, called WSI LiveCat Forecast, was introduced by Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, and WSI Corporation, a provider of weather-driven business solutions.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) provides a five-day forecast period for these storms, Guy Carpenter and WSI said. This new service, using meteorological models, "allows insurers to establish advantageous market positions days ahead of those relying on NHC information alone," the companies added.
The service will be offered through Guy Carpenter's online data management platform, i-aXs, and will begin providing data on June 1. According to the companies, WSI LiveCat Forecast will provide twice-daily track and intensity forecasts for each named tropical storm and hurricane, as well as landfall probability forecasts.
"WSI and Guy Carpenter have developed a forecast that goes well beyond what is currently available for the insurance marketplace," Ira Scharf, general manager of WSI's Energy and Risk Services, said in a statement.
"By applying WSI's deep understanding of weather prediction to advance hurricane forecasting to the next level, WSI LiveCat Forecast gives insurance companies an edge by predicting a storm's path and intensity up to five days longer than the National Hurricane Center," he said.
Michelle Harnick, managing director, Guy Carpenter, added, "As WSI LiveCat Forecast provides insurers with extra time to identify areas of greatest exposure and mitigate their risk, Guy Carpenter can help its clients create effective reinsurance solutions."
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