2020 was a year that posed a series of unique and consequential challenges to livelihoods around the world. The dominant topic surrounded COVID-19, which became the deadliest pandemic on Earth since the 1918 influenza pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that more than 10 percent of the world's population was likely to have been infected by the coronavirus. The substantive impact of the global economy led to considerable human and fiscal impacts that will be felt for years to come. The following will highlight how the direct and indirect impacts from COVID-19 were enhanced by an active year for natural disasters and how the virus became interlinked with other facets of daily life (including disaster response).

Access blogs

                     

           

 

About the author

Steve Bowen currently serves as Director, Meteorologist, and the Global Head of Catastrophe Insight at Aon, and is based in the Impact Forecasting division. An increasingly important part of his work includes providing expertise to new strategies focused on combating the growing hazard, physical, societal, and financial challenges posed by climate change. He is a frequent collaborator with governmental agencies, academia, and industry groups, and has co-authored several published peer-reviewed scientific studies (including in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Nature Climate Change, and the Journal of Insurance Regulation). He was previously invited to participate in a White House initiative that sought to better prepare various sectors for emerging risks associated with climate change and extreme weather.

Steve serves on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross of Illinois, and also sits on the Society of Actuary’s Research Executive Committee and Climate & Catastrophe Steering Committee.