If, at the close of business on March 27, 2018 (the "Record Date"), you were a shareholder of record or held shares through The Travelers Companies, Inc. (the "Company" or "Travelers") 401(k) Savings Plan or through a broker or nominee, you may vote your shares by proxy on the Internet, by telephone or by mail. For shares held of record or through a broker or nominee, you may also vote in person at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 23, 2018 (the "Annual Meeting"). For shares held through a broker or nominee, you may vote by submitting voting instructions to your broker or nominee. To reduce our administrative and postage costs, we ask that you vote on the Internet or by telephone, both of which are available 24 hours a day. You may revoke your proxies or change your vote at the times and as described on page 68.

If you are a shareholder of record or hold shares through a broker or bank and are voting by proxy, your vote must be received by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on May 22, 2018 to be counted.

If you hold shares through Travelers' 401(k) Savings Plan, your vote must be received by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on May 21, 2018 to be counted. Those votes cannot be changed or revoked after that time, and those shares cannot be voted in person at the Annual Meeting.

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Go to the website www.proxyvote.com and follow the instructions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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You will need the 16-digit number included on your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the "Notice") or on your proxy card.

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From a touch-tone telephone, dial (800) 690-6903 and follow the recorded instructions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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You will need the 16-digit number included on your Notice or on your proxy card.

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If you have not already received a proxy card, you may request a proxy card from us by following the instructions on your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials.

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When you receive the proxy card, mark your selections on the proxy card.

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Date and sign your name exactly as it appears on your proxy card.

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Mail the proxy card in the postage-paid envelope that will be provided to you.

If you plan to attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person, you must present a form of personal identification (such as a driver's license) along with your Notice, proxy card or proof of ownership (and if your shares are held in street name, a bank or brokerage account statement as proof of ownership). You may vote shares held in street name at the Annual Meeting only if you obtain a signed proxy from the recordholder (broker or other nominee) giving you the right to vote the shares.

Even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, we encourage you to vote in advance using one of the voting methods described above so that your vote will be counted if you later decide not to attend the meeting.

There are currently 13 members of the Board of Directors (the "Board"). On February 7, 2018, the Board, upon recommendation of its Nominating and Governance Committee, unanimously nominated the 12 directors listed below for re-election to the Board at the Annual Meeting. Mr. Cleve Killingsworth Jr., who currently serves as a director, notified the Board that he would not stand for re-election to the Board at the Annual Meeting. Mr. Killingsworth's decision was not due to any disagreement with the Company's management or the Board. Mr. Killingsworth will serve out the remainder of his term, which will end at the Annual Meeting. The Company is grateful to Mr. Killingsworth for his many years of service on the Board.

The directors elected at the Annual Meeting will hold office until the 2019 annual meeting of shareholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Unless otherwise instructed, the persons named in the form of proxy card (the "proxyholders") attached to this Proxy Statement as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") intend to vote the proxies held by them for the election of the 12 nominees named below. The proxies cannot be voted for more than 12 candidates for director. The Board of Directors knows of no reason why these nominees should be unable or unwilling to serve, but if that would be the case, proxies received will be voted for the election of such other persons, if any, as the Board of Directors may designate.

Our commitment to good corporate governance is reflected in our Governance Guidelines, which describe the Board's views on a wide range of governance topics. These Governance Guidelines are reviewed annually by the Nominating and Governance Committee, and any changes deemed

appropriate by the Committee in light of emerging practices or otherwise are submitted to the full Board for consideration. Our Governance Guidelines can be found on the Corporate Governance page of the "For Investors" section on our website at www.travelers.com.

Our bylaws provide that the Board, at its regular meeting each year immediately following the annual shareholders meeting, shall elect a Chairman of the Board. The Board maintains the flexibility to determine whether the roles of Chairman and CEO should be combined or separated, based on what it believes is in the best interests of the Company at a given point in time. The Board believes that this flexibility is in the best interest of the Company and that a one-size-fits-all approach to corporate governance, with a mandated independent Chairman, would not result in better governance or oversight.

Our Governance Guidelines provide for the position of Lead Director whenever the Chairman of the Board is a director who does not qualify as an independent director. In August 2017, the Board elected Mr. Schnitzer, the Company's CEO since December 2015, as Chairman of the Board. Upon the election of Mr. Schnitzer as Chairman, the independent directors elected Mr. Dasburg, who was formerly our independent Chairman of the Board, as independent Lead Director of the Board. The Board believes that its current leadership structure is appropriate for the Company at this time. The Board believes that the responsibilities of the Lead Director help to assure appropriate oversight of the Company's management by the Board and optimal functioning of the Board. The effectiveness of the Lead Director is enhanced by the Board's independent character. In addition, as described in more detail under "Nominees for Election of Directors—Nomination Considerations", the Lead Director and the independent directors have substantial experience with public company management and governance, in general, and the Company, in particular. At the same time, the combined role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, in the case of the Company, means that the Chair of the Board has longstanding experience with property and casualty insurance and ongoing executive responsibility for the Company. In the Board's view, this enables the Board to better understand the Company and work with management to enhance shareholder value. In addition, the Board believes that this structure enables it

to better fulfill its risk oversight responsibilities and enhances the ability of the Chief Executive Officer to effectively communicate the Board's view to management.

In accordance with our Governance Guidelines, the Lead Director is responsible for coordinating the efforts of the independent and non-management directors "in the interest of ensuring that objective judgment is brought to bear on sensitive issues involving the management of the Company and, in particular, the performance of senior management". Among other things, under our Governance Guidelines, the independent Lead Director has the authority to:

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convene, set the agendas for, and chair the regular executive sessions of the independent directors;

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convene and chair other meetings of the independent directors as deemed necessary;

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provide direction regarding the meeting schedules, information to be sent to the Board and input regarding meeting agenda items;

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act as a liaison between the independent directors, committee chairs and senior management;

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receive and review correspondence sent to the Company's office addressed to the Board or independent directors and, together with the CEO, to determine appropriate responses if any; and

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in concert with the chairs of the Board's committees, recommend to the Board the retention of consultants and advisors who directly report to the Board, without consulting or obtaining the advance authorization of any officer of the Company.

This structure facilitates the continued strong communication and coordination between management and the Board and enables the Board to fulfill its risk oversight responsibilities. A complete description of the role of the independent Lead Director is set forth in our Governance Guidelines.

There are six standing committees of the Board: the Audit Committee; the Compensation Committee; the Executive Committee; the Investment and Capital Markets Committee; the Nominating and Governance Committee; and the Risk Committee.

The Board has adopted a written charter for each of these committees, copies of which are posted on our website at www.travelers.com under "For Investors: Corporate Governance: Charter Documents". Each committee reviews its charter annually and, when appropriate, presents to the

Nominating and Governance Committee and the Board any recommended amendments for consideration and approval.

Non-employee members of the Board regularly meet in executive session with no members of management present. Executive sessions are chaired by the independent Lead Director. Each of the committees also meets regularly in executive session.

The following table summarizes the current membership of the standing committees of the Board, as well as the number of times each committee met during 2017.

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Each of the directors is independent, other than Mr. Schnitzer who currently serves as our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

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Each committee of the Board, other than the Executive Committee on which Mr. Schnitzer serves, is composed solely of independent directors.

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Each director attended 75% or more of the total number of meetings of the Board and of the committees on which each such director served during 2017.

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All of the directors serving at the time of last year's annual meeting, other than Mr. Hodgson who retired effective at such meeting, attended last year's annual meeting of shareholders.

All members of the Audit Committee are "independent", consistent with our Governance Guidelines, the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") listing standards and SEC rules applicable to boards of directors in general and audit committees in particular. In addition, the Board has determined that all members of the Audit Committee meet the financial literacy requirements of the NYSE. The Board also has determined that Mr. Kane's extensive experience as an audit partner with Ernst & Young for 25 years qualifies him as an audit committee financial expert. In addition, the Board designated Mr. Dasburg as an audit committee financial expert after considering his experience with KPMG Peat

Marwick from 1973 to 1980, his service as a KPMG Tax Partner from 1978 to 1980, his experience as Chief Financial Officer of Marriott Corporation, Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Airlines, Burger King Corporation and ASTAR and his service on the audit committees of other public companies. The Board also designated Mr. Schermerhorn as an audit committee financial expert after considering his experience as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer with C. R. Bard, Inc. from 2003 to 2012, his service as Vice President and Treasurer of C. R. Bard, Inc. from 1998 to 2003 and his service on the audit committees of other public companies.

The duties and responsibilities of the Audit Committee include the following:

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assist the Board in exercising its oversight of the Company's accounting and financial reporting process and audits of the Company's financial statements;

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appoint our independent registered public accounting firm and review its qualifications, performance and independence;

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review and pre-approve the audit and permitted non-audit services and proposed fees of the independent registered public accounting firm;

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review the adequacy of the work performed by our internal audit group; and

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review reports from management, the internal auditors and the independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the adequacy of the Company's internal controls.

With respect to reporting and disclosure matters, the duties and responsibilities of the Audit Committee include reviewing our audited financial statements and recommending to the Board that they be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K in accordance with applicable rules and regulations of the SEC.

All members of the Compensation Committee are "independent" consistent with our Governance Guidelines, the NYSE listing standards and SEC rules applicable to boards of directors in general and compensation committee members in particular. In addition, all members of the Compensation Committee qualify as "non-employee directors" for purposes of Rule 16b-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and as "outside directors" for purposes of Section 162(m) ("Section 162(m)") of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code"). With respect to general compensation matters, the duties and responsibilities of the Compensation Committee include the following:

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review and approve the performance goals and individual objectives for our Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and those members of our Management Committee who are executive officers or report directly to the CEO (together with the CEO, the "Committee Approved Officers");

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review the performance and approve the salaries and incentive compensation of the Committee Approved Officers;

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review and approve policies with respect to perquisites of the CEO and other members of management;

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approve and monitor compliance with stock ownership guidelines applicable to the CEO and other members of management;

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review and approve our compensation philosophy and objectives and recommend to the Board for approval compensation and benefit programs determined by the Compensation Committee to be appropriate;

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review the operation of our overall compensation program to evaluate its objectives and its execution and recommend to the Board steps to modify our compensation programs to better conform them with the established compensation objectives;

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review and approve any new equity compensation plans and material amendments to existing plans where shareholder approval has not been obtained and oversee management's administration of such plans;

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review our regulatory compliance with respect to compensation matters;

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review and approve any severance or similar termination payments proposed to be made to any current or former executive officer;

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review and approve all stock option, restricted stock, restricted stock unit, performance share and similar stock-based grants;

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conduct an independence assessment prior to selecting any compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser that will provide advice to the Compensation Committee; and

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evaluate, at least annually, whether any work provided by the Compensation Committee's compensation consultant raised any conflict of interest.

With respect to reporting and disclosure matters, the duties and responsibilities of the Compensation Committee include reviewing and discussing the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" with management and recommending to the Board that it be included in our annual proxy statement and Annual Report on Form 10-K in accordance with applicable rules and regulations of the SEC.

The Compensation Committee approves the individual salary, annual bonus and equity awards for the Committee Approved Officers. In addition, the Compensation Committee approves the aggregate annual bonuses and all equity awards to employees who are not Committee Approved Officers.

The Compensation Committee considered recommendations from the CEO regarding compensation for each of the executive officers named in the "Summary Compensation Table" on page 47 and other officers.

The Compensation Committee has delegated limited authority to the CEO to make equity grants outside of the annual equity grant process, or "off-cycle grants", to employees and new hires who are not Committee Approved Officers. The delegation is subject to maximum grant date values of equity that can be

granted to any one person. These grants can only be made on the grant dates established by our Governance Guidelines for "off-cycle" equity awards. Any grants made "off-cycle" are reported to the Compensation Committee at the next regularly scheduled quarterly meeting following such awards.

The Compensation Committee has the authority under its charter to retain outside consultants or advisors, as it deems necessary or advisable. In accordance with this authority, the Compensation Committee has engaged Frederic W. Cook & Co. ("FW Cook") as its independent outside compensation consultant to provide it with objective and expert analyses, advice and information with respect to executive compensation. All executive compensation services provided by FW Cook are conducted under the direction or authority of the Compensation Committee and all work performed by FW Cook must be pre-approved by the Compensation Committee or the Chair of the Compensation Committee. Neither FW Cook nor any of its affiliates maintains any other direct or indirect business relationships with the Company or any of its affiliates, other than advising the Nominating and Governance Committee with respect to director compensation. In November 2017, the Compensation Committee evaluated whether any work provided by its Compensation Committee consultant raised any conflict of interest and determined that it did not.

As requested by the Compensation Committee, in 2017, FW Cook's services to the Compensation Committee included, among other things:

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advising with respect to the Compensation Committee meeting materials;

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evaluating potential changes to incentive plans;

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advising with respect to individual compensation for the Committee Approved Officers;

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reviewing and discussing possible aggregate levels of corporate-wide bonus payments and equity awards;

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preparing comparative analyses of executive compensation levels and design at peer group companies;

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advising as to how actions taken by the Compensation Committee compare to the pay and performance of our peer group companies; and

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advising in connection with the preparation of certain of the information included in this Proxy Statement.

An FW Cook representative participated in four of the five Compensation Committee meetings in 2017.

In addition to the independent, outside compensation consultant discussed above, our corporate staff (including Finance, Human Resources and Legal staff members) supports the Compensation Committee in its work. Other than with respect to the CEO's recommendations regarding compensation to be paid to executive officers, no executive officer determines or recommends to the Compensation Committee the amount or form of executive compensation to be paid to an executive officer.

The Board has granted to the Executive Committee, subject to certain limitations set forth in its charter, the broad responsibility of exercising the authority of the Board in the oversight of our business during the intervals between Board meetings in

order to provide a degree of flexibility and ability to respond to time-sensitive business and legal matters. The Executive Committee meets only as necessary.

The Investment and Capital Markets Committee assists the Board in exercising its oversight of the Company's management of its investment portfolios (including credit risk monitoring) and certain financial affairs of the Company (including capital management, such as dividend policy and actions, stock splits, repurchases of stock or other securities, financing arrangements, debt and equity financing and liquidity).

The Investment and Capital Markets Committee also reviews and either approves or recommends appropriate Board action with respect to, among other matters, the issuance of securities, the establishment of bank lines of credit and certain purchases and dispositions of real property, capital expenditure budgets and acquisitions and divestitures of assets.

All members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are "independent" consistent with our Governance Guidelines, the NYSE listing standards and SEC rules applicable to board of directors in general. The duties and responsibilities of the Nominating and Governance Committee include the following:

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establish criteria for the selection of candidates to serve on the Board;

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identify and recommend director candidates for election or re-election to the Board;

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identify and recommend directors for appointment to serve on the committees of the Board and as chair of such committees;

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recommend adjustments, from time to time, to the size of the Board or of any Board committee;

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establish procedures for the annual evaluation of Board and director performance;

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oversee continuing education of directors in light of the Governance Guidelines;

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review the director compensation program and policies and recommend changes to the Board;

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establish and review our Governance Guidelines;

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review the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the "Code of Conduct") applicable to directors and

employees and recommend changes to the Board when appropriate;

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develop and recommend to the Board standards for determining the independence of directors and the absence of material relationships between the Company and a director;

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review succession plans for our CEO and the direct reports to the CEO;

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review and approve or ratify all related person transactions under our Related Person Transaction Policy;

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review the Company's public policy initiatives;

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review and discuss with the Company's head of Government Relations the Company's participation in the political process, including political contributions and lobbying expenditures;

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review and discuss with the Company's senior management the Company's strategies and initiatives relating to diversity and inclusion;

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review the Company's strategies and initiatives relating to community relations and charitable giving; and

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recommend to the Board any guidelines for the removal of directors, as it determines appropriate.

The Risk Committee assists the Board in exercising its oversight of the Company's operational activities and the identification and review of those risks that could have a material impact on us. The duties and responsibilities of the Risk Committee include oversight of management's risk management activities in the following areas:

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our enterprise risk management program;

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the underwriting of insurance;

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the settlement of claims;

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the management of catastrophe exposure;

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the retention of insured risk and appropriate levels and types of reinsurance;

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the credit risk in our insurance operations and ceded reinsurance program;

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our information technology operations, including cyber risk and information security; and

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the business continuity and executive crisis management for the Company and its business operations.

Every year, the Board and each of its committees evaluate and discuss their respective performance and effectiveness, as required by the Governance Guidelines. These evaluations cover a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to, the fulfillment of the Board and committee responsibilities identified in the Governance Guidelines and committee charters. The evaluations address the Board's knowledge and understanding of, and performance with respect to, the Company's business, strategy, values and mission, the appropriateness of the

Board's structure and composition, the communication among the directors and between the Board and management and the Board's meeting process. Each committee reviews, among other topics, how the committee has satisfied the responsibilities contained in its charter in the past year as well as the organization of the committee, the committee meeting process and the committee's oversight. Each committee reports the results of its evaluation to the Board.

Pursuant to our Governance Guidelines, the Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for recommending to the Board nominees for election as director, and the Board is responsible for selecting nominees for election.

As required by our Governance Guidelines, the Board, based on the Nominating and Governance Committee's recommendation, selects nominees after considering the following criteria:

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personal qualities and characteristics, accomplishments and reputation in the business community;

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current knowledge and contacts in the communities in which the Company does business and in the Company's industry or other industries relevant to the Company's business;

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ability and willingness to commit adequate time to Board and committee matters;

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the fit of the individual's skill and personality with those of other directors and potential directors in building a Board

that is effective, collegial and responsive to the needs of the Company; and

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diversity of viewpoints, background, experience and other demographics.

The evaluation of these criteria involves the exercise of careful business judgment. Accordingly, although the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Board at a minimum assess each candidate's ability to satisfy any applicable legal requirements or listing standards, his or her strength of character, judgment, working style, specific areas of expertise and his or her ability and willingness to commit adequate time to Board and committee matters. The Nominating and Governance Committee and the Board do not have specific minimum qualifications that are applicable to all director candidates. The Board seeks to ensure that the Board is composed of members whose particular expertise, qualifications, attributes and skills, when taken together, allow the Board to satisfy its oversight responsibilities effectively.

In identifying prospective director candidates for the Board, the Nominating and Governance Committee may seek referrals from other members of the Board, management, shareholders and other sources. The Nominating and Governance Committee also may, but need not, retain a professional search firm in order to assist it in these efforts. The Nominating and Governance Committee and the Board utilize the same criteria for evaluating candidates regardless of the source of the referral. During 2017, Mr. Clarence Otis was appointed to the

Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Otis was initially identified as a candidate for the Board by our independent Lead Director. After reviewing Mr. Otis's qualifications, meeting with him several times and discussing his nomination at two separate meetings, the Nominating and Governance Committee voted unanimously to recommend Mr. Otis to the Board of Directors. The entire Board met with Mr. Otis prior to appointing him as a member of the Board. No search fees were paid with respect to the appointment of Mr. Otis.

As mentioned above, the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Board include diversity of "viewpoints, background, experience and other demographics" as one of several criteria that they consider in connection with selecting candidates for the Board. While neither the Board nor the Nominating and Governance Committee has a formal diversity policy, one of many factors that the Board and the Nominating and Governance Committee carefully consider is the importance to the Company of racial and gender diversity in board composition. Moreover, when considering director

candidates, the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Board seek individuals with backgrounds and qualities that, when combined with those of our incumbent directors, enhance the Board's effectiveness and, as required by the Governance Guidelines, result in the Board having "a broad range of skills, expertise, industry knowledge, diversity of opinion and contacts relevant to the Company's business". As part of its annual self-evaluation, the Board assesses and confirms compliance with this Governance Guideline.

The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider director candidates recommended by shareholders. Shareholders wishing to propose a candidate for consideration may do so by submitting the proposed candidate's full name and address, resume and biographical information to the attention of the Corporate Secretary, The Travelers Companies, Inc.,

485 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10017. All recommendations for nomination received by the Corporate Secretary that satisfy our bylaw requirements relating to such director nominations will be presented to the Nominating and Governance Committee for its consideration.

Our bylaws permit a shareholder, or a group of up to 20 shareholders, that has continuously owned for three years at least 3% of the Company's outstanding common shares, to nominate and include in the Company's annual meeting proxy materials up to the greater of two directors or 20% of the number of directors serving on the Board, provided that the shareholder(s) and the nominee(s) satisfy the requirements

specified in our bylaws, which are posted on our website at www.travelers.com. Shareholder requests to include shareholder-nominated directors in the Company's proxy materials for the 2019 annual meeting of shareholders must be received by the Company no earlier than November 7, 2018 and no later than December 7, 2018.

In considering the 12 director nominees named in this Proxy Statement and proposed for election by you at the Annual Meeting, the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Board evaluated and considered, among other factors:

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each nominee's experiences, qualifications, attributes and skills, in light of the Governance Guidelines' criteria for nomination discussed on page 14, including the specific skills identified by the Board as relevant to the Company;

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the contributions of those directors recommended for re-election in the context of the Board self-evaluation process and other needs of the Board;

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the tenure of individual directors;

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the mix of long-serving and new directors on the Board;

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the specific needs of the Company given its business and industry; and

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the diversity of viewpoints, background, experience and other demographics of the director nominees.

With respect to the individual and overall tenure of Board members, the Board and the Nominating and Governance Committee believe that the Company's industry is one where a long-term perspective is critical and a historical perspective on risk is important, and, accordingly, the Company benefits from having longstanding directors serve on the Board, including in leadership positions. At the same time, the Board and Nominating and Governance Committee also believe that incorporating new perspectives on the Board through regular refreshment is important to maintaining the right mix and diversity of viewpoints on the Board.

Through this balanced approach to refreshment, more than 50% of the independent directors have joined the Board since mid-2007, and three new independent directors have

joined the Board in the last five years. In considering the 12 director nominees named in this Proxy Statement, the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Board considered the mix of tenure of the director nominees, as illustrated below.

In light of the foregoing, the Board and the Nominating and Governance Committee concluded that there was an appropriate mix of long-serving and new directors.

The Board and the Nominating and Governance Committee, in considering each nominee, principally focused on the background and experiences of the nominee, as described in the biographies beginning on page 1. The Board and the Nominating and Governance Committee considered that each nominee has experience serving in senior positions with significant

responsibility, where each has gained valuable expertise in a number of areas relevant to the Company and its business. The Board and the Nominating and Governance Committee also considered that a number of directors have gained valuable experience and skills through serving as a director of other public and private companies.

The Governance Guidelines provide that no person who will have reached the age of 74 on or before the date of the next annual shareholders meeting will be nominated for election at that meeting without an express waiver by the Board.

The Board believes that waivers of this policy should not be automatic and should be based upon the needs of the Company and the individual attributes of the director. The Board approved a waiver of this policy in February 2018 with respect to the

nomination of each of Mr. Dasburg and Mr. Duberstein for election as a director at the 2018 Annual Meeting. In each case the Board and Nominating and Governance Committee considered the specific expertise of Mr. Dasburg and

Mr. Duberstein as well as the needs of the Company and the benefit that continued service could provide. See "Nominees for Election of Directors" beginning on page 1.

Under our Governance Guidelines and NYSE rules, a director is not independent unless the Board affirmatively determines that he or she does not have a direct or indirect material relationship with the Company. In addition, the director must meet the bright-line test for independence set forth by the NYSE rules.

The Board has established categorical standards of director independence to assist it in making independence determinations. These standards, which are included in our Governance Guidelines, set forth certain relationships between the Company and the directors and their immediate family members, or entities with which they are affiliated, that the Board, in its judgment, has determined to be material or immaterial in assessing a director's independence. The Nominating and Governance Committee annually reviews the independence of all directors and reports its determinations to the full Board.

In the event a director has a relationship with the Company that is relevant to his or her independence and is not addressed by the categorical independence standards, the independent members of the Board determine in their judgment whether such relationship is material.

Our Governance Guidelines require that:

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all members of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee be independent; and

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no more than two members of the Board may concurrently serve as officers of the Company.

The Board has determined that all of its current directors are independent, other than our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Alan Schnitzer. Consequently, assuming election of all the nominees included in this Proxy Statement, approximately 92% of the directors on the Board will be independent. The Board had also determined that Mr. Hodgson, who served as a director until the 2017 annual shareholders meeting, was independent.

In making its independence determinations, the Board considered and reviewed the various commercial, charitable and employment transactions and relationships known to the Board (including those identified through annual directors' questionnaires) that exist between us and our subsidiaries and the entities with which certain of our directors or members of their immediate families are, or have been, affiliated. Specifically, the Board's independence determinations included reviewing membership dues, contributions and research fees paid to a trade association and affiliated entities where Mr. Donald Shepard serves as a director (but not as an executive officer or employee). Payments to the organization constituted less than 1% of such organization's consolidated gross revenues during its last completed fiscal year and were below the thresholds set forth under our categorical standards of director independence.

The Board determined that the transactions identified were not material and did not affect the independence of such director under either the Company's Governance Guidelines or the applicable NYSE rules.

Enterprise Risk Management is a Company-wide initiative that involves the Board and management identifying, assessing and managing risks that could affect our ability to fulfill our business objectives or execute our corporate strategy. Our Enterprise Risk Management activities involve the identification and assessment of a broad range of risks and the development of plans to mitigate their effects. The Risk Committee and the other committees of the Board, as well as our separate management-level enterprise risk and underwriting risk committees, are key elements of our enterprise risk management structure and help to establish and reinforce our strong culture of risk management. For example, having both a Board Risk Committee that oversees

operational risks and the Company's Enterprise Risk Management activities, and a management-level enterprise risk committee that reports regularly to the Board Risk Committee, enables a high degree of coordination between management and the Board.

We describe our Enterprise Risk Management function in more detail in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, under "Business—Enterprise Risk Management". We also discuss the alignment of our executive compensation with our risk management below under "Risk Management and Compensation".

The Board works with management to set the short-term and long-term strategic objectives of the Company and to monitor progress on those objectives. In setting and monitoring strategy, the Board, along with management, considers the risks and opportunities that impact the long-term sustainability of the Company's business model and whether the strategy is consistent with the Company's risk appetite. The Board regularly reviews the Company's progress with respect to its strategic goals, the risks that could impact the long-term sustainability of our business and the related opportunities that could enhance the Company's long-term sustainability. The Board oversees these efforts in part through its various committees based on each Committee's responsibilities and expertise.

While the Risk Committee has oversight responsibility generally for our Enterprise Risk Management activities, the Board has allocated and delegated risk oversight responsibility to various committees of the Board in accordance with the following principles:

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The Audit Committee is responsible for oversight of risks related to integrity of financial statements, including oversight of financial reporting principles and policies and internal controls, and oversight of the process for establishing insurance reserves, as well as risks related to regulatory and compliance matters generally.

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The Risk Committee is responsible for oversight of risks related to business operations, including insurance underwriting and claims; reinsurance; catastrophe risk and the impact of changing climate conditions; credit risk in insurance operations; information technology, including cyber security; and business continuity plans.

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The Compensation Committee is responsible for oversight of risks related to compensation programs, including formulation, administration and regulatory compliance with respect to compensation matters.

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The Investment and Capital Markets Committee is responsible for oversight of risks in the Company's investment portfolio (including valuation and credit risks), capital structure, financing arrangements and liquidity.

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The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for oversight of risks related to corporate governance matters, including succession planning, director independence and related person transactions. The Committee also oversees the Company's workforce diversity and inclusion efforts, public policy initiatives and community relations.

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Each committee is responsible for monitoring reputational risk to the extent arising out of its allocated subject matter.

As a result, each committee charter contains specific risk oversight functions delegated by the Board, consistent with the principles set forth above. In that way, monitoring of strategic objectives, risk oversight responsibilities and oversight of the Company's sustainability more generally are shared by all committees of the Board. Further, we believe that allocating responsibility to a committee with relevant knowledge and experience improves the oversight of risks and opportunities.

The allocation of risk oversight responsibility may change, from time to time, based on the evolving needs of the Company. On at least an annual basis, the Board reviews significant risks that management, through its Enterprise Risk Management efforts, has identified. The Board then evaluates, and may change, the allocation among the various committees of oversight responsibility for each identified risk. Further, each committee periodically reports to the Board on its risk oversight activities. In addition, at least annually, the Company's Chief Risk Officer conducts a review of the interrelationships of risks and reports the results to the Risk Committee and the Board. These reports and reviews are intended to inform the Board's annual evaluation of the allocation of risk oversight responsibility.

Our compensation structure is intended to encourage a careful balance of risk and reward, both on an individual risk basis and in the aggregate on a Company-wide basis, and promote a long-term perspective.

As discussed in more detail under "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" in this Proxy Statement, consistent with our goal of achieving a core return on equity in the mid-teens over time, the Compensation Committee selected adjusted operating return on equity (now referred to as "adjusted core return on equity") as the quantitative performance measure for the performance share portion of our stock-based long-term incentive program and as a material factor, although not the only factor, in determining amounts paid under our annual cash bonus

program. Because core return on equity is a function of both core income and shareholders' equity, it encourages senior executives, as well as other employees with management responsibility, to focus on a variety of performance objectives that are important for creating shareholder value, including the quality and profitability of our underwriting and investing activities and capital management.

In addition, the long-term nature of our stock-based incentive awards (which generally do not vest until three years after the award is granted), our significant executive stock ownership requirements and the fact that more than 40% of our named executive officers' total direct compensation in the aggregate

was in the form of stock-based long-term incentives for each of the last five years, including 2017, all encourage prudent enterprise risk management and discourage excessive risk taking to achieve short-term gains.

Moreover, neither the long-term incentive awards nor annual cash bonuses require growth in revenues or earnings in order for our executives to be rewarded, and none of our executives are paid based on a formulaic percentage of revenues or profits. As a result of this and the mix of short- and long-term performance criteria across our compensation programs,

among other factors, we believe that our compensation practices and policies are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Furthermore, the Compensation Committee's independent compensation consultant evaluates and advises the Compensation Committee as to the design and risk implications of our incentive plans and other aspects of our compensation programs to ensure that the mix of compensation, the balance of performance metrics and the overall compensation framework all support our short- and long-term objectives.

The Board has adopted a Governance Guideline establishing fixed grant dates for the award of "off-cycle" equity grants, so as to avoid the appearance that equity grant dates have been established with a view to benefiting recipients due to the timing of material public announcements.

In addition, to further ensure the integrity of our equity awards process, the Compensation Committee requires that the exercise price of all stock options granted, and the fair value of all

equity awards made, must be determined by reference to the closing price for a share of our common stock on the NYSE on the date of any such grant or award. Under the Company's stock plans, the Compensation Committee may not take any action with respect to any stock option that would be treated as a "repricing" of such stock option, unless such action is approved by the Company's shareholders in accordance with applicable rules of the NYSE.

We maintain a Code of Business Conduct, which is applicable to all of our directors, officers and employees, including our CEO, Chief Financial Officer, Controller and other senior financial officers. The Code of Conduct provides a framework for sound ethical business decisions and sets forth our expectations on a number of topics, including conflicts of interest, compliance with laws, use of our assets and business ethics. The Code of Conduct may be found on our website at www.travelers.com under "For Investors: Corporate Governance: Code of Conduct". Our Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer is responsible for overseeing compliance with the Code of

Conduct as part of fulfilling her responsibility for overseeing our ethics and compliance functions throughout the organization. Our Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer also assists in the communication of the Code of Conduct and oversees employee education regarding its requirements through the use of global, computer-based training, supplemented with focused in-person sessions where appropriate. All employees and directors are required to certify annually that they have reviewed, understand and agree to comply with the contents of the Code of Conduct.

We maintain an Ethics Helpline through which employees can report integrity concerns or seek guidance regarding a policy or procedure. The Ethics Helpline is serviced by an independent company, is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day and can be accessed by individuals through a toll-free number. Employees may also access the helpline system and report integrity concerns via the Internet. In either case, employees can report concerns anonymously. We maintain a formal non-retaliation policy that prohibits retaliation against, or discipline of, an employee who raises an ethical concern in good faith.

Once an Ethics Helpline report is filed, the report is forwarded to the Ethics and Compliance Office, which is responsible for oversight of the helpline. Our Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer or her designee coordinates with management and outside resources, as appropriate, to investigate the matter, and address any ethical or compliance-related issues. The Audit Committee receives quarterly summaries of matters reported through the Ethics Helpline. In addition, any matter reported to the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer that involves accounting, internal control or audit matters, or any fraud involving persons with a significant role in our internal controls, is reported to the Audit Committee.

As described on our website at www.travelers.com, interested parties, including shareholders, who wish to communicate with a member or members of the Board, including the Lead Director of the Board, the Nominating and Governance Committee, the non-employee directors as a group, or the Audit Committee may do so by addressing their correspondence as follows: if intended for the full Board or one or more non-employee directors, to the Lead Director; if intended for the Lead Director,

to Mr. John Dasburg; and if intended for the Audit Committee or the Nominating and Governance Committee, to the Chair of such Committee.

All such correspondence should be sent c/o Corporate Secretary, The Travelers Companies, Inc., 385 Washington Street, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55102. The office of the Corporate Secretary will forward such correspondence as appropriate.

In addition to the general correspondence process above, the Nominating and Governance Committee oversees a shareholder engagement program relating to the Company's governance and compensation practices. Under this program, at the direction of the Nominating and Governance Committee, management reaches out to the Company's largest shareholders at least once each year to facilitate a dialogue regarding governance, compensation and other matters. Management reports on the resulting conversations with those investors to the Nominating and Governance Committee and also, as appropriate, to the Compensation Committee. As noted under "Shareholder Engagement" in the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" section of this Proxy Statement, in 2017 the Company engaged with shareholders representing over 39% of the Company's outstanding shares. In a number of cases, the shareholder engagement program has encouraged

changes to the Company's practices. For example, in the past few years based in part on investor input:

•

the Compensation Committee enhanced the disclosure in the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" and raised the Return on Equity thresholds for vesting of performance shares;

•

the Company provided disclosure on its website regarding its pay equity practices;

•

the Company made clarifying changes to its policy regarding participation in the political process and provided additional disclosure of political contributions and lobbying activities on its website; and

•

the Company provided additional disclosure regarding the Board's oversight of the Company's enterprise risk management program, including risks related to changing climate conditions.

The Board has adopted a written Related Person Transaction Policy to assist it in reviewing, approving and ratifying related person transactions and to assist us in the preparation of related disclosures required by the SEC. This Related Person Transaction Policy supplements our other policies that may apply to transactions with related persons, such as our Governance Guidelines and Code of Conduct.

The Related Person Transaction Policy provides that all related person transactions covered by the policy are prohibited, unless approved or ratified by the Board or by the Nominating and Governance Committee. Our directors and executive officers are required to provide prompt and detailed notice of any potential Related Person Transaction (as defined in the policy) to the Corporate Secretary, who in turn must promptly forward such notice and information to the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and to our counsel for analysis, to

determine whether the particular transaction constitutes a Related Person Transaction requiring compliance with the policy. The analysis and recommendation of counsel are then presented to the Nominating and Governance Committee for consideration at its next regular meeting.

In reviewing Related Person Transactions for approval or ratification, the Nominating and Governance Committee will consider the relevant facts and circumstances, including:

•

the commercial reasonableness of the terms;

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the benefit (or lack thereof) to the Company;

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opportunity costs of alternate transactions;

•

the materiality and character of the related person's interest, including any actual or perceived conflicts of interest; and

•

with respect to a non-employee director or nominee, whether the transaction would compromise the director's (1) independence under our Governance Guidelines, the NYSE rules (including those applicable to committee service) and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act, if such non-employee director serves on the Audit Committee, (2) status as an outside director under Section 162(m), if such non-employee director serves on the Compensation Committee, or (3) status as a "non-employee director" under Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act, if such non-employee director serves on the Compensation Committee.

The Nominating and Governance Committee will not approve or ratify a Related Person Transaction unless, after considering all relevant information, it has determined that the transaction is in, or is not inconsistent with, the best interests of the Company and our shareholders.

Generally, the Related Person Transaction Policy applies to any current or proposed transaction in which:

•

the Company was or is to be a participant;

•

the amount involved exceeds $120,000; and

•

any related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

A copy of our Related Person Transaction Policy is available on our website at www.travelers.com under "For Investors: Corporate Governance: Corporate Governance: Related Person Transaction Policy".

In addition to the Related Person Transaction Policy, our Code of Conduct requires that all employees, officers and directors avoid any situation that involves or appears to involve a conflict of interest between their personal and professional relationships. Our Audit Committee provides oversight regarding compliance with our Code of Conduct and discusses any apparent conflicts of interest with senior management. The policies of the Company also require that all employees seek approval from our Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer prior to accepting a position as a director or officer of any unaffiliated for-profit company or organization.

We employ approximately 30,800 employees, approximately 7,400 of whom work in and around Hartford, Connecticut. The following employees are related to executive officers:

•

Mr. Jay Benet is Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of the Company. His stepson, Jon-Paul Mucha, has been employed by the Company since 2003. In 2017, his total compensation, including salary, bonus, equity awards and other benefits, totaled approximately $125,000. His compensation is commensurate with that of his peers.

•

Ms. Diane Bengston is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of the Company. Her son, Mr. Scott Bengston, has been employed by the Company since 2010. In 2017, his total compensation, including salary, bonus, equity awards and other benefits, totaled approximately $140,000. His compensation is commensurate with that of his peers.

•

Mr. Brian MacLean is President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. His daughter, Ms. Erin Cha, and his son-in-law, Mr. Junghwan Cha, have been employed by the Company since 2005 and 2009, respectively. In 2017, their combined total compensation, including salary, bonuses, equity awards and other benefits, totaled approximately $226,000. Their compensation is commensurate with that of their peers.

•

Mr. MacLean's son-in-law, Mr. Mark Dunlap has been employed by the Company since 2012. In 2017, his total compensation, including salary, bonus, equity awards and other benefits, totaled approximately $131,000. His compensation is commensurate with that of his peers.

From time to time, institutional investors, such as large investment management firms, mutual fund management organizations and other financial organizations, become beneficial owners (through aggregation of holdings of their affiliates) of 5% or more of voting securities of the Company and, as a result, are considered a "related person" under the Related Person Transaction Policy. These organizations may provide services to the Company or its benefit plans. In addition, the Company may provide insurance coverage to these organizations. In 2017, the following transactions occurred with investors who reported beneficial ownership of 5% or more of the Company's voting securities:

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An affiliate of BlackRock, Inc. ("BlackRock") provides investment management services to the Company's Canadian Savings Plan. The participants in the Canadian Savings Plan paid approximately $135,000 in management fees to BlackRock in 2017. The investment management agreement was entered into on an arm's-length basis. In 2017, BlackRock paid premiums of approximately $882,000 for insurance policies with subsidiaries of the Company in the ordinary course of business and on substantially the same terms as those offered to other customers.

•

An affiliate of State Street Corporation ("State Street") provides investment management services to funds included in the Company's 401(k) Savings Plan. The participants in the 401(k) Savings Plan paid approximately $410,000 in management fees to State Street in 2017. The investment management agreement was entered into on an arm's-length basis. In 2017, State Street paid premiums of approximately $200,000 for insurance policies with subsidiaries of the Company in the ordinary course of business and on substantially the same terms as those offered to other customers.

•

An affiliate of The Vanguard Group ("Vanguard") provides investment management services to funds included in the Company's 401(k) Savings Plan and the qualified and non-qualified pension plans. The participants in the 401(k) Savings Plan and the Company paid approximately $1.14 million and $848,000, respectively, in management fees to Vanguard in 2017. The investment management agreements were entered into on an arm's-length basis. In 2017, Vanguard paid premiums of approximately $2.01 million for insurance policies with subsidiaries of the Company in the ordinary course of business and on substantially the same terms as those offered to other customers.

The Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board recommends to the full Board for approval the amount and composition of Board compensation for non-employee directors (the "Director Compensation Program"). Directors who are our employees are not compensated for their service on the Board. In accordance with the Company's Governance Guidelines, the Nominating and Governance Committee reviews the significance and appropriateness of each of the components of the Director Compensation Program at least once every two years. The Compensation Committee's independent compensation consultant, FW Cook, advises the

Nominating and Governance Committee with respect to director compensation.

The objectives of the Nominating and Governance Committee are to compensate directors in a manner that closely aligns the interests of directors with those of our shareholders, to attract and retain highly qualified directors and to structure and set total compensation in such a manner and at such levels that will not call into question any director's objectivity. It is the Board's practice to provide a mix of cash and equity-based compensation to non-employee directors, as discussed below.

The current non-employee Director Compensation Program includes the following: Each non-employee director receives an annual retainer of $130,000. The chairs of certain committees are paid additional fees in cash in connection with their services as follows:

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Audit Committee—$25,000;

•

Compensation Committee—$25,000;

•

Nominating and Governance Committee—$20,000;

•

Investment and Capital Markets Committee—$20,000; and

•

Risk Committee—$25,000.

The Lead Director is paid an additional $35,000 annual cash retainer.

Annual retainers and committee chair fees are paid in quarterly installments, in arrears at the end of each quarter, in cash or, if the director so elects, in common stock units to be credited to his or her deferred compensation account (discussed under "Director Deferral Plan" below) and distributed at a later date designated by the director.

Under the Director Compensation Program, during 2017, each non-employee director nominated for re-election to the Board was awarded $175,000 in deferred stock units. The deferred stock units were granted under our Amended and Restated 2014 Stock Incentive Plan (the "2014 Stock Incentive Plan") and vest in full one day prior to the date of the annual shareholder meeting occurring in the year following the year of the date of grant so long as the non-employee director continuously serves on the Board through that date. The value of deferred stock units rises or falls as the price of our common stock fluctuates in the market. Dividend equivalents (in an amount equal to the

dividends paid on shares of our common stock) on the deferred stock units are deemed "reinvested" in additional deferred stock units. The accumulated deferred stock units, including associated dividend equivalents, in a director's account are distributed in the form of shares of our common stock either in a lump sum or in annual installments, at the director's election, beginning at least six months following termination of his or her service as a director.

Directors are subject to a stock ownership target as described under "Director Stock Ownership" on page 22.

In addition to receiving the annual deferred stock award in the form of deferred stock units, non-employee directors may elect to have all or any portion of their annual retainer and any lead director, independent chairman or committee chair fees paid in cash or deferred through our Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors. Deferrals of the annual retainer and any lead director, independent chairman or committee chair fees are notionally "invested" in common stock units. Any director who elects to have any of his or her fees credited to his or her deferred compensation plan account as common stock units will be deemed to have purchased shares on the date the fees would

otherwise have been paid in cash, based on the closing market price of our common stock on such date.

The value of common stock units rises or falls as the price of our common stock fluctuates in the market. In addition, dividend equivalents (in an amount equal to the dividends paid on shares of our common stock) on the units are "reinvested" in additional common stock units. The accumulated common stock units, including associated dividend equivalents, in a director's account are distributed in the form of shares of our common stock on pre-designated dates, usually following termination of service as a director. Shares of common stock issued in payment of the deferred fees are awarded under our 2014 Stock Incentive Plan.

The Board believes its non-employee directors should accumulate and retain a level of ownership of our equity securities to align the interests of the non-employee directors and the shareholders. Accordingly, the Board has established an ownership target for each non-employee director equal to four times the director's most recent annual deferred stock award. Each new director is expected to meet or exceed this target within four years of his or her initial election to the Board, provided that, if the annual deferred stock award for any of such four years is less than the most recent previous annual deferred stock award, such director is expected to meet or exceed the higher target within five years of his or her election to the Board.

All of our current non-employee directors have achieved stock ownership levels in excess of the target amount, other than Mr. Schermerhorn, who was elected to our Board in 2016, and Mr. Otis, who was elected to our Board in 2017. Non-employee directors receive over 50% of their annual compensation in the form of deferred stock units. The shares underlying these units are not distributed to a director until at least six months after the director leaves the Board. Accordingly, all of our non-employee directors hold equity interests that they cannot sell for so long as they serve on the Board and at least six months afterwards.

Prior to 2004, directors of the Company were eligible to participate in a Directors' Charitable Award Program, under which a director could designate up to four tax-exempt charitable, educational or other organizations to receive contributions from the Company over a period of ten years following the death of the director, in an aggregate amount over such period of up to $1 million per director.

This program was discontinued for new participants in April 2004; however, it continues to be actively administered with respect to the vested interests of Messrs. Dasburg and Duberstein. The Company carries life insurance policies on these two current directors. The premiums in connection with this program were fully paid by the Company in 2013.

(1)

The fees earned for all non-employee directors consist of an annual retainer, committee chair fees and a lead director annual retainer. All of the non-employee directors, other than Mr. Otis, Mr. Ruegger and Mr. Shepard, received all of their fees in cash. Mr. Otis, Mr. Ruegger and Mr. Shepard elected to receive the 2017 annual retainer and Mr. Shepard elected to receive his committee chair fee in the form of common stock units, which will be accumulated in their respective deferred compensation plan account and distributed at a later date (Mr. Otis—415 common stock units, Mr. Ruegger—1,031 common stock units and Mr. Shepard—1,230 common stock units). The table above does not include a value for dividend equivalents attributable to the common stock units received in lieu of cash fees because they are earned at the same rate as the dividends on the Company's common stock and are not preferential. Mr. Otis, who was elected to the Board of Directors effective August 1, 2017, earned a pro-rated annual retainer of $54,049. Mr. Dasburg earned fees for acting in the capacity of independent Chairman through August 1, 2017 and as independent Lead Director from August 2, 2017 through December 31, 2017.

(2)

The dollar amounts represent the grant date fair value of deferred stock units granted in 2017, calculated in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, Compensation Stock—Compensation ("ASC Topic 718"), without taking into account estimated forfeitures, based on the closing market price on the NYSE of our common stock on the grant date. The dividend equivalents attributable to the annual deferred stock unit awards are deemed "reinvested" in additional deferred stock units and are distributed, together with the underlying deferred stock units, in the form of shares of our common stock beginning at least six months following termination of service as a director. In accordance with the SEC's rules, dividend equivalents on stock awards are not required to be reported because the amounts of future dividends are factored into the grant date fair value of the awards. For a discussion of annual deferred stock awards, see "—Annual Deferred Stock Award" above.

On February 9, 2017, each non-employee director nominated for re-election to the Board was granted 1,473 deferred stock units (determined by dividing $175,000 by the closing market price on the NYSE of our common stock of $118.78 on February 9, 2017). Mr. Otis was elected to the Board effective August 1, 2017 and was granted 1,076 deferred stock units representing a pro-rata portion of the annual non-employee director deferred stock award based on his period of service. The entire award is subject to forfeiture if a director leaves the Board prior to May 22, 2018.

The following table provides information with respect to aggregate holdings of common stock units and unvested and vested deferred stock units beneficially owned by our non-employee directors at December 31, 2017. The amounts below include dividend equivalents credited (in the form of additional common stock units or deferred stock units, respectively) on common stock units and deferred stock units.

(3)

Mr. Hodgson retired from the Company's Board of Directors effective May 18, 2017, the date of our 2017 annual meeting of shareholders. The fees earned by Mr. Hodgson consist of the pro-rated portion of the annual retainer and the Risk Committee chair fee for such period.

The Audit Committee is responsible for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of the independent registered public accounting firm retained to audit the Company's financial statements. The Audit Committee has selected KPMG LLP ("KPMG") to serve as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2018.

Although ratification is not required by our bylaws or otherwise, the Board is submitting the selection of KPMG to our shareholders for ratification because we value our shareholders' views on the Company's independent registered public accounting firm. If our shareholders fail to ratify the selection, it will be considered notice to the Board and the Audit Committee to consider the selection of a different firm. Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may select a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders.

Travelers Property Casualty Corp. ("TPC") and The St. Paul Companies, Inc. ("The St. Paul") merged in 2004 (the "Merger") to form the Company. KPMG has continuously served as the independent registered public accounting

firm of TPC since 1994. KPMG had continuously served as the independent registered public accounting firm of The St. Paul and its subsidiaries from 1968 through the time of the Merger, when TPC was deemed the acquirer for accounting purposes.

As part of the evaluation of its independent registered public accounting firm, the Audit Committee periodically considers whether there should be a regular rotation of the independent registered public accounting firm. In addition, in conjunction with the mandated rotation of the independent registered public accounting firm's lead audit partner, the Audit Committee and the Audit Committee Chairman are directly involved in the selection of KPMG's lead audit partner. The Audit Committee and the Board of Directors believe that the continued retention of KPMG to serve as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

Representatives of KPMG are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting. They also will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and are expected to be available to respond to appropriate questions.

In connection with the audit of the 2017 financial statements, we entered into an agreement with KPMG which set forth the terms by which KPMG would perform audit services for the Company. The following table presents fees for professional services rendered by KPMG for the audit of our financial statements for 2017 and 2016 and fees billed for other services rendered by KPMG for those periods:

The Audit Committee of the Board considered whether providing the non-audit services included in this table was

compatible with maintaining KPMG's independence and concluded that it was.

Consistent with SEC policies regarding auditor independence and the Audit Committee's charter, the Audit Committee has responsibility for appointing, setting compensation for and reviewing the performance of the independent registered public accounting firm. In exercising this responsibility, the Audit Committee preapproves all audit and permitted non-audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm. Each year, the Audit Committee approves an annual budget for such permitted non-audit services and requires the independent registered public accounting firm and management to report actual fees versus the budget periodically throughout the year. The Audit Committee has authorized our Chief Auditor to approve KPMG's commencement of work on such permitted services within that budget, although the Chair of the Audit Committee must approve any such permitted non-audit service within the budget if the expected cost for that service exceeds $100,000. During the year, circumstances may arise that make it necessary to engage the independent registered public accounting firm for additional services that would exceed the initial budget. The Audit Committee has delegated the authority to the Chair of the Audit Committee to review such circumstances and to grant approval when appropriate. All such approvals are then reported by the Audit Committee Chair to the full Audit Committee at its next meeting.

The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a charter which is reviewed annually by the Audit Committee. Additionally, a brief description of the primary responsibilities of the Audit Committee is included under the heading "Governance of Your Company—Committees of the Board and Meetings—Audit Committee" in this Proxy Statement. Under the Audit Committee charter, management is responsible for the preparation, presentation and integrity of the Company's financial statements, the application of accounting and financial reporting principles and internal controls and procedures designed to assure compliance with accounting standards and applicable laws and regulations. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the Company's financial statements and expressing an opinion as to their conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. In addition, the independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing and expressing an opinion on the Company's internal controls over financial reporting.

In the performance of its oversight function, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed the audited financial

statements of the Company with management and with the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also received information regarding, and discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm, the matters required to be discussed by applicable standards adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, including matters concerning the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm.

Based upon the review and discussions described in the preceding paragraph, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board that the audited financial statements of the Company be included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 filed with the SEC.

Submitted by the Audit Committee of the Company's Board of Directors:

The Company is requesting that shareholders vote, on a non-binding basis, to approve the compensation of our named executive officers as discussed in the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" on page 27 and the tabular executive compensation disclosure on pages 47 to 60, including the "Summary Compensation Table" and accompanying narrative disclosure. At the Company's 2017 annual meeting of shareholders, our shareholders voted to hold the non-binding shareholder vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers each year. Accordingly, the Company currently intends to hold such votes annually. The next such vote is expected to be held at the Company's 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. While the Board intends to consider carefully the results of this vote, the final vote is advisory in nature and is not binding on the Company or the Board.

The Board recommends that shareholders vote "FOR" the following resolution:

RESOLVED, that the compensation paid to the Company's named executive officers, as disclosed pursuant to Item 402 of Regulation S-K, including the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis", compensation tables and related narrative discussion, is hereby APPROVED.

As described in the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis", our executive compensation programs are structured consistent with our longstanding pay for performance philosophy and utilize performance measures that are intended to align compensation with the creation of shareholder value and to reinforce a long-term perspective.

In deciding how to vote on this proposal, the Board encourages you to read the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis", particularly the "2017 Overview". In making compensation decisions for the 2017 performance year, the Compensation Committee considered the Company's strong results in 2017 and over time on both an absolute basis and relative to our peers, as well as the financial metrics and other factors described in the "Compensation Discussion and Analysis".