UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark one)

þ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

or

o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File Number: 001-16503

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Ireland (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	98-0352587 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
c/o Willis Group Limited 51 Lime Street, London EC3M 7DQ, England (Address of principal executive offices)	(011) 44-20-3124-6000 (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each Class  Ordinary Shares, nominal value $0.000304635 per share Name of each exchange on which registered  NASDAQ Global Select Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes þ     No o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes o     No þ

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes þ     No o

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes þ     No o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the Registrant’s knowledge, in definite proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of ‘large accelerated filer’, ‘accelerated filer’ and ‘smaller reporting company’ in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer þ	Accelerated filer o	Non-accelerated filer o	Smaller reporting company o
		(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
Emerging growth company    o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).  Yes o     No þ

The aggregate market value of the voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, computed by reference to the last reported price at which the Registrant’s common equity was sold on June 30, 2017 (the last day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second quarter) was $18,544,137,403.

As of February 23, 2018, there were outstanding 132,216,177 ordinary shares, nominal value $0.000304635 per share, of the Registrant.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of Part III will be incorporated by reference in accordance with Instruction G(3) to Form 10-K no later than 120 days after the end of the Company’s fiscal year.

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON

INDEX TO FORM 10-K

For the year endedDecember 31, 2017

		Page
Certain Definitions		3
Disclaimer Regarding Forward-looking Statements		4
PART I.
Item 1	Business	5
Item 1A	Risk Factors	16
Item 1B	Unresolved Staff Comments	31
Item 2	Properties	31
Item 3	Legal Proceedings	31
Item 4	Mine Safety Disclosures	31
PART II.
Item 5	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	32
Item 6	Selected Consolidated Financial Data	36
Item 7	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	37
Item 7A	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	75
Item 8	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	78
Item 9	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	175
Item 9A	Controls and Procedures	175
Item 9B	Other Information	177
PART III.
Item 10	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	178
Item 11	Executive Compensation	178
Item 12	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	178
Item 13	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	178
Item 14	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	178
PART IV.
Item 15	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	179
Item 16	Form 10-K Summary	185
Signatures		186

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Certain Definitions

The following definitions apply throughout this annual report unless the context requires otherwise:

‘We’, ‘Us’, ‘Company’, ‘Willis Towers Watson’, ‘Our’, ‘Willis Towers Watson plc’ or ‘WTW’	Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company, a company organized under the laws of Ireland, and its subsidiaries
‘shares’	The ordinary shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company, nominal value $0.000304635 per share
‘Legacy Willis’ or ‘Willis’	Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company and its subsidiaries, predecessor to Willis Towers Watson, prior to the Merger
‘Legacy Towers Watson’ or ‘Towers Watson’	Towers Watson & Co. and its subsidiaries
‘Merger’	Merger of Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company and Towers Watson & Co. pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated June 29, 2015, as amended on November 19, 2015, and completed on January 4, 2016
‘Gras Savoye’	GS & Cie Groupe SAS
‘Miller’	Miller Insurance Services LLP and its subsidiaries

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Disclaimer Regarding Forward-looking Statements

We have included in this document ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our operations. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future, including such things as our outlook, future capital expenditures, future share repurchases, growth in commissions and fees, the impact of changes to tax laws on our financial results, business strategies and planned acquisitions, competitive strengths, goals, the benefits of new initiatives, growth of our business and operations, plans and references to future successes, and the benefits of the Merger, including our future financial and operating results, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions are forward-looking statements. Also, when we use words such as ‘may,’ ‘will,’ ‘would,’ ‘anticipate,’ ‘believe,’ ‘estimate,’ ‘expect,’ ‘intend,’ ‘plan,’ ‘probably,’ or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking disclosure is speculative by its nature.

A number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results reflected in these forward-looking statements are identified under Risk Factors in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These statements are based on assumptions that may not come true and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.

Although we believe that the assumptions underlying our forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of these assumptions, and therefore also the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions, could themselves prove to be inaccurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our inclusion of this information is not a representation or guarantee by us that our objectives and plans will be achieved.

Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and we will not update these forward-looking statements unless the securities laws require us to do so. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this document may not occur, and we caution you against unduly relying on these forward-looking statements.

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PART I.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

The Company

Willis Towers Watson plc was formed upon completion of the Merger on January 4, 2016, pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated June 29, 2015, as amended on November 19, 2015 (the ‘Merger Agreement’), between Legacy Willis, Legacy Towers Watson, and Citadel Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Willis formed for the purpose of facilitating this transaction (‘Merger Sub’). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub merged with and into Towers Watson with Towers Watson continuing as the surviving corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Willis.

Immediately following the Merger, Legacy Willis effected (i) a consolidation (i.e., a reverse stock split under Irish law) of Willis ordinary shares whereby every 2.6490 Legacy Willis ordinary shares were consolidated into one Willis Towers Watson ordinary share (the ‘Consolidation’) and (ii) an amendment to its Constitution and other organizational documents to change its name from Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company to Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company.

We trace our history to 1828, and are a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth.

We continue to integrate Willis and Towers Watson while creating a unified platform for global growth, including positioning the Company to leverage our mutual distribution strength to enhance market penetration, expand our global footprint and create a strong platform for further innovation. The Company provides a comprehensive offering of services and solutions to clients across four business segments: Human Capital and Benefits; Corporate Risk and Broking; Investment, Risk and Reinsurance; and Benefits Delivery and Administration, formerly Exchange Solutions.

Our clients operate on a global and local scale in a multitude of businesses and industries throughout the world and generally range in size from large, major multinational corporations to middle-market domestic and international companies. Our clients include many of the world’s leading corporations, including 90% or more of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the Fortune 1000, and the FTSE 100. We also advise substantially all of the world’s leading insurance companies. We work with major corporations, emerging growth companies, governmental agencies and not-for-profit institutions in a wide variety of industries, with many of our client relationships spanning decades. No one client accounted for a significant concentration of revenues in each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015. We place insurance with approximately 2,500 insurance carriers, none of which individually accounted for a significant concentration of the total premiums we placed on behalf of our clients in 2017, 2016 or 2015.

Available Information

The Company files annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘SEC’). You may read and copy any documents we file at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549. Call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for information on the Public Reference Room. The SEC maintains a website that contains annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information that issuers (including Willis Towers Watson) file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s website is www.sec.gov.

The Company makes available, free of charge through our website, www.willistowerswatson.com, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our proxy statement, current reports on Form 8-K and Forms 3, 4, and 5 filed on behalf of directors and executive officers, as well as any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘Exchange Act’) as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Unless specifically incorporated by reference, information on our website is not a part of this Form 10-K.

The Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, Audit & Risk Committee Charter, Compensation Committee Charter, and Nominating & Governance Committee Charter are available on our website, www.willistowerswatson.com, in the Investor Relations section, or upon request. Requests for copies of these documents should be directed in writing to the Company Secretary c/o Office of General Counsel, Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company, Brookfield Place, 200 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10281.

General Information

Willis Towers Watson is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. Willis Towers Watson has more than 43,000 employees and services clients in more than 140 countries and territories. We design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimize benefits, cultivate talent, and expand the power of

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capital to protect and strengthen institutions and individuals. We believe our unique perspective allows us to see the critical intersections between talent, assets and ideas - the dynamic formula that drives business performance.

We offer our clients a broad range of services to help them to identify and control their risks, and to enhance business performance by improving their ability to attract, retain and engage a talented workforce. Our risk control services range from strategic risk consulting (including providing actuarial analysis), to a variety of due diligence services, to the provision of practical on-site risk control services (such as health and safety or property loss control consulting), as well as analytical and advisory services (such as hazard modeling and reinsurance optimization studies). We assist clients in planning how to manage incidents or crises when they occur. These services include contingency planning, security audits and product tampering plans. We help our clients enhance their business performance by delivering consulting services, technology and solutions that help them anticipate, identify and capitalize on emerging opportunities in human capital management as well as offer investment advice to help them develop disciplined and efficient strategies to meet their investment goals.

As an insurance broker, we act as an intermediary between our clients and insurance carriers by advising our clients on their risk management requirements, helping them to determine the best means of managing risk and negotiating and placing insurance with insurance carriers through our global distribution network. We operate the largest private Medicare exchange in the United States (‘U.S.’). Through this exchange and those for active employees, we help our clients move to a more sustainable economic model by capping and controlling the costs associated with healthcare benefits.

We are not an insurance company, and therefore we do not underwrite insurable risks for our own account.

We derive the majority of our revenues from either commissions or fees for brokerage or consulting services. We do not determine the insurance premiums on which our commissions are generally based. Commission levels generally follow the same trend as premium levels as they are derived from a percentage of the premiums paid by the insureds. Fluctuations in these premiums charged by the insurance carriers can therefore have a direct and potentially material impact on our results of operations. Our fees for consulting services are spread across a variety of complementary businesses that generally remain steady during times of uncertainty. We have some businesses, such as our health and benefits and administration businesses, which can be counter cyclical during the early period of a significant economic change.

Our colleagues serve a diverse base of clients ranging in size from large, major multinational corporations to middle-market companies in a variety of industries, public institutions, and individual clients. Many of our client relationships span decades. We work with established corporations, emerging growth companies, governmental agencies and not-for-profit institutions in a wide variety of industries.

We believe we are one of only a few global advisory, broking and solutions companies in the world possessing the global operating presence, broad product expertise and extensive distribution network necessary to effectively meet the global needs of many of our clients.

Below are our revenues and long-lived assets for Ireland, our country of domicile, countries with significant concentrations, and all other foreign countries for each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015:

	Revenues						Long-Lived Assets (i)
	(in millions)						(in millions)
	2017		2016		2015		2017		2016		2015
Ireland	$	107	$	92	$	64	$	127	$	114	$	124
United States	3,821		3,395		1,597		9,988		11,400		1,759
United Kingdom	1,815		2,236		1,055		3,173		2,431		2,426
Rest of World	2,459		2,164		1,113		3,263		2,466		1,951
Total Foreign Countries	8,095		7,795		3,765		16,424		16,297		6,136
	$	8,202	$	7,887	$	3,829	$	16,551	$	16,411	$	6,260

____________________

(i) Long-Lived Assets do not include deferred tax assets.

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Business Strategy

Willis Towers Watson sees that a unified approach to people and risk can be a path to growth for our clients. Our integrated teams bring together our understanding of risk strategies and market analytics. This helps clients around the world to achieve their objectives.

We operate in attractive markets - both growing and mature - with a diversified platform across geographies, industries, segments and lines of business. We aim to become the premier advisory, broking and solutions company of choice. We design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimize benefits, cultivate talent, and expand the power of capital to protect and strengthen institutions and individuals. We also help organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management by focusing on providing human capital and financial consulting services.

 We believe we can achieve this by:

• Delivering a powerful client proposition with an integrated global platform. Our combined offerings provide comprehensive advice, analytics, specialty capabilities and solutions covering benefits, benefits delivery solutions, brokerage and advisory, risk and capital management, and talent and rewards;

• Leveraging our combined distribution strength and global footprint to enhance market penetration and provide a platform for further innovation; and

• Underpinning this growth through continuous operational improvement initiatives that help make us more effective and efficient and drive cost synergies. We do this by:

◦ continuing to modernize the way we run our business to better serve our clients, enabling the skills of our staff, and lowering our costs of doing business;

◦ making the necessary changes to our processes, our IT, our real estate and our workforce locations; and

◦ targeting and delivering identified, highly achievable cost savings as a direct consequence of the Merger. 

We care as much about how we work as we do about the impact that we make. This means commitment to shared values, a framework that guides how we run our business and serve clients.

Through these strategies we aim to accelerate revenue, cash flow, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (‘EBITDA’), and earnings growth, and generate compelling returns for investors, by delivering tangible growth in revenues and capitalizing on the identified cost synergies.

Principal Services

In 2016, we began managing our business across four integrated reportable operating segments: Human Capital and Benefits; Corporate Risk and Broking; Investment, Risk and Reinsurance; and Benefits Delivery and Administration. Below are the percentages of revenues generated by each segment for each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015:

	Year ended December 31,
	2017		2016 (i)		2015 (i)
Human Capital and Benefits	39	%	40	%	15	%
Corporate Risk and Broking	33	%	32	%	61	%
Investment, Risk and Reinsurance	19	%	20	%	24	%
Benefits Delivery and Administration	9	%	8	%	—	%

____________________

(i) Beginning in 2017, we made certain changes that affect our segment results. These changes, which are detailed in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 7, 2017, include the realignment of certain businesses within our segments, as well as changes to certain allocation methodologies to better reflect the ongoing nature of our businesses. The prior period comparatives reflected in the tables above have been retrospectively adjusted to reflect our current segment presentation. See Note 4 — Segment Information within Item 8 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of these changes. The recast figures do not include pro forma segment revenues from Legacy Towers Watson for 2015. For 2015 pro forma segment information, see our Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 14, 2016.

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The average number of employees by segment for the year ended December 31, 2017 is approximated below:

	December 31, 2017
Human Capital and Benefits	12,800
Corporate Risk and Broking	14,600
Investment, Risk and Reinsurance	4,900
Benefits Delivery and Administration	3,200
Corporate and Other	7,900
Total Employees	43,400

Human Capital and Benefits

The Willis Towers Watson Human Capital & Benefits (‘HCB’) segment provides an array of advice, broking, solutions and software for employee benefit plans, the human resources (‘HR’) organization and the management teams of our clients.

HCB is the largest segment of the Company, generating approximately 39% of our segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2017. Organized into four primary offerings - Retirement; Health & Benefits; Talent & Rewards; and Technology and Administration Solutions, the segment is focused on addressing our clients’ people and risk needs to help them take on the challenges of operating in a global marketplace.

HCB is strengthened with teams of international consultants that provide support in each of these areas to the global headquarters of multinational clients and their foreign subsidiaries.

Retirement — The Retirement business provides actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for traditional pension and retirement savings plans. Our colleagues help our clients assess the costs and risks of retirement plans on cash flow, earnings and the balance sheet, the effects of changing workforce demographics on their retirement plans and retiree benefit adequacy and security. We offer clients a full range of integrated retirement consulting services to meet the needs of all types of employers - including those that continue to offer defined benefit plans and those that are reexamining their retirement benefit strategies. We bring a particular in-depth data analysis and perspective to their decision process, because we have tracked the retirement designs of the largest public companies around the world over many years.

For clients that want to outsource some or all of their pension plan management, we offer integrated solutions that combine investment consulting, pension administration, core actuarial services, and communication and change management assistance.

Our retirement consulting relationships are generally long-term in nature, and client retention rates for this business are high. A significant portion of the revenues in this business is from recurring work, with multi-year contracts that are driven by the heavily regulated nature of employee benefit plans and our clients’ annual needs for these services. Revenues for the Retirement business are somewhat seasonal, as much of our work pertains to calendar-year plan administration and reporting and compliance related to the completion of pension plan valuations; thus, the first quarter of the fiscal year is typically Retirement’s strongest quarter. Major revenue growth drivers in this business include changes in regulations, capital market conditions, increased global demand and increased market share.

Health and Benefits — The Health & Benefits (‘H&B’) business provides plan management consulting, broking and administration across the full spectrum of health and group benefit programs, including medical, dental, disability, life and other coverage. Our H&B reach extends from small/mid-market clients to large market clients, across the full geographic footprint of the Company, and to most industries. We can address our clients’ insured needs in more than 140 countries.

Our consultants help clients make strategic decisions on topics such as optimizing program spend; evaluating emerging coverage options (including publicly-subsidized health insurance exchanges and private exchanges in the U.S.); and dealing with above-inflation-rate increases in healthcare costs. In addition to our consulting services, we manage a number of collective purchasing initiatives, such as pharmacy and stop-loss, that allow employers to realize greater value from third-party service providers than they can achieve on their own.

With Global Benefits Solutions, our suite of global services supporting medical, dental and risk (life, accident and disability) programs, we have a tailored offering for multinationals. That offering includes a flexible set of ready-made offerings, proven technology, efficient operational structure and an integrated approach to service delivery that translates to a globally consistent, high-quality experience for our clients.

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Finally, H&B supports our Group Marketplace, our private health insurance exchange for active employees. This offering is integrated with our other health insurance exchange offerings covered by our Individual Marketplace, which are offered within the Benefits Delivery and Administration segment.

Talent & Rewards — Our Talent & Rewards (‘T&R’) business provides advice, data, software and products to address clients’ total rewards and talent issues. T&R has operations across the globe, including centralized software development and analytics teams that support the efficient delivery of services to clients.

Within our Rewards line of business, we address both executive compensation and broad-based rewards. We advise our clients’ management and boards of directors on all aspects of executive pay programs, including base pay, annual bonuses, long-term incentives, perquisites and other benefits. Our focus is on aligning pay plans with the organization’s business strategy and driving desired performance. Our solutions incorporate market benchmarking data and software to support compensation administration.

Our Talent line of business offers services focused on designing and implementing talent management programs and processes which help companies attract and deploy talent, engage them over time, manage their performance, develop their skills, provide them with relevant career paths, communicate with them and manage organizational change initiatives. Our solutions include employee insight and listening tools, talent assessment tools and services, and HR software to help companies administer and manage their talent management programs and analyze talent trends.

Revenues for the T&R business are partly seasonal in nature, with a meaningful amount of heightened activity in the second half of the calendar year during the annual compensation, benefits and survey cycles. While T&R enjoys long-term relationships with many clients, work in several practices is often project-based and can be sensitive to economic changes. The business benefits from regulatory changes affecting our clients that require strategic advice, program changes and communication such as CEO pay ratio disclosure in the U.S. and gender pay gap reporting in the United Kingdom (‘U.K.’) Additional areas of growth for T&R include evolving views on effective individual performance measurement and management, focus on workforce productivity improvements and labor cost reductions, globalization and digitization of the workforce, merger and acquisition (‘M&A’) activity, technology-enabled approaches for measuring and understanding workforce engagement, and the opportunity to leverage HR software to improve the design, management and implementation of HR processes and programs.

Technology and Administration Solutions — Our Technology and Administration Solutions (‘TAS’) business provides benefits outsourcing services to hundreds of clients across multiple industries. Our TAS team focuses on clients outside of the U.S. where our services are supported by high quality administration teams using robust technology platforms. We have high client retention rates, and we are the leading administrator among the 200 largest pension plans in the U.K., as well as a leader in Germany.

For both our defined benefit and defined contribution administration services, we use highly-automated processes and web technology to enable benefit plan members to access and manage their records, perform self-service functions and improve their understanding of their benefits. Our technology also provides trustees and HR teams with timely management information to monitor activity and service levels and reduce administration costs.

Corporate Risk and Broking

Our Corporate Risk & Broking (‘CRB’) segment provides a broad range of risk advice, insurance brokerage and consulting services to clients worldwide ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations. The segment delivers integrated global solutions tailored to client needs and underpinned by data and analytics.

CRB generated approximately 33% of Willis Towers Watson segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2017, and places more than $20 billion of premium into the insurance markets, annually.

CRB operates as an integrated global team comprising both functional and geographic leadership. In addition there are three global offerings, which aim to leverage capabilities across geographies. In these operations, we have extensive specialized experience handling diverse lines of coverage, including complex insurance programs. A key objective is to assist clients in reducing their overall cost of risk.

Property and Casualty —Property and Casualty provides property and liability insurance brokerage services across a wide range of industries including construction, real estate, healthcare and natural resources. Our construction practice provides risk management advice and brokerage services for a wide range of international construction activities. Clients of the construction practice include contractors, project owners, project managers, consultants and financiers. Our natural resources practice encompasses the oil and gas, mining, power and utilities sectors; and provides services including property damage, offshore

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construction liability and other services to global clients. In addition, we also arrange insurance products and services for our affinity client partners to offer to their customers, employees or members alongside, or in addition to, their principal business offerings.

Financial Lines —Financial Lines specializes in brokerage services for financial, political and credit risks. Our clients include financial institutions, professional services firms and affinity groups from around the globe that require coverage for areas ranging from business risks, such as trade credit, directors and officers and medical malpractice, to external threats, such as cyber attacks, terrorism and creditor payment protection.

Transport —Transport provides specialist expertise to the transportation industry and aerospace, marine and inspace practices. Our aerospace business provides insurance brokerage and risk management services to aerospace clients worldwide, including the world’s leading airlines, aircraft manufacturers, air cargo handlers and other airport and general aviation companies. Our marine business provides insurance brokerage services, including hull, cargo, protection and indemnity and general marine liabilities. Our marine clients include ship owners, ship builders, logistics operations, port authorities, traders and shippers. The specialist inspace team is also prominent in providing insurance and risk management services to the space industry.

Facultative capabilities exist within each of the above offerings to serve as a broker or intermediary for insurance companies looking to arrange reinsurance solutions across various classes of risk. This allows our team of experts to deliver differentiated outcomes to their direct insureds, which in many situations are also clients of the wider Willis Towers Watson business. The facultative team also works closely with our treaty reinsurance business to structure reinsurance solutions that deliver capital and strategic benefits to insurance company clients.

Investment, Risk and Reinsurance

The Willis Towers Watson Investment, Risk and Reinsurance (‘IRR’) segment uses a sophisticated approach to risk which helps clients free up capital and manage investment complexity. The segment works closely with investors, reinsurers and insurers to manage the equation between risk and return. Blending advanced analytics with deep institutional knowledge, IRR identifies new opportunities to maximize performance. IRR provides investment consulting services and insurance specific services and solutions through reserves opinions, software, ratemaking, usage-based insurance, risk underwriting, and reinsurance broking.

This segment is our third largest segment and generated approximately 19% of segment revenues for the Company for the year endedDecember 31, 2017. With approximately 75% of the revenues for this segment split between North America and the U.K., this segment includes the following businesses and offerings:

Willis Re —Willis Re provides reinsurance industry clients with an understanding of how risk affects capital and financial performance and advises on the best ways to manage related outcomes. We operate this business on a global basis and provide a complete range of transactional capabilities, including, in conjunction with Willis Towers Watson Securities, a wide variety of capital markets-based products to both insurance and reinsurance companies. Our services are underpinned by modeling, financial analysis and risk management advice.

Insurance Consulting and Technology —Insurance Consulting and Technology, formerly Risk Consulting and Software, is a global business that provides advice and technology solutions to the insurance industry, as well as to corporate clients with respect to their insurance programs. We leverage our industry experience, strategic perspective and analytical skills to help clients measure and manage risk and capital, improve business performance and create a sustainable competitive advantage. Our services include software and technology, risk and capital management, products and pricing, financial and regulatory reporting, financial and capital modeling, M&A, outsourcing and business management.

Investment —Investment provides advice to improve investment outcomes for asset owners using a broad and sophisticated framework for managing risk. We provide coordinated investment advice and solutions to some of the world’s largest pension funds and institutional investors based on our expertise in risk assessment, asset-liability modeling, strategic asset allocation policy setting, manager selection and investment execution.

Wholesale Insurance Broking —Wholesale Insurance Broking provides wholesale and specialist broking services to retail brokers worldwide, through Willis Towers Watson and London based specialist broker Miller Insurance Services LLP. 

Portfolio and Underwriting Services —Portfolio and Underwriting Services, with operations in London and North America, brings together our existing set of Managing General Agent underwriting activities for purposes of accelerating their future development. Within Portfolio and Underwriting Services, we act on behalf of our insurance carrier partners and self-insured entities in product marketing and distribution, risk underwriting and selection, claims management and other general administrative responsibilities.

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Willis Towers Watson Securities —FormerlyCapital Markets & Advisory, with offices in New York, London, Hong Kong and Sydney, provides investment banking services to companies involved in the insurance and reinsurance industries for a broad array of merger and acquisition transactions as well as capital markets products, including acting as underwriter for primary issuances, operating a secondary insurance-linked securities trading desk and engaging in strategic advisory work.

Max Matthiessen — Max Matthiessen is a leading advisor and broker within insurance, benefits, human resources and savings in the Nordic region. The business specializes in providing human capital and benefits administration together with providing market leading savings and insurance solutions.

Benefits Delivery and Administration

The Willis Towers Watson Benefits Delivery and Administration (‘BDA’, formerly Exchange Solutions) segment provides primary medical and ancillary benefit exchange and outsourcing services to active employees and retirees across both the group and individual markets. BDA services individual populations via its ‘group to individual’ technology platform, which tightly integrates patented call routing technology, an efficient quoting and enrollment engine, a Customer Relationship Management system and comprehensive insurance carrier connectivity. This segment also delivers group benefit exchanges and full outsourcing solutions serving the active employees of employers across the United States. BDA uses Software as a Service (‘SaaS’)-based technology and related services to deliver consumer-driven healthcare and reimbursement accounts, including health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, flexible spending accounts and other consumer-directed accounts.

A significant portion of the revenues in this segment is recurring in nature, driven by either the commissions from the policies we sell, or from long-term service contracts with our clients that typically range from three to five years. Revenues across this segment may be seasonal, driven by the magnitude and timing of client transition activities, and we typically increase our membership levels significantly effective January 1, after calendar year-end benefits elections.

BDA generated approximately 9% of our segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2017. BDA provides services across four integrated or related offerings, listed below, to customers primarily in the U.S.

Individual Marketplace (formerly Retiree & Access Exchanges) —This business provides solutions through a proprietary technology platform, OneExchange Retiree, which enables our employer clients to transition their retirees to individual, defined contribution health plans that provide individuals with a tax-free allowance or contribution to spend on healthcare services at an annual cost that the employer controls, as opposed to group-based, defined benefit health plans that provide groups of individuals with healthcare benefits at uncertain annual costs.

Group Marketplace (formerly Active Exchanges) —This business is focused on delivering group benefit exchanges, serving the active employees of employers across the United States. Using our proprietary BenefitConnect or Bright Choices exchange platforms, combined with our expertise in creating high-performing benefit plan designs, we believe we are well-positioned to help our clients simplify their benefits delivery, while lowering the total costs of benefits and related administration. We have relationships with more than 400 broker partners to access and service the small to mid-size group market and offer both fully-insured and self-insured exchanges to meet the needs of our employer clients.

Benefits Outsourcing (formerly Technology and Administration Solutions) — Through our proprietary BenefitConnect technology, this business provides a broad suite of health and welfare outsourcing services as well as decision support and modeling tools for pension users within the U.S. With our disciplined approach to customer service, we offer cost-effective, high-touch service to hundreds of clients across many industries.

Benefits Accounts (formerly Consumer-Directed Accounts) —This business uses its SaaS-based technology and related services to deliver consumer-driven healthcare and reimbursement accounts, including health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements and other consumer-directed accounts.

Competition

We face competition in all fields in which we operate, based on global capability, product breadth, innovation, quality of service and price. We compete with Accenture plc, Aon plc, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Brown & Brown Inc., Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. and Robert Half International Inc., as well as with numerous specialty, regional and local firms. Marsh & McLennan Companies and Aon plc are the two other major providers of global risk management services. Competition for business is intense in all of our business lines and in every insurance market, and in some business lines Marsh & McLennan Companies and Aon plc have greater market share than we do.

Competition on premium rates has also exacerbated the pressures caused by a continuing reduction in demand in some classes of business. For example, rather than purchase additional insurance through brokers, some insureds have been retaining a greater proportion of their risk portfolios than previously. Industrial and commercial companies increasingly rely upon their

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own subsidiary insurance companies, known as captive insurance companies, self-insurance pools, risk retention groups, mutual insurance companies and other mechanisms for funding their risks, rather than buy insurance. Additional competitive pressures arise from the entry of new market participants, such as banks, accounting firms and insurance carriers themselves, offering risk management or transfer services.

The human capital and risk management consulting industries are highly competitive. We believe there are significant barriers to entry, and we have developed competitive advantages in providing HR consulting and risk management consulting services. We face strong competition from several sources.

Our principal competitors in the pension consulting industry are Mercer HR Consulting (a Marsh & McLennan company) and Aon plc. Beyond these large players, the global HR consulting industry is highly fragmented.

Our major competitors in the insurance consulting and software industry include Milliman, Oliver Wyman (a Marsh & McLennan company), the big four accounting firms and SunGard. Aon, Buck Consultants (a Conduent Company), Connextions (a United Healthcare company), Mercer (a Marsh & McLennan company), Automatic Data Processing and Fidelity are our primary competitors in the insurance exchange industry. With the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we also compete with the public exchanges currently run by the U.S. federal and state governments. We now compete with providers of account-based health plans and consumer-directed benefits such as WageWorks and HealthEquity.

The market for our services is subject to change as a result of economic, regulatory and legislative changes, technological developments, and increased competition from established and new competitors. Regulatory and legislative actions, along with continuously evolving technological developments, will likely have the greatest impact on the overall market for our exchange products. We believe the primary factors in selecting an HR consulting or risk management services firm include reputation; the ability to provide measurable increases to shareholder value and return on investment; global scale; quality of service; and the ability to tailor services to clients’ unique needs. With regard to the marketplace for individuals and active employee exchanges, we believe that clients base their decisions on a variety of factors that include the ability of the provider to deliver measurable cost savings for clients, a strong reputation for efficient execution, a provider’s capability in delivering a broad number of configurations to serve various population segments and financing options, and an innovative service delivery model and platform. For our traditional consulting and risk management services and the rapidly evolving exchange products, we believe we compete favorably with respect to these factors.

Regulation

Our business activities are subject to legal requirements and governmental and quasi-governmental regulatory supervision in all countries in which we operate. Also, such regulations may require individual or company licensing to conduct our business activities. While these requirements may vary from location to location, they are generally designed to protect our clients by establishing minimum standards of conduct and practice, particularly regarding the provision of advice and product information, as well as financial criteria. We are also subject to data privacy regulations in many countries. Our most significant regulatory regions are described below:

United States

Our activities in connection with insurance brokerage services within the United States are subject to regulation and supervision by state authorities. Although the scope of regulation and form of supervision may vary from state to state, insurance laws in the United States are often complex and generally grant broad discretion to supervisory authorities in adopting regulations and supervising regulated activities. That supervision generally includes the licensing of insurance brokers and agents and the regulation of the handling and investment of client funds held in a fiduciary capacity. Our continuing ability to provide insurance brokerage in the states in which we currently operate is dependent upon our compliance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the regulatory authorities in each of these states. Additionally, some of our private exchange activities are overseen by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Certain of our activities are governed by other regulatory bodies, such as investment and securities licensing authorities. Our activities in connection with investment services within the United States are subject to regulation and supervision at both the federal and state levels. At the federal level, certain of our operating subsidiaries are regulated by the SEC through the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Investment Advisers’ Act of 1940; and by the Department of Labor through the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA. In connection with the SEC regulations, we are required to file certain reports, and are subject to various marketing restrictions, among other requirements. In connection with ERISA regulations, we are restricted in actions we can take for plans for which we serve as fiduciaries, among other matters. Our U.S. investment activities are also subject to certain state regulatory schemes.

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Our Willis Towers Watson Securities business operates through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Willis Securities, Inc., a U.S.-registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC, primarily in connection with investment banking services and advising on alternative risk financing transactions.

Our activities in connection with Third Party Administrator (‘TPA’) services in the United States are also subject to regulation and supervision by many state authorities.  Licensing requirements and supervision vary from state to state. As with insurance brokerage services, our continuing ability to provide these services in states that regulate our activities is dependent upon our compliance with the rules and regulations promulgated from time to time by the regulatory authorities in each of these states.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, our business is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’). The FCA has a wide range of rule-making, investigatory and enforcement powers, and conducts monitoring visits to assess our compliance with regulatory requirements.

The FCA has a sole strategic objective: to ensure that the relevant markets function well. Its operational objectives are to: secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers; protect and enhance the integrity of the U.K. financial system; and to promote effective competition in the interests of consumers. The FCA has powers in product intervention. For instance, it can instruct firms to withdraw or amend misleading financial promotions. A U.K. exit from the E.U. may cause an increase in regulations in the U.K.

European Union

In 2005, the European Union Insurance Mediation Directive introduced rules to enable insurance and reinsurance intermediaries to operate and provide services within each member state of the European Union (‘E.U.’) on a basis consistent with the E.U. single market and customer protection aims. Each E.U. member state in which we operate is required to ensure that the insurance and reinsurance intermediaries resident in their country are registered with a statutory body in that country and that each intermediary meets professional requirements in relation to their competence, good repute, professional indemnity cover and financial capacity. The E.U. has been in the process of updating the Insurance Mediation Directive. Various E.U. bodies have created a replacement to the Insurance Mediation Directive called the Insurance Distribution Directive. The current timetable would require all E.U. member states to make the Insurance Distribution Directive national law by July 1, 2018. The Insurance Distribution Directive is now proposed to become effective on October 1, 2018.

In addition, our Willis Towers Watson Securities business provides advice on securities or investments in the European Union and Australia through our U.K. wholly-owned subsidiary, Willis Towers Watson Securities Europe Limited, which is authorized and regulated by the FCA.

Willis Towers Watson is also subject to the new E.U. General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’), which goes into effect in May 2018. The GDPR is a new, comprehensive regime that significantly increases our responsibilities when handling personal data, including, without limitation, requiring us to conduct privacy impact assessments, restricting the transmission of data and requiring public disclosure of significant data breaches.

Other

Our Willis Towers Watson Securities business, through an affiliate, Willis Towers Watson Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, is licensed to conduct certain securities-related activities, and is subject to regulation by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. Certain of our entities that undertake pension scheme management are subject to MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) and MiFIR (the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation). In addition, revisions to MiFID (‘MiFID II’) took effect in January 2018. These revisions are aimed at strengthening investor protection and improving the function of financial markets. MiFID II imposes a variety of new requirements that include, among others, rules relating to product governance and independent investment advice, responsibility of management bodies, inducements, information and reporting to clients, cross-selling, remuneration of staff, and best execution of trades for clients. Further, some of our entities are also authorized and regulated by certain financial services authorities in countries such as Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands and the U.K.

All companies carrying on similar activities in a given jurisdiction are subject to regulations which are not dissimilar to the requirements for our operations in the United States and United Kingdom. We do not consider these regulatory requirements as adversely affecting our competitive position.

Across all geographies we are subject to various data privacy regulations that apply to medical, financial and other types of personal information belonging to our clients, their employees and third parties, as well as our own employees.

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Our failure, or that of our employees, to satisfy the regulatory compliance requirements or the legal requirements governing our activities, can result in disciplinary action, fines, reputational damage and financial harm.

See Part I, Item 1A-Risk Factors for an analysis of how actions by regulatory authorities or changes in legislation and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate may have an adverse effect on our business.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

The executive officers of the Company as of February 28, 2018 were as follows:

Nicolas Aubert (age 52) - Mr. Aubert has served as the Head of Great Britain at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016, and as the CEO of Willis Limited, the Company’s U.K. insurance and reinsurance broking subsidiary, since September 30, 2015. Prior to his appointment as the Head of Great Britain, Mr. Aubert served as CEO of Willis GB, the operating segment of Willis Group Holdings that included Willis’ London specialty businesses and facultative business, and the retail insurance business in Great Britain since January 2015. Since March 2016, Mr. Aubert has served as the Chairman of the London Market Group (LMG), a professional body representing the common interests of the London Insurance Market operators, Lloyd’s of London, IUA, LIIBA and LMA. Prior to joining Willis, Mr. Aubert served as the Chief Operating Officer of American International Group (AIG) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and formerly as the Managing Director of AIG in the U.K. After joining AIG in June 2002 to lead AIG France, Mr. Aubert served in various other senior management positions, including Managing Director of Southern Europe, where he oversaw operations in 12 countries, including Israel. Prior to AIG, Mr. Aubert worked in various leadership positions at ACE, CIGNA, GAN and started his career at GENERALI. He holds specialized Masters Degrees in Insurance Law (DESS Assurances) from Pantheon-Sorbonne University of Paris and from Institut des Assurances de Paris (Université Paris-Dauphine) and an M.B.A. from the French High Insurance Studies Center (CHEA).

Anne D. Bodnar (age 61) - Ms. Bodnar has served as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016. Previously, Ms. Bodnar served on Towers Watson’s Management Committee since January 2015, and as Towers Watson’s Chief Administrative Officer since January 1, 2010. Ms. Bodnar previously served as Managing Director of HR at Towers Perrin beginning in 2001. From 1995 to 2000, Ms. Bodnar led Towers Perrin’s recruiting and learning and development efforts. Prior to that, she was a strategy consultant in Towers Perrin’s Human Capital business. Earlier in her career, Ms. Bodnar held several operational and strategic planning roles at what is now JPMorgan Chase. Additionally, Ms. Bodnar published a chapter entitled “HR as a Strategic Partner” in Human Resources Leadership Strategies: Fifteen Ways to Enhance HR Value in Your Company. She was elected to the YWCA’s Academy of Women Achievers in 1999. Ms. Bodnar graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Smith College and has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Michael J. Burwell (age 54) - Mr. Burwell has served as Chief Financial Officer of Willis Towers Watson since October 3, 2017. Before joining Willis Towers Watson, Mr. Burwell spent over 30 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), where he served in various senior leadership roles, including, most recently, as a Senior Partner driving Transformation activities with various clients across industries since 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Burwell served as Vice Chairman, Global and US Transformation Leader from 2012 to 2016, as Vice Chairman, US Operations Leader (COO) and Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to 2012, and as Leader of the Transaction Services practice from 2005 to 2007. During his initial time at PwC, Mr. Burwell served 11 years in the assurance practice working on numerous audit clients. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Michigan State University and is a certified public accountant. In 2010, he was named Michigan State University’s Alumnus of the year.

Matthew S. Furman (age 48) - Mr. Furman has served as General Counsel at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016. Previously, Mr. Furman served as Executive Vice President and Group General Counsel at Willis Group Holdings, where he was a member of the Operating Committee since April 2015. From 2007 until March 2015, Mr. Furman was Senior Vice President, Group General Counsel-Corporate and Governance, and Corporate Secretary for The Travelers Companies, Inc. From 2000 until 2007, Mr. Furman was an attorney at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York, where he was Vice President and Associate General Counsel in the finance and corporate legal group. Prior to that, he was in private practice, with almost six years’ experience at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York. Mr. Furman also serves as a Director of the Legal Aid Society and a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.

Adam L. Garrard (age 52) - Mr. Garrard has served as Head of International at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016. Previously, Mr. Garrard served as Chief Executive Officer for Willis Group Holdings in Asia since September 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Garrard served as Chief Executive Officer for Willis in Europe since January 2009, Chief Executive Officer for Willis in Australasia since May 2005 and Chief Executive Officer for Asia since January 2002. Mr. Garrard has resided in Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney and London while undertaking his Chief Executive Officer roles. After graduating from De Montfort University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1992, Mr. Garrard joined SBJ Stephenson Insurance Brokers before joining Willis in 1994.

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Julie J. Gebauer (age 56) - Ms. Gebauer has served as Head of Human Capital & Benefits at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016. Previously, Ms. Gebauer served as Managing Director of Towers Watson’s Talent and Rewards business segment since January 1, 2010. Beginning in 2002, Ms. Gebauer served as a Managing Director of Towers Perrin and led Towers Perrin’s global Workforce Effectiveness Practice and the global Towers Perrin-International Survey Research Corporation line of business. Ms. Gebauer was a member of Towers Perrin’s Board of Directors from 2003 through 2006. She joined Towers Perrin in 1986 as a consultant and held several leadership positions at Towers Perrin, serving as the Managing Principal for the New York office from 1999 to 2001 and the U.S. East Region Leader for the Human Capital Group from 2002 to 2006. Ms. Gebauer is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. Ms. Gebauer graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with high distinction from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, and was designated a Chancellor’s Scholar.

Joseph Gunn (age 47) - Mr. Gunn has served as the Head of North America at Willis Towers Watson since October 27, 2016.  Previously, Mr. Gunn served as the regional director for the Northeast region of Willis Towers Watson where he led the business in both Metro New York and New England since January 4, 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Gunn served as the National Partner for the Northeast Region at Willis North America since July 2009, and before that, as the Chief Growth Officer for Willis North America and regional executive officer for the South Central region of Willis North America since August 2006.  Before joining Willis in 2004, Mr. Gunn led the Marsh Client Development team for the North Texas operations and served as a senior relationship officer on several large accounts. Mr. Gunn serves as a member of the board of trustees of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Florida State University.

John J. Haley (age 68) - Mr. Haley has served as Chief Executive Officer and Director at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016. Previously, Mr. Haley served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Towers Watson since January 1, 2010, and as President since October 3, 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Haley served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Watson Wyatt beginning on January 1, 1999, as Chairman of the Board of Watson Wyatt beginning in 1999 and as a director of Watson Wyatt beginning in 1992. Mr. Haley joined Watson Wyatt in 1977. Prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of Watson Wyatt, he was the Global Director of the Benefits Group at Watson Wyatt. Mr. Haley is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. He is also a co-author of Fundamentals of Private Pensions (University of Pennsylvania Press). Mr. Haley also serves on the board of MAXIMUS, Inc., a provider of health and human services program management, consulting services and system solutions, and previously served on the board of Hudson Global, Inc., an executive search, specialty staffing and related consulting services firm. He has an A.B. in Mathematics from Rutgers College and studied under a Fellowship at the Graduate School of Mathematics at Yale University.

Carl A. Hess (age 56) - Mr. Hess has served as the Head of Investment, Risk and Reinsurance since October 27, 2016.  Previously, Mr. Hess served as the Co-Head of North America at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Hess served as Managing Director, The Americas of Towers Watson since February 1, 2014, and before that, he served as the Managing Director of Towers Watson’s Investment business since January 1, 2010. Before his service at Towers Watson, Mr. Hess worked in a variety of roles for over 20 years at Watson Wyatt, lastly as Global Practice Director of Watson Wyatt’s Investment business. Mr. Hess is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst. He has a bachelor’s degree cum laude in Logic and Language from Yale University.

Todd Jones (age 53) - Mr. Jones has served as the Head of Corporate Risk and Broking since October 27, 2016. Previously, Mr. Jones served as the Co-Head of North America at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Jones served as an executive officer and Chief Executive Officer of Willis North America since July 1, 2013. Mr. Jones joined Willis in 2003 as the North American Practice Leader for Willis’ Executive Risks Practice and served as the President of Willis North America from 2010 to 2013. Mr. Jones also served as a National Partner for the Northeast Region. Prior to joining Willis, Mr. Jones held various leadership roles in the insurance brokerage industry. Before entering the brokerage industry, he was a financial analyst and corporate banker for a regional bank that is now part of Wells Fargo. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from Wake Forest University and an M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Paul G. Morris (age 53) - Mr. Morris has served as Head of Western Europe at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016. Previously, Mr. Morris served as Managing Director for Towers Watson in Europe, the Middle East and Africa since September 1, 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Morris served as Director, Consulting Services, for Towers Watson beginning January 1, 2010. Mr. Morris served as a Managing Consultant of Watson Wyatt from 2005 until the consummation of the merger of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt. He joined The Wyatt Company in 1988. Following the establishment of the global Watson Wyatt Worldwide alliance in 1995, Mr. Morris served as a Senior Consultant of Watson Wyatt Partners from 1995 through 1999 and became a partner in 1999. Mr. Morris is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the Institute of Actuaries, and has a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Harvard College and an M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

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Anne Pullum (age 35) - Ms. Pullum has served as the Chief Administrative Officer and Head of Strategy and Innovation at Willis Towers Watson since October 27, 2016. Beginning on January 4, 2016, Ms. Pullum served as Willis Towers Watson’s Head of Strategy, where she has played a key role in determining the Company’s strategy and worked across all business segments and functional areas. Previously, Ms. Pullum served as the Head of Strategy for Willis Group since May 2014.  Before joining Willis, Ms. Pullum worked at McKinsey & Company, where she served financial services and natural resource clients since October 2010. Prior to that, Ms. Pullum conducted economic research at Greenspan Associates in Washington, D.C. and served as an analyst in the Goldman Sachs Equities Division in London. Ms. Pullum holds an M.B.A. from INSEAD and a bachelor’s degree in International Economics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. 

David Shalders (age 51) - Mr. Shalders has served as Operations and Technology Director at Willis Towers Watson since January 4, 2016. Previously, Mr. Shalders served as an executive officer and Group Operations & Technology Director of Willis Group Holdings since November 4, 2013. Prior to joining Willis, Mr. Shalders spent over a decade in senior operations and IT roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, most recently as Global COO for Global Banking and Markets. Mr. Shalders also held roles as Head of London & Asia Operations and Head of Derivative Operations for NatWest at RBS. Prior to RBS, Mr. Shalders held various IT and Operations leadership roles at Accenture, JP Morgan and SG Warburg. He has an M.A. in Geography from Cambridge University and an M.Sc. in Computer Science from The London School of Economics.

Gene H. Wickes (age 65) - Mr. Wickes has served as the Head of Benefits Delivery and Administration (formerly Exchange Solutions) at Willis Towers Watson since April 1, 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Wickes served as an Executive Sponsor of the combined Willis Towers Watson Merger integration team since January 4, 2016. Previously, he served as the Managing Director of the Benefits business segment of Towers Watson from January 1, 2010 until the closing of the Willis Towers Watson merger. Prior to that, he served as the Global Director of the Benefits Practice of Watson Wyatt beginning in 2005 and as a member of Watson Wyatt’s Board of Directors from 2002 to 2007. Mr. Wickes was Watson Wyatt’s Global Retirement Practice Director in 2004 and the U.S. West Division’s Retirement Practice Leader from 1997 to 2004. Mr. Wickes joined Watson Wyatt in 1996 as a senior consultant and consulting actuary. Prior to joining Watson Wyatt, he spent 18 years with Towers Perrin, where he assisted organizations with welfare, retirement, and executive benefit issues. Mr. Wickes is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, and has a B.S. in Mathematics and Economics, an M.S. in Mathematics and an M.S. in Economics, all from Brigham Young University.

Board of Directors

A list of the Board of Directors of the Company and their principal occupations is provided below:

John J. Haley	James F. McCann	Paul Thomas
Chief Executive Officer	Non-Executive Chairman of Willis Towers Watson, Executive Chairman of 1-800-Flowers.com	Former CEO of Reynolds Packaging Group
Anna C. Catalano	Brendan R. O’Neill	Wilhelm Zeller
Former Group Vice President, Marketing for BP plc	Former CEO of Imperial Chemical Industries PLC	Former CEO of Hannover Re Group
Victor F. Ganzi	Jaymin B. Patel
Former President & CEO of The Hearst Corporation	CEO of Brightstar Corp.
Wendy E. Lane	Linda D. Rabbitt
Chairman of Lane Holdings, Inc.	Founder, Chairman & CEO of rand* construction corporation

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

In addition to the factors discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the following are some of the important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. These risk factors should be carefully considered in evaluating our business. The descriptions below are not the only risks and uncertainties that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that are presently unknown to us could also impair our business operations, financial condition or results. If any of the risks and uncertainties below or other risks were to occur, our business operations, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted. With respect to the tax-related consequences of acquisition, ownership and disposal of ordinary shares, you should consult with your own tax advisors.

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Strategic and Operational Risks

Our success largely depends on our ability to achieve our global business strategy, and our results of operations and financial condition could suffer if the Company were unable to successfully establish and execute on its strategy and generate anticipated revenue growth and cost savings and efficiencies.

Our future growth, profitability and cash flows largely depend upon our ability to successfully establish and execute our global business strategy. As discussed under Item 1., “Business - Business Strategy”, we seek to be an advisory, broking and solutions provider of choice through an integrated global platform. While we have confidence that our strategic plan reflects opportunities that are appropriate and achievable, there is a possibility that our strategy may not deliver projected long-term growth in revenue and profitability due to inadequate execution, incorrect assumptions, global or local economic conditions, competition, changes in the industries in which we operate, sub-optimal resource allocation or any of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section. In pursuit of our growth strategy, we may also invest significant time and resources into new product or service offerings, and there is the possibility that these offerings may fail to yield sufficient return to cover their investment. The failure to continually develop and execute optimally on our global business strategy could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Demand for our services could decrease for various reasons, including a general economic downturn, increased competition, or a decline in a client’s or an industry’s financial condition or prospects, all of which could materially adversely affect us.

We can give no assurance that the demand for our services will grow or be maintained, or that we will compete successfully with our existing competitors, new competitors or our clients’ internal capabilities. Client demand for our services may change based on the clients’ needs and financial conditions, among other factors.

Our results of operations are affected directly by the level of business activity of our clients, which in turn is affected by the level of economic activity in the industries and markets that they serve. Global financial markets may continue to experience disruptions, including increased volatility and credit availability, which could substantially impact our results. While it is difficult to predict the consequences of any deterioration in global economic conditions on our business, any significant reduction or delay by our clients in purchasing our services or insurance or making payment of premiums could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the potential for a significant insurer to fail, be downgraded or withdraw from writing certain lines of insurance coverages that we offer our clients could negatively impact overall capacity in the industry, which could then reduce the placement of certain lines and types of insurance and reduce our revenues and profitability. The potential for an insurer to fail or be downgraded could also result in errors and omissions claims by clients.

In addition, the markets for our principal services are highly competitive. Our competitors include other insurance brokerage, human capital and risk management consulting and actuarial firms, and the human capital and risk management divisions of diversified professional services, insurance, brokerage and accounting firms and specialty, regional and local firms.

Competition for business is intense in all of our business lines and in every insurance market, and some competitors have greater market share in certain lines of business than we do. Some of our competitors have greater financial, technical and marketing resources than us, which could enhance their ability to finance acquisitions, fund internal growth and respond more quickly to professional and technological changes. New competitors or alliances among competitors could emerge, creating additional competition and gaining significant market share, resulting in a loss of business for us and a corresponding decline in revenues and profit margin. In order to respond to increased competition and pricing pressure, we may have to lower our prices, which would also have an adverse effect on our revenues and profit margin.

In addition, competitors could develop competing technologies or product or service offerings that disrupt our industries. Any new technology or product or service offering (including insurance companies selling their products directly to consumers or other insureds) that reduces or eliminates the need for intermediaries in insurance or reinsurance sales transactions could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Further, the increasing willingness of clients to either self-insure or maintain a captive insurance company, and the development of capital markets-based solutions and other alternative capital sources for traditional insurance and reinsurance needs, could also materially adversely affect us and our results of operations.

An example of a business that may be significantly impacted by changes in customer demand is our retirement consulting and actuarial business, which comprises a substantial portion of our revenue and profit. We provide clients with actuarial and consulting services relating to both defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. Defined benefit pension plans generally require more actuarial services than defined contribution plans because defined benefit plans typically involve large asset pools, complex calculations to determine employer costs, funding requirements and sophisticated analysis to match

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liabilities and assets over long periods of time. If organizations shift to defined contribution plans more rapidly than we anticipate, or if we are unable to otherwise compensate for the decline in our business that results from employers moving away from defined benefit plans, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

In addition, the demand for many of our core benefit services, including compliance-related services, is affected by government regulation and taxation of employee benefit plans. Significant changes in tax or social welfare policy or other regulations could lead some employers to discontinue their employee benefit plans, including defined benefit pension plans, thereby reducing the demand for our services. A simplification of regulations or tax policy also could reduce the need for our services.

We could be subject to claims and lawsuits arising from our work, which could materially adversely affect our reputation, business and financial condition.

We depend in large part on our relationships with clients and our reputation for high-quality services to secure future engagements. Clients that become dissatisfied with our services may terminate their business relationships with us, and clients and third parties that claim they suffered damages caused by our services may bring lawsuits against us. We are subject to various actual and potential claims, lawsuits, investigations and other proceedings relating principally to alleged errors and omissions in connection with the provision of our services or the placement of insurance and reinsurance in the ordinary course of business. We are also subject to actual and potential claims, lawsuits, investigations and proceedings outside of errors and omissions claims. See Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies in Item 8 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for examples of claims to which we are subject.

Because we often assist our clients with matters involving substantial amounts of money, including actuarial services, asset management and the placement of insurance coverage and the handling of related claims, errors and omissions claims against us may arise that allege our potential liability for all or part of the substantial amounts in question. The nature of our work, particularly our actuarial services, necessarily involves the use of assumptions and the preparation of estimates relating to future and contingent events, the actual outcome of which we cannot know in advance. Our actuarial and brokerage services also rely on substantial amounts of data provided by clients, the accuracy and quality of which we cannot ensure. In addition, we could make computational, software programming or data management errors in connection with the services we provide to clients.

Clients may seek to hold us responsible for alleged errors or omissions relating to any of the brokerage advice and services we provide, including when claims they submit to their insurance carriers are disputed or denied. Given that many of our clients have very high insurance policy limits to cover their risks, alleged errors and omissions claims against us arising from disputed or denied claims are often significant. Moreover, in various circumstances, our brokerage, investment and certain other types of business may not limit the maximum liability to which we may be exposed for claims involving alleged errors or omissions; and as such, we do not have limited liability for the work we provide to the associated clients.

Further, given that we frequently work with large pension funds and insurance companies as well as other large clients, relatively small percentage errors or variances can create significant financial variances and result in significant claims for unintended or unfunded liabilities. The risks from such variances or errors could be aggravated in an environment of declining pension fund asset values and insurance company capital levels. In almost all cases, our exposure to liability with respect to a particular engagement is substantially greater than the revenue opportunity that the engagement generates for us.

Clients may seek to hold us responsible for the financial consequences of variances between assumptions and estimates and actual outcomes or for errors. For example, in the case of pension plan actuarial work, a client’s claims might focus on the client’s alleged reliance on actuarial assumptions that it believes were unreasonable and, based on such reliance, the client made benefit commitments that it may later claim are not affordable or funding decisions that result in plan underfunding if and when actual outcomes vary from actuarial assumptions.

We also continue to create new products and services and to grow the business of providing products and services to institutional investors, financial services companies and other clients. The risk of claims from these lines of business and related products and services may be greater than from our core products or services, and such claims may be for significant amounts.

We also provide advice on both asset allocation and selection of investment managers. Increasingly, for some clients, we are responsible for making decisions on both of these matters, or we may serve in a fiduciary capacity, either of which may increase liability exposure. In addition, the Company recently launched affiliated investment funds, with plans to launch additional funds over time. Given that our Investment business may recommend affiliated investment funds or affirmatively invest such clients’ assets in such funds under delegated authority, this may increase our liability exposure. We may also be liable for actions of managers or other service providers to the funds. Further, for certain clients, we are responsible for some portions of cash and investment management, including rebalancing of investment portfolios and guidance to third parties on

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the structure of derivatives and securities transactions. Asset classes may experience poor absolute performance, and investment managers may underperform their benchmarks; in both cases the investment return shortfall can be significant. Clients experiencing this underperformance, including from our affiliated investment funds, may assert claims against us, and such claims may be for significant amounts. In addition, our failure to properly execute our role can cause monetary damage to our clients or such third parties for which we might be found liable, and such claims may be for significant amounts. Our ability to contractually limit our potential liability may be limited in certain jurisdictions or markets or in connection with claims involving breaches of fiduciary duties or other alleged errors or omissions.

The ultimate outcome of all of the above matters cannot be ascertained and liabilities in indeterminate amounts may be imposed on us. It is thus possible that future results of operations or cash flows for any particular quarterly or annual period could be materially adversely affected by an unfavorable resolution of these matters. In addition, these matters continue to divert management and personnel resources away from operating our business. Even if we do not experience significant monetary costs, there may be adverse publicity associated with these matters that could result in reputational harm to the industries we operate in or to us in particular that may adversely affect our business, client or employee relationships. In addition, defending against these claims can involve potentially significant costs, including legal defense costs.

As a highly-regulated company, we are subject from time to time to inquiries or investigations by governmental agencies or regulators that could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

We have also been and may continue to be subject to inquiries and investigations by federal, state or other governmental agencies regarding aspects of our clients’ businesses or our own businesses, especially regulated businesses such as our insurance broker, securities broker-dealer and investment advisory services. Such inquiries or investigations may consume significant management time and result in regulatory sanctions, fines or other actions as well as significant legal fees, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and liquidity.

Examples of these inquiries or investigations are set forth in more detail in Note 13 - Commitments and Contingencies in Item 8 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These include:

• The European Commission’s civil investigation proceedings in respect of an alleged exchange of commercially sensitive information among competitors in aerospace insurance and reinsurance broking in the European Economic Area.

• The U.K. anti-trust regulator (the Competition and Markets Authority) market study in respect of competition in the investment consulting business in the U.K. (the ‘CMA Investment Consultancy Market Investigation’).

• The FCA’s market study to assess whether competition is working in the wholesale insurance broking sector in the U.K. (the ‘FCA Wholesale Market Study’). The FCA Wholesale Market Study is examining, among other things: the market power of individual brokerage firms and whether concentrated power is harming competition; conflicts of interest including in the areas of placement selection, use of facilities and in-house underwriting; and whether broker conduct might dampen competition.

All of these items reflect an increased focus by regulators (both in the U.K. and elsewhere) on various aspects of the operations and affairs of our regulated businesses. We are unable to predict the outcome of these inquiries or investigations. Any proposed changes that result from these investigations and inquiries, or any other investigations, inquiries or regulatory developments, or any potential fines or enforcement action, could materially adversely affect our business and our results of operations.

Allegations of conflicts of interest, including in connection with accepting market derived income (‘MDI’), may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation or reputation.

We could suffer significant financial or reputational harm if we fail to properly identify and manage potential conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest exist or could exist any time the Company or any of its employees has or may have an interest in a transaction or engagement that is inconsistent with our clients’ interests. This could occur, for example, when the Company is providing services to multiple parties in connection with a transaction. In addition, as we provide more solutions-based services, there is greater potential for conflicts with advisory services. Managing conflicts of interest is an important issue for the Company, but can be a challenge for a large and complex company such as ours. Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including, without limitation, situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of another client. If these are not carefully managed, this then could lead to failure or perceived failure to protect the client’s interests, with attendant regulatory and reputational risks that could materially adversely affect us and our operations. There is no guarantee that all potential conflicts of interest will be identified, and undetected conflicts may result in damage to our professional reputation and result in legal liability which may have a material adverse effect on our business. Identifying

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conflicts of interest may also prove particularly difficult in the near-term while we continue to bring together and integrate Legacy Willis, Legacy Towers Watson and Gras Savoye. In addition, we may encounter more conflicts of interest than anticipated in connection with the Merger or the Gras Savoye acquisition and we may not be able to adequately address such conflicts of interest.

In addition, insurance intermediaries have traditionally been remunerated by base commissions paid by insurance carriers in respect of placements we make for clients, or by fees paid by clients. Intermediaries also obtain other revenue from insurance carriers. This revenue, when derived from carriers in their capacity as insurance markets (as opposed to as corporate clients of the intermediaries where they may be purchasing insurance or reinsurance or other non-market related services), is commonly known as market derived income or ‘MDI’. MDI is another example of an area in which allegations of conflicts of interest may arise. MDI takes a variety of forms, including volume- or profit-based contingent commissions, facilities administration charges, business development agreements, and fees for providing certain data to carriers.

MDI creates various risks. Intermediaries in many markets have a duty to act in the best interests of their clients and payments from carriers can incentivize intermediaries to put carriers’ or their own interests ahead of their clients. Accordingly, MDI may be subject to scrutiny by various regulators under conflict of interest, anti-trust, unfair competition, and anti-bribery laws and regulations. While accepting MDI is a lawful and acceptable business practice, and while we have established systems and controls to manage these risks, we cannot predict whether our position will result in regulatory or other scrutiny and our controls may not be effective.

In addition, the Company recently launched affiliated investment funds, with plans to launch additional funds over time. Given that our Investment business may recommend affiliated investment funds or affirmatively invest such clients’ assets in such funds under delegated authority, there may be a perceived conflict of interest. While the Company has processes, procedures and controls in place intended to mitigate potential conflicts, such perception could cause regulatory inquiries, or could impact client demand and the business’ financial performance, and our controls may not be effective. In addition, underperformance by our affiliated investment funds could lead to lawsuits by clients that were invested in such funds.

Separately, the CMA Investment Consultancy Market Investigation and the FCA Wholesale Market Study are also both expected to examine various potential conflicts of interest in the investment consultancy and the wholesale insurance brokerage industries, respectively. There can be no assurances as to the outcome of these market investigations and market studies, and the CMA or FCA may recommend or require significant changes in these industries or impose firm-specific remedies.

The failure or perceived failure to adequately address conflicts of interest could affect the willingness of clients to deal with us, or give rise to litigation or enforcement actions. Conflicts of interest may also arise in the future that could cause material harm to us.

Damage to our reputation, including due to failure of third-parties on whom we rely to perform services, could damage our businesses.

Maintaining a positive reputation is critical to our ability to attract and maintain relationships with clients and colleagues. Damage to our reputation could therefore cause significant harm to our business and prospects. Harm to our reputation can arise from numerous sources, including, among others, employee misconduct, litigation or regulatory action, failure to deliver minimum standards of service and quality, compliance failures, allegations of conflicts of interest and unethical behavior. Negative publicity, whether or not true, may also result in harm to our prospects. In addition, the failure to deliver satisfactory service and quality in one line of business could cause clients to terminate the services we provide to that client in many other lines of business. This risk has increased as the Company has become larger and more complex.

In addition, as part of providing services to clients and managing our business, we rely on a number of third-party service providers. Our ability to perform effectively depends in part on the ability of these service providers to meet their obligations, as well as on our effective oversight of their performance. The quality of our services could suffer or we could be required to incur unanticipated costs if our third-party service providers do not perform as expected or their services are disrupted. This could have a material adverse effect on our reputation as well as our business and results of operations.

We may fail to realize some or all of the anticipated benefits of the Merger or related actions or those benefits may take longer to realize than expected. We may also encounter significant difficulties in integrating the businesses.

Since the Merger was consummated in January 2016, we have endeavored to integrate the legacy Towers Watson, legacy Willis and legacy Gras Savoye businesses. However, our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Merger and related actions occurring around the time of the Merger depends, to a large extent, on our ability to complete such integration. The combination of independent businesses is a complex, costly and time-consuming process requiring significant management attention. The remaining integration process could disrupt the businesses and, if implemented ineffectively, could restrict the

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realization of the full expected benefits. In addition, the overall integration may result in material unanticipated costs or other problems, expenses, liabilities, loss of client relationships or revenue, and diversion of management’s attention. The failure to meet the challenges involved in completing the integration of the businesses and to realize the anticipated benefits of the transactions could cause an interruption of, or a loss of momentum in, our activities and could adversely affect our results of operations. Further, even if our operations are integrated successfully, the full benefits of the transactions, including the synergies, cost savings or sales or growth opportunities that are expected, may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame, or at all. All of these factors could cause dilution to our earnings per share, decrease or delay the expected benefits of the Merger or the related actions and negatively impact the price of our ordinary shares.

The loss of key colleagues could damage or result in the loss of client relationships and could result in such colleagues competing against us.

Our success depends on our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel, including key managers and colleagues. In addition, our success largely depends upon our colleagues’ abilities to generate business and provide quality services. In particular, our colleagues’ business relationships with our clients are a critical element of obtaining and maintaining client engagements. Labor markets have become more competitive globally as the economic outlook in many countries has improved, and we have experienced intense competition for certain types of colleagues. In the past, as a result of the Merger and otherwise, we have lost colleagues who manage substantial client relationships or possess substantial experience or expertise; if we lose additional colleagues such as those, it could result in such colleagues competing against us and could materially adversely affect our ability to secure and complete engagements, which would materially adversely affect our results of operations and prospects.

Our ability to successfully manage ongoing organizational changes could impact our business results.

We have recently undergone several significant business and organizational changes, including the Merger, the acquisitions of Gras Savoye and Miller Insurance Services, LLP, and our Business Restructuring Program and multi-year operational improvement program. There are also a number of other initiatives planned or ongoing to transform our processes and gain efficiencies. In connection with these changes, we are managing a number of large-scale and complex projects. While we have concluded that each of these large, complex projects is necessary or desirable to the execution of the Company’s business strategy, we cannot guarantee that the collective effect of all of these projects will not adversely impact our business or results of operations. Effectively managing these organizational changes is critical to retaining talent, servicing clients and our business success overall. The failure to effectively manage such risks could adversely impact our resources or business or financial results.

Data security breaches or improper disclosure of confidential company or personal data could result in material financial loss, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal liability.

We depend on information technology networks and systems to process, transmit and store electronic information and to communicate among our locations around the world and with our alliance partners, insurance carriers/markets and clients. Additionally, one of our significant responsibilities is to maintain the security and privacy of our clients’ confidential and proprietary information and the personal data of their customers and/or employees. Our information systems, and those of our third-party service providers and vendors, are vulnerable to an increasing threat of continually evolving cybersecurity risks. Computer viruses, hackers and other external hazards, as well as improper or inadvertent staff behavior, could expose confidential company and personal data systems and information to security breaches.

Many of the software applications that we use in our business are licensed from, and supported, upgraded and maintained by, third-party vendors. Our third-party applications include enterprise cloud storage and cloud computing application services provided and maintained by third-party vendors. These third-party applications store confidential and proprietary data of both the Company and our clients. We have processes designed to require third-party IT outsourcing, offsite storage and other vendors to agree to maintain certain standards with respect to the storage, protection and transfer of confidential, personal and proprietary information. However, we remain at risk of a data breach due to the intentional or unintentional non-compliance by a vendor’s employee or agent, the breakdown of a vendor’s data protection processes, or a cyber-attack on a vendor’s information systems. Further, the potential impact of a data breach of our third-party vendors’ systems increases as we move more of our and our clients’ data into our vendors’ cloud storage, we engage in IT outsourcing or we consolidate the group of third-party vendors that provide cloud storage or other IT services for the Company.

We have experienced a number of data incidents, resulting from human error or malfeasance, as well as attempts at unauthorized access to our information technology networks and systems, or our information through fraud or other means of deceiving our colleagues, third-party service providers and vendors, none of which to our knowledge have been material to our business or our clients. Over time, the sophistication of the attacks against us has increased. We maintain policies, procedures and technological safeguards designed to protect the security and privacy of this information. However, we cannot entirely

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eliminate the risk of data security breaches, improper access to or disclosure of confidential company or personally identifiable information. Our technology may fail to adequately secure the private information we hold and protect it from theft, computer viruses, hackers or inadvertent loss.

If any person, including any of our colleagues, fails to comply with, disregards or intentionally breaches our established controls with respect to such data or otherwise mismanages or misappropriates that data, we could be subject to monetary damages, fines or criminal prosecution. Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential client or employee data, whether through systems failure, accident, employee negligence, fraud or misappropriation, could damage our reputation and cause us to lose clients. Similarly, unauthorized access to or through our information systems or those we develop for our clients, whether by our colleagues or third parties, could result in significant additional expenses (including expenses relating to notification of data security breaches and costs of credit monitoring services), negative publicity, legal liability and damage to our reputation, as well as require substantial resources and effort of management, thereby diverting management’s focus and resources from business operations. In addition, our failure to adhere to or successfully implement processes in response to changing customer expectations and legal or regulatory requirements in this area, including changing legal or regulatory requirements that may be developed or revised due to the U.K.’s exit from the E.U. (‘Brexit’), could result in legal liability or impairment to our reputation or business.

The methods used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems are also constantly changing and evolving; continue to become more sophisticated and complex; and may be difficult to anticipate or detect. For example, the Cyber Division of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (‘FBI’) has noted that cyber criminals have targeted, and may increasingly target, assets held in Health Savings Accounts and Reimbursement Accounts to fraudulently acquire the assets held in those accounts. Assets held in Health Savings Accounts are expected to grow substantially over the next few years. Given the Company’s move toward managing more of these assets ourselves as a Non-Bank Custodian in connection with our Benefits Delivery and Administration Businesses, our reputation could be harmed and our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected if we are the target of such fraud and it goes undetected for any period of time.

We have implemented and regularly review and update processes and procedures to protect against fraud or unauthorized access to or use of secured data and to prevent data loss. The ever-evolving threats mean we and our third-party service providers and vendors must continually evaluate, adapt, enhance and otherwise improve our respective systems and processes, and there is no guarantee that they will be adequate to safeguard against all fraud, data security breaches or misuses of data. Any future significant compromise or breach of our data security or fraud, whether external or internal, or misuse of client, colleague, supplier or company data, could result in additional significant costs, lost revenue opportunities, fines, lawsuits, and damage to our reputation.

We are subject to numerous U.S. and foreign jurisdiction laws and regulations designed to protect this information, such as the European Union Directive on Data Protection (and the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) once it supersedes the Directive on Data Protection in May 2018), regulations from other countries that prohibit the transmission of data outside of such country’s borders and various U.S. federal and state laws governing the protection of health or other individually identifiable information. GDPR significantly increases our responsibilities when handling personal data, including, without limitation, requiring us to conduct privacy impact assessments, restricting the transmission of data and requiring public disclosure of significant data breaches. Laws and regulations in this area are evolving and generally becoming more stringent. For example, the New York State Department of Financial Services has issued cybersecurity regulations that outline a variety of required security measures for protection of data. Further, a U.K. exit from the E.U. will increase uncertainty regarding applicable laws and regulations pending more clarity on the terms of that exit. All of these evolving laws and regulations may restrict the manner in which we provide services to our clients, increase the risk of non-compliance and impose significant costs that are likely to increase over time, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our inability to successfully recover should we experience a disaster or other business continuity problem could cause material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal liability.

Should we experience a disaster or other business continuity problem, such as an earthquake, hurricane, terrorist attack, pandemic, security breach, power loss, telecommunications failure or other natural or man-made disaster, our continued success will depend, in part, on the availability of our personnel, our office facilities, and the proper functioning of our computer, telecommunication and other related systems and operations. In such an event, we could experience near-term operational challenges with regard to particular areas of our operations.

A disaster on a significant scale or affecting certain of our key operating areas within or across regions, or our inability to successfully recover should we experience a disaster or other business continuity problem, could materially interrupt our

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business operations and cause material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm, damaged client relationships or legal liability, particularly if any of these problems occur during peak times.

Interruption to or loss of our information processing capabilities or failure to effectively maintain and upgrade our information processing hardware or systems could cause material financial loss, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal liability.

Our business depends significantly on effective information systems. Our capacity to service our clients relies on effective storage, retrieval, processing and management of information. Our information systems also rely on the commitment of significant resources to maintain and enhance existing systems, develop and create new systems and products in order to keep pace with continuing changes in information processing technology or evolving industry and regulatory standards and to be at the forefront of a range of technology relevant to our business.

In addition, many of the software applications that we use in our business are licensed from, and supported, upgraded and maintained by, third-party vendors. Our third-party applications include enterprise cloud storage and cloud computing application services provided and maintained by third-party vendors. These third-party applications store confidential and proprietary data of both the Company and our clients. A suspension or termination of certain of these licenses or the related support, upgrades and maintenance could cause temporary system delays or interruption that could adversely impact our business.

If the data we rely on to run our business were found to be inaccurate or unreliable or if we fail to maintain effective and efficient systems (including through a telecommunications failure, failure to replace or update redundant or obsolete computer hardware, applications or software systems, or the loss of skilled people with the knowledge needed to operate older systems, or if we experience other disruptions), this could result in material financial loss, regulatory action, reputational harm or legal liability.

In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, economic, legal, regulatory, cultural, market, operational and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.

In conducting our businesses and maintaining and supporting our global operations, we are subject to political, economic, legal, regulatory, market, operational and other risks. Our businesses and operations continue to expand into new regions throughout the world, including emerging markets. The possible effects of economic and financial disruptions throughout the world could have an adverse impact on our businesses and financial results. These risks include:

• the general economic and political conditions in foreign countries;

• the imposition of controls or limitations on the conversion of foreign currencies or remittance of dividends and other payments by foreign subsidiaries;

• the imposition of sanctions by both the U.S. and foreign governments;

• the imposition of withholding and other taxes on remittances and other payments from subsidiaries;

• the imposition or increase of investment and other restrictions by foreign governments;

• fluctuations in currency exchange rates or our tax rate;

• difficulties in controlling operations and monitoring employees in geographically dispersed and culturally diverse locations; and

• the practical challenge and costs of complying, or monitoring compliance, with a wide variety of foreign laws (some of which are evolving or are not as well-developed as the laws of the U.S. or U.K. or which may conflict with U.S. or other sources of law), and regulations applicable to insurance brokers and other business operations abroad (in more than 140 countries and territories including many countries in Africa), including laws, rules and regulations relating to the conduct of business, trade sanction laws administered by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, the E.U., the U.K. and the United Nations (‘U.N.’), and the requirements of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as well as other anti-bribery and corruption rules and requirements in all of the countries in which we operate.

Our business will be negatively affected if we are not able to anticipate and keep pace with rapid changes in government laws or regulations, or if government laws or regulations decrease the need for our services or increase our costs.

A material portion of our revenues are affected by statutory or regulatory changes. An example of a statutory or regulatory change that could materially impact us is any change to Healthcare Reform in the U.S. The new administrationand certain key

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members of Congress have expressed a desire to replace or amend all or a portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (‘PPACA’), and the Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, (‘HCERA’), which we refer to collectively as ‘Healthcare Reform’. While the U.S. Congress has not passed legislation replacing or significantly amending Healthcare Reform (other than changes to the individual mandate), such legislation, or another version of Healthcare Reform, could be implemented in the future. If we are unable to adapt our services to potential new laws and regulations with respect to Healthcare Reform or otherwise, our ability to provide effective services in these areas may be substantially impacted. In addition, more restrictive rules or interpretations of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services marketing rules, or judicial decisions that restrict or otherwise change existing provisions of U.S. healthcare regulation, could have a material adverse impact on our Benefits Delivery and Administration business.

Many areas in which we provide services are the subject of government regulation, which is constantly evolving. For example, our activities in connection with insurance brokerage services are subject to regulation and supervision by national, state or other authorities. Insurance laws in the markets in which we operate are often complex and generally grant broad discretion to supervisory authorities in adopting regulations and supervising regulated activities. That supervision generally includes the licensing of insurance brokers and agents and the regulation of the handling and investment of client funds held in a fiduciary capacity. Our continuing ability to provide insurance brokerage in the markets in which we currently operate is dependent upon our compliance with the rules and regulations promulgated from time to time by the regulatory authorities in each of these locations.

Changes in government and accounting regulations in the U.S. and the U.K., two of our principal geographic markets, affecting the value, use or delivery of benefits and human capital programs may materially adversely affect the demand for, or the profitability of, various of our services. In addition, we have significant operations throughout the world, which further subject us to applicable laws and regulations of countries outside the U.S. and the U.K. Changes in legislation or regulations and actions by regulators in particular countries, including changes in administration and enforcement policies, could require operational improvements or modifications, which may result in higher costs or hinder our ability to operate our business in those countries.

Our compliance systems and controls cannot guarantee that we comply with all applicable federal and state or foreign laws and regulations, and actions by regulatory authorities or changes in applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate could have an adverse effect on our business.

Our activities are subject to extensive regulation under the laws of the U.S., the U.K., the E.U. and its member states, and the other jurisdictions around the world in which we operate. In addition, we own an interest in a number of associates where we do not exercise management control. Over the last few years, regulators across the world are increasingly seeking to regulate brokers who operate in their jurisdictions. The foreign and U.S. laws and regulations applicable to our operations are complex, continually evolving and may increase the costs of regulatory compliance, limit or restrict the products or services we sell or subject our business to the possibility of regulatory actions or proceedings. These laws and regulations include insurance and financial industry regulations, competition law regulations, economic and trade sanctions laws relating to countries in which certain subsidiaries do business or may do business (“Sanctioned Jurisdictions”) such as Cuba, Iran, Russia, Sudan and Syria, anti-corruption laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 and similar local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to governmental officials and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance provisions of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act in the U.S., as well as laws and regulations related to data privacy and cyber security. Because of changes in regulation and Company practice, our non-U.S. subsidiaries are providing more services with connections to various countries, including some Sanctioned Jurisdictions, that our U.S. subsidiaries are unable to perform.

In most jurisdictions, governmental and regulatory authorities have the ability to interpret and amend these laws and regulations and impose penalties for non-compliance, including sanctions, civil remedies, monetary fines, injunctions, revocation of licenses or approvals, suspension of individuals, limitations on business activities or redress to clients. While we believe that we have substantially increased our focus on the geographic breadth of regulations to which we are subject, maintain good relationships with our key regulators and our current systems and controls are adequate, we cannot assure that such systems and controls will prevent any violations of any applicable laws and regulations. While we strive to remain fully-compliant with all applicable laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee that we will fully comply at all times with all laws and regulations, especially in countries with developing or evolving legal systems or with evolving or extra-territorial regulations. In particular, given the challenges of integrating operations, many of which are de-centralized, we cannot assure that our newly-acquired entities’ business systems and controls have prevented or will prevent any and all violations of applicable laws or regulations.

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The decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, and the risk that other countries may follow, could adversely affect us.

In 2017, approximately 22% of our revenues are generated in the U.K., although only about 13% of revenues are denominated in Pounds sterling as much of the insurance business is transacted in U.S. dollars. Approximately 19% of our expenses are denominated in Pounds sterling. Given the status of Brexit, at this time, we are not able to predict the impact that it will have on the economy; economic, regulatory and political stability; and market conditions in Europe, including in the U.K., or on Pound sterling, Euro or other European currencies, but any such impacts and others we cannot currently anticipate could materially adversely affect us and our operations. Among other things, we could experience: lower growth in the region due to indecision as businesses hold off on generating new projects or due to adverse market conditions; and reduced reported revenues and earnings because foreign currencies may translate into fewer U.S. dollars due to the fact that we translate revenue denominated in non-U.S. currencies such as Pounds sterling into U.S. dollars for our financial statements. In addition, there can be no assurance that our hedging strategies will be effective.

The British government began negotiating the terms of the U.K.'s future relationship with the E.U. in 2017. While certain separation issues have been resolved, there is still significant uncertainty with respect to the terms of the future relationship between the E.U. and the U.K. Although we cannot anticipate what those terms will be, the Company is heavily invested in and focused on the U.K. in our businesses and activities. If Brexit negatively impacts the U.K., then it could have a material adverse impact on us. In addition, Brexit may result in greater restrictions on business between the U.K. and E.U. countries and increased regulatory complexities. This and other factors could cause us to move businesses or operations outside of the U.K. There is also uncertainty as to how the U.K.'s access to the E.U. Single Market and the wider trading, legal, regulatory, tax and labor environments, especially in the U.K. and E.U., will be impacted, including the resulting impact on our business and that of our clients. Any such changes may adversely affect our operations and financial results. For example, any changes to the passporting or other regulations relating to doing business in various E.U. countries by relying on a regulatory permission in the U.K. (or doing business in the U.K. by relying on a regulatory permission in an E.U. country) could increase our costs of doing business, or our ability to do so. As another example, changes in labor laws may impact the ability to hire and retain non-U.K. staff in the U.K. or U.K. staff in the E.U. In addition, the outcome of the referendum has created uncertainty with regard to the regulation of data protection in the U.K. Among other things, it is unclear whether the U.K. will enact legislation similar to the pending European General Data Protection Regulation after Brexit, and how data transfers to and from the U.K. will be regulated. A change in such regulations, or other regulations, could increase our costs of doing business, or in some cases our ability to do business, and adversely impact our operations and financial results.

There is also a risk that other countries may decide to leave the E.U. We cannot predict the impact that any additional countries leaving the E.U. will have on us, but any such impacts could materially adversely affect us.

Our business performance and growth plans could be negatively affected if we are not able to effectively apply technology and analytics to drive value for our clients through technology-based solutions or gain internal efficiencies through the effective application of technology, analytics and related tools.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to develop and implement technology and analytic solutions that anticipate, lead or keep pace with rapid and continuing changes in technology, industry standards and client preferences. We may not be successful in anticipating or responding to these developments in a timely and cost-effective manner, and our ideas may not be accepted in the marketplace. Additionally, the effort to gain technological expertise and develop new technologies or analytic techniques in our business requires us to incur significant cost. Our competitors are seeking to develop competing technologies, and their success in this space may impact our ability to differentiate our services to our clients through the use of unique technological solutions. If we cannot offer new technologies or analytic services or solutions as quickly or effectively as our competitors, or if our competitors develop more cost-effective technologies or analytic tools, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to obtain and complete client engagements.

Our business may be harmed by any negative developments that may occur in the insurance industry or if we fail to maintain good relationships with insurance carriers.

Many of our businesses are heavily dependent on the insurance industry. Any negative developments that occur in the insurance industry may have a material adverse effect on our business and our results of operations. In addition, if we fail to maintain good relationships with insurance carriers, it may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

The private health insurance industry in the U.S. has experienced a substantial amount of consolidation over the past several years, resulting in a decrease in the number of insurance carriers. In the future, it may become necessary for us to offer insurance plans from a reduced number of insurance carriers or to derive a greater portion of our revenues from a more concentrated number of carriers as our business and the health insurance industry evolve. The termination, amendment or

25

consolidation of our relationship with our insurance carriers could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Changes and developments in the health insurance system in the United States could harm our business.

In 2010, the Federal government enacted significant reforms to healthcare legislation through Healthcare Reform. Many of our lines of business depend upon the private sector of the U.S. insurance system, its role in financing health care delivery, and insurance carriers’ use of, and payment of commissions to, agents, brokers and other organizations to market and sell individual and family health insurance plans. Healthcare Reform contains provisions that have changed and will continue to change the industry in which we operate in substantial ways.

The new administration, and certain key members of Congress have expressed a desire to replace or amend all or a portion of Healthcare Reform. Any partial or complete repeal or amendment or implementation difficulties, or uncertainty regarding such events, could increase our costs of compliance, prevent or delay future adoption of our exchange platform, and adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition. Given the uncertainty relating to the potential repeal and replacement of Healthcare Reform, the impact is difficult to determine, but it could have negative effects on us, including:

• increasing our competition;

• reducing or eliminating the need for health insurance agents and brokers or demand for the health insurance that we sell;

• decreasing the number of types of health insurance plans that we sell, as well as the number of insurance carriers offering such plans;

• causing insurance carriers to change the benefits and/or premiums for the plans they sell;

• causing insurance carriers to reduce the amount they pay for our services or change our relationship with them in other ways; or

• materially restricting our call center operations.

Any of these effects could materially harm our business and results of operations. For example, the manner in which the Federal government and the states implement health insurance exchanges and the process for receiving subsidies and cost-sharing credits could substantially increase our competition and member turnover and substantially reduce the number of individuals who purchase insurance through us. Various aspects of Healthcare Reform could cause insurance carriers to limit the types of health insurance plans we are able to sell and the geographies in which we are able to sell them. In addition, the U.S. Congress may seek to find spending cuts, and such cuts may include Medicare. If cuts are made to Medicare, there may be substantial changes in the types of health insurance plans we are able to sell. Changes in the law could also cause insurance carriers to exit the business of selling insurance plans in a particular jurisdiction, to eliminate certain categories of products or to attempt to move members into new plans for which we receive lower commissions. If insurance carriers decide to limit our ability to sell their plans or determine not to sell individual health insurance plans altogether, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially harmed.

Our growth strategy depends, in part, on our ability to make acquisitions and we face risks when we acquire or divest businesses, and could have difficulty in acquiring, integrating or managing acquired businesses, or with effecting internal reorganizations, all of which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations or reputation.

Our growth depends in part on our ability to make acquisitions. We may not be successful in identifying appropriate acquisition candidates or consummating acquisitions on terms acceptable or favorable to us. We also face additional risks related to acquisitions, including that we could overpay for acquired businesses and that any acquired business could significantly underperform relative to our expectations. If we are unable to identify and successfully make, integrate and manage acquisitions, our business could be materially adversely affected. In addition, we face risks related to divesting businesses, including that we may not receive adequate consideration in return for the divested business, we may continue to be subject to the liabilities of the divested business after its divestiture (including with respect to work we might perform on behalf of the divested business), and we may not be able to reduce overhead or redeploy assets or retain colleagues after the divestiture closes.

In addition, we cannot be certain that our acquisitions will be accretive to earnings or that our acquisitions or divestitures will otherwise meet our operational or strategic expectations. Acquisitions involve special risks, including the potential assumption of unanticipated liabilities and contingencies and difficulties in integrating acquired businesses, and acquired businesses may not achieve the levels of revenue, profit or productivity we anticipate or otherwise perform as we expect. In addition, if the

26

operating performance of an acquired business deteriorates significantly, we may need to write down the value of the goodwill and other acquisition-related intangible assets recorded on our balance sheet.

We may be unable to effectively integrate an acquired business into our organization, and may not succeed in managing such acquired businesses or the larger company that results from such acquisitions. The process of integrating an acquired business may subject us to a number of risks, including, without limitation, an inability to retain the management, key personnel and other employees of the acquired business; an inability to establish uniform standards, controls, systems, procedures and policies or to achieve anticipated synergies; and exposure to legal claims for activities of the acquired business prior to acquisition.

We may also face similar challenges in effecting internal reorganizations. If acquisitions or internal reorganizations are not successfully integrated, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected, as well as our professional reputation. We also own an interest in a number of associates where we do not exercise management control and we are therefore limited in our ability to direct or manage the business to realize the anticipated benefits that we could achieve if we had full ownership.

Limited protection of our intellectual property could harm our business, and we face the risk that our services or products may infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others.

We cannot guarantee that trade secret, trademark and copyright law protections are adequate to deter misappropriation of our intellectual property (including our software, which may become an increasingly important part of our business). Existing laws of some countries in which we provide services or products may offer only limited protection of our intellectual property rights. Also, we may be unable to detect the unauthorized use of our intellectual property and take the necessary steps to enforce our rights, which may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We cannot be sure that our services and products, or the products of others that we offer to our clients, do not infringe on the intellectual property rights of third parties, and we may have infringement claims asserted against us or our clients. These claims may harm our reputation, result in financial liability, consume financial resources to pursue or defend, and prevent us from offering some services or products.

Financial and Tax Risks

Our outstanding debt could adversely affect our cash flows and financial flexibility and we may not be able to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all.

Willis Towers Watson had total consolidated debt outstanding of approximately $4.5 billion as of December 31, 2017, and our interest expense was $188 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Although management believes that our cash flows will be sufficient to service this debt, there may be circumstances in which required payments of principal and/or interest on this debt could adversely affect our cash flows and this level of indebtedness may:

• require us to dedicate a significant portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our debt, thereby reducing the availability of cash flow to fund capital expenditures, to pursue other acquisitions or investments, to pay dividends and for general corporate purposes;

• increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic conditions, including when we borrow at variable interest rates, which makes us vulnerable to increases in interest rates generally;

• limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes or challenges relating to our business and industry; and

• put us at a competitive disadvantage against competitors who have less indebtedness or are in a more favorable position to access additional capital resources.

The terms of our current financings also include certain limitations. For example, the agreements relating to the debt arrangements and credit facilities contain numerous operating and financial covenants, including requirements to maintain minimum ratios of consolidated EBITDA to consolidated cash interest expense and maximum levels of consolidated funded indebtedness in relation to consolidated EBITDA, in each case subject to certain adjustments. The operating restrictions and financial covenants in our credit facilities do, and any future financing agreements may, limit our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or to engage in other business activities.

A failure to comply with the restrictions under our credit facilities and outstanding notes could result in a default under the financing obligations or could require us to obtain waivers from our lenders for failure to comply with these restrictions. The occurrence of a default that is not cured or the inability to secure a necessary consent or waiver could cause our obligations

27

with respect to our debt to be accelerated and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The maintenance and growth of our business depends on our access to capital, which will depend in large part on cash flow generated by our business and the availability of equity and debt financing. There can be no assurance that our operations will generate sufficient positive cash flow to finance all of our capital needs or that we will be able to obtain equity or debt financing on favorable terms or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

A downgrade to our corporate credit rating and the credit ratings of our outstanding debt may adversely affect our borrowing costs and financial flexibility and, under certain circumstances, may require us to offer to buy back some of our outstanding debt.

A downgrade in our corporate credit rating or the credit ratings of our debt would increase our borrowing costs including those under our credit facilities, and reduce our financial flexibility. In addition, certain downgrades would trigger a step-up in interest rates under the indentures for certain of our senior notes, which would increase our interest expense. If we need to raise capital in the future, any credit rating downgrade could negatively affect our financing costs or access to financing sources.

In addition, under the indenture for our 3.600% senior notes due 2024, our 4.625% senior notes due 2023, our 6.125% senior notes due 2043, our 3.500% senior notes due 2021, our 4.400% senior notes due 2026, and our 2.125% senior notes due 2022, if we experience a ratings decline together with a change of control event, we would be required to offer to purchase these notes from holders unless we had previously redeemed those notes. We may not have sufficient funds available or access to funding to repurchase tendered notes in that event, which could result in a default under the notes. Any future debt that we incur may contain covenants regarding repurchases in the event of a change of control triggering event.

Legislative or regulatory action in the U.S. or abroad could materially adversely affect our ability to maintain a competitive worldwide effective corporate tax rate.

We cannot give any assurance as to what our effective tax rate will be in the future, because of, among other things, uncertainty regarding the tax policies of the jurisdictions where we operate. Our actual effective tax rate may vary from expectations and that variance may be material. Additionally, the tax laws of Ireland and other jurisdictions could change in the future, and such changes could cause a material change in our effective tax rate.

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax reform legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the ‘U.S. Tax Reform’). The U.S. Tax Reform includes numerous changes to existing tax law, including a permanent reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%. Although the rate reduction takes effect on January 1, 2018, the impact to the Company on the re-measurement of its deferred taxes was significant. Among other things, U.S. Tax Reform could cause us to lose the benefit of certain tax credits and deductions (including for performance-based compensation under Section 162(m)), limit our ability to deduct interest incurred in the U.S. and potentially increase our income taxes due to the base erosion and anti-abuse tax and one-time transition tax on unrepatriated earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries. While we recorded provisional estimates for 2017, we will continue to evaluate the overall impact of U.S. Tax Reform on our operations and tax position over the next twelve months. Our expectations of the impact of U.S. Tax Reform are also subject to change, possibly materially, due to, among other things, changes in interpretation or assumptions, and/or updated regulatory guidance. The U.S. Tax Reform could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

Further legislative action may be taken by the U.S. Congress which, if ultimately enacted, could limit the availability of tax benefits or deductions that we currently claim, override tax treaties upon which we rely, or otherwise affect the taxes that the U.S. imposes on our worldwide operations. Regulations or administrative guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department could have similar consequences. Such changes could materially adversely affect our effective tax rate and/or require us to take further action, at potentially significant additional expense, to seek to preserve our effective tax rate. In addition, if proposals were enacted that have the effect of limiting our ability as an Irish company to take advantage of tax treaties with the U.S., we could incur additional tax expense and/or otherwise experience business detriment.

In addition, the U.S. Congress, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (‘OECD’), World Trade Organization and other government agencies in jurisdictions where we and our affiliates do business have had an extended focus on issues related to the taxation of multinational corporations. One example is in the area of “base erosion and profit shifting”, where payments are made between affiliates from a jurisdiction with high tax rates to a jurisdiction with lower tax rates. In October 2015, the OECD released final reports addressing fifteen specific actions as part of a comprehensive plan to create an agreed set of international rules for fighting base erosion and profit shifting. Although the timing and methods of implementation vary, several jurisdictions have enacted legislation that is aligned with, and in some cases exceeds the scope of, the OECD’s recommendations. Ireland is currently conducting hearings on the Irish Corporate Tax System and is considering changes that could be adopted as part of its 2018 Budget, which could be effective as early as 2019. As a result, the tax laws in

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the U.S., Ireland, and other countries in which we and our affiliates do business could change on a prospective or retroactive basis, and any such changes could adversely affect us and our affiliates.

Our significant non-U.S. operations, particularly our London market operations, expose us to exchange rate fluctuations and various other risks that could impact our business.

A significant portion of our operations is conducted outside of the U.S. Accordingly, we are subject to legal, economic and market risks associated with operating in foreign countries, including devaluations and fluctuations in currency exchange rates; imposition of limitations on conversion of foreign currencies into Pounds sterling or U.S. dollars or remittance of dividends and other payments by foreign subsidiaries; hyperinflation in certain foreign countries; imposition or increase of investment and other restrictions by foreign governments; and the requirement of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws. Additionally and as noted above, the unknown impacts of Brexit may expose us to additional exchange rate fluctuations in the Pound Sterling.

We report our operating results and financial condition in U.S. dollars. Our U.S. operations earn revenues and incur expenses primarily in U.S. dollars. In our London market operations, however, we earn revenues in a number of different currencies, but expenses are almost entirely incurred in Pounds sterling. Outside of the U.S. and our London market operations, we predominantly generate revenues and expenses in local currencies.

Because of devaluations and fluctuations in currency exchange rates or the imposition of limitations on conversion of foreign currencies into U.S. dollars, we are subject to currency translation exposure on the profits of our operations, in addition to economic exposure. Furthermore, the mismatch between Pounds sterling revenues and expenses, together with any net Pound sterling balance sheet position we hold in our U.S. dollar denominated London market operations, creates an exchange exposure. While we do utilize hedging strategies to attempt to minimize the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, there can be no assurance that our hedging strategies will be effective.

Changes in accounting principles or in our accounting estimates and assumptions could negatively affect our financial position and results of operations.

We prepare our financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (‘U.S. GAAP’). Any change to accounting principles, particularly to U.S. GAAP, could have a material adverse effect on us or our results of operations. For example, we adopted a new revenue recognition standard as of January 1, 2018. Changes in our revenues and costs on a year over year basis could occur as a result of such adoption, and in any event the standards will impact the presentation of our financial results.

U.S. GAAP accounting principles require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. We are also required to make certain judgments that affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during each reporting period. We periodically evaluate our estimates and assumptions, including those relating to revenue recognition, valuation of billed and unbilled receivables from clients, discretionary compensation, incurred but not reported liabilities, restructuring, pensions, goodwill and other intangible assets, contingencies, share-based payments and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience and various assumptions that we believe to be reasonable based on specific circumstances. Actual results could differ from these estimates, and changes in accounting standards could have an adverse impact on our future financial position and results of operations.

In addition, we have a substantial amount of goodwill on our balance sheet as a result of acquisitions we have completed, and we significantly increased goodwill as a result of the Merger. We review goodwill for impairment annually or whenever events or circumstances indicate impairment may have occurred. Application of the impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assignment of assets, liabilities and goodwill to reporting units and the determination of the fair value of each reporting unit. A significant deterioration in a key estimate or assumption or a less significant deterioration to a combination of assumptions or the sale of a part of a reporting unit could result in an impairment charge in the future, which could have a significant adverse impact on our reported earnings.

We have material pension liabilities that can fluctuate significantly and adversely affect our financial position or net income or result in other financial impact.

We have material pension liabilities, some of which represent unfunded and underfunded pension and postretirement liabilities. Movements in the interest rate environment, investment returns, inflation or changes in other assumptions that are used to estimate our benefit obligations and other factors could have a material effect on the level of liabilities in these plans at any given time. Most pension plans have minimum funding requirements that may require material amounts of periodic additional funding and accounting requirements that may result in increased pension expense. For example, in 2017 we were required to

29

recognize a £27 million ($36 million) pension settlement expense related to transfer payments and the accelerated recognition of certain accumulated losses in our U.K. pension scheme. Depending on the above factors, among others, we could be required to recognize further pension expense in the future. Increased pension expense could adversely affect our earnings or cause earnings volatility. In addition, the need to make additional cash contributions may reduce our financial flexibility and increase liquidity risk by reducing the cash available to meet our other obligations, including the payment obligations under our credit facilities and other long-term debt, or other needs of our business.

Our quarterly revenues could fluctuate, including as a result of factors outside of our control, while our expenses are relatively fixed.

Quarterly variations in our revenues and results of operations have occurred in the past and could occur as a result of a number of factors, such as: the significance of client engagements commenced and completed during a quarter; seasonality of certain types of services; the number of business days in a quarter; colleague hiring and utilization rates; our clients’ ability to terminate engagements without penalty; the size and scope of assignments; and general economic conditions.

We derive significant revenues from commissions for brokerage services, but do not determine the insurance premiums on which our commissions are generally based. Commission levels generally follow the same trend as premium levels, as they are a percentage of the premiums paid by the insureds. Fluctuations in the premiums charged by the insurance carriers can therefore have a direct and potentially material impact on our results of operations. Due to the cyclical nature of the insurance market and the impact of other market conditions on insurance premiums, commission levels may vary widely between accounting periods. A period of low or declining premium rates, generally known as a ‘soft’ or ‘softening’ market, generally leads to downward pressure on commission revenues and can have a material adverse impact on our commission revenues and operating margin. We could be negatively impacted by soft market conditions across certain sectors and geographic regions. In addition, insurance carriers may seek to reduce their expenses by reducing the commission rates payable to insurance agents or brokers such as us. The reduction of these commission rates, along with general volatility and/or declines in premiums, may significantly undermine our profitability.

A sizeable portion of our total operating expenses is relatively fixed, encompassing the majority of administrative, occupancy, communications and other expenses, depreciation and amortization, and salaries and employee benefits excluding fiscal year-end incentive bonuses. Therefore, a variation in the number of client assignments or in the timing of the initiation or the completion of client assignments or our inability to forecast demand can cause significant variations in quarterly operating results and could result in losses and volatility in our stock price.

The laws of Ireland differ from the laws in effect in the United States and may afford less protection to holders of our securities.

It may not be possible to enforce court judgments obtained in the U.S. against us in Ireland, based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws. In addition, there is some uncertainty as to whether the courts of Ireland would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers based on the civil liabilities provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws or hear actions against us or those persons based on those laws. We have been advised that the U.S. currently does not have a treaty with Ireland providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. Therefore, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any U.S. federal or state court based on civil liability, whether or not based solely on U.S. federal or state securities laws, would not automatically be enforceable in Ireland.

As an Irish company, we are governed by the Irish Companies Act, which differs in some material respects from laws generally applicable to U.S. corporations and shareholders, including, among others, differences relating to interested director and officer transactions and shareholder lawsuits. Likewise, the duties of directors and officers of an Irish company generally are owed to the company only. Shareholders of Irish companies generally do not have a personal right of action against directors or officers of the company and may exercise such rights of action on behalf of the company only in limited circumstances. Accordingly, holders of our securities may have more difficulty protecting their interests than would holders of securities of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction of the United States.

We are a holding company and, therefore, may not be able to receive dividends or other distributions in needed amounts from our subsidiaries.

The Company is organized as a holding company, a legal entity separate and distinct from our operating subsidiaries. As a holding company without significant operations of our own, we are dependent upon dividends and other payments from our operating subsidiaries to meet our obligations for paying principal and interest on outstanding debt obligations, for paying dividends to shareholders, for repurchasing shares of common stock and for corporate expenses. Legal and regulatory restrictions, foreign exchange controls, as well as operating requirements of our subsidiaries, may limit our ability to obtain

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cash from these subsidiaries. For example, Willis Limited, our U.K. brokerage subsidiary regulated by the FCA, is currently required to maintain $140 million in unencumbered and available financial resources, of which at least $79 million must be in cash, for regulatory purposes. In the event our operating subsidiaries are unable to pay dividends and other payments to the Company, we may not be able to service debt, pay obligations or pay dividends on, or repurchase shares of, common stock.

In the event we are unable to generate cash from our operating subsidiaries for any of the reasons discussed above, our overall liquidity could deteriorate.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

As of December 31, 2017, we operated offices in many countries and territories throughout the world and believe that our properties are generally suitable and adequate for the purposes for which they are used. The principal properties are located in the United States and the United Kingdom. Operations of each of our segments are carried out in owned or leased offices under operating leases that typically do not exceed 10 years in length except for certain properties in key locations. We do not anticipate difficulty in meeting our space needs at lease expiration.

The fixed assets owned by us represented approximately 3% of total assets as of December 31, 2017 and consisted primarily of furniture and equipment, leasehold improvements, computer software, internally developed software and land and buildings.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are party to various lawsuits, arbitrations or mediations that arise in the ordinary course of business. The disclosure called for by Item 3 regarding our legal proceedings is incorporated by reference herein from Note 13 — Commitments and Contingencies, within Item 8 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

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PART II.

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Share Data

Our shares began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol ‘WLTW’ on January 5, 2016. The high and low sale prices of our shares, as reported by NASDAQ, are set forth below for the periods indicated.

	High		Low
2016:
First Quarter	$	126.25	$	104.11
Second Quarter	$	129.70	$	112.59
Third Quarter	$	133.40	$	118.08
Fourth Quarter	$	132.74	$	112.76
2017:
First Quarter	$	132.13	$	120.87
Second Quarter	$	150.47	$	125.66
Third Quarter	$	156.14	$	143.10
Fourth Quarter	$	165.00	$	150.64
2018:
Through February 23, 2018	$	164.99	$	145.80

On February 23, 2018, our share price as reported by the NASDAQ was $159.96 per share. As of February 23, 2018, there were approximately 1,319 shareholders of record of our shares.

Dividends

We normally pay dividends on a quarterly basis to shareholders of record on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31. The dividend payment dates and amounts are as follows:

Payment Date	$ Per Share
April 15, 2016	$	0.480
July 15, 2016	$	0.480
October 17, 2016	$	0.480
January 17, 2017	$	0.480
April 17, 2017	$	0.530
July 17, 2017	$	0.530
October 16, 2017	$	0.530
January 16, 2018	$	0.530

On February 23, 2018, the board of directors approved a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.60 per common share. The dividend is payable on or about April 16, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2018.

There are no governmental laws, decrees or regulations in Ireland that restrict the remittance of dividends or other payments to non-resident holders of the Company’s shares.

In circumstances where one of Ireland’s many exemptions from dividend withholding tax (‘DWT’) does not apply, dividends paid by the Company will be subject to Irish DWT (currently 20 percent). Residents of the United States should be exempt from Irish DWT provided relevant documentation supporting the exemption has been put in place. While the U.S.-Ireland Double Tax Treaty contains provisions reducing the rate of Irish DWT in prescribed circumstances, it should generally be unnecessary for U.S. residents to rely on the provisions of this treaty due to the wide scope of exemptions from Irish DWT available under Irish domestic law. Irish income tax may also arise in respect of dividends paid by the Company. However, U.S. residents entitled to an exemption from Irish DWT generally have no Irish income tax liability on dividends.

With respect to non-corporate U.S. shareholders, certain dividends from a qualified foreign corporation may be subject to reduced rates of taxation. A foreign corporation is treated as a qualified foreign corporation with respect to dividends received

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from that corporation on shares that are readily tradeable on an established securities market in the United States, such as our shares. Non-corporate U.S. shareholders that do not meet a minimum holding period requirement for our shares during which they are not protected from the risk of loss or that elect to treat the dividend income as investment income pursuant to section 163(d)(4) of the Code will not be eligible for the reduced rates of taxation regardless of our status as a qualified foreign corporation. In addition, the rate reduction will not apply to dividends if the recipient of a dividend is obligated to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property. This disallowance applies even if the minimum holding period has been met. U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the application of these rules given their particular circumstances.

Total Shareholder Return

The graphs below depict cumulative total shareholder returns for (i) Legacy Willis and Legacy Towers Watson for the period from January 1, 2013 through January 4, 2016, the day prior to the commencement of trading of Willis Towers Watson’s ordinary shares, and (ii) Willis Towers Watson for the period from January 5, 2016 through December 31, 2017.  

Each graph also depicts the total return for the S&P 500 and for a peer group for Willis Towers Watson comprised of Accenture plc, Aon plc, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Brown & Brown Inc., Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. and Robert Half International Inc. The comparisons chart the performance of $100 invested on the initial dates indicated (January 1, 2013 and January 5, 2016, respectively), assuming full dividend reinvestment.

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Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

During the year endedDecember 31, 2017, no shares were issued by the Company without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

The Company is authorized to repurchase shares, by way of redemption, and will consider whether to do so from time to time, based on many factors, including market conditions.

On April 20, 2016, the Willis Towers Watson board reconfirmed, reapproved and reauthorized the remaining portion of the Legacy Willis program to repurchase the Company’s ordinary shares on the open market or by way of redemption or otherwise.

On November 10, 2016, the Company announced the board of directors approved an increase to the existing share repurchase program of $1 billion. The $1 billion increase is in addition to the remaining authority on the Legacy Willis program discussed in the preceding paragraph.

There are no expiration dates for these repurchase plans or programs. The following table presents specified information about the Company’s repurchases of ordinary shares in the fourth quarter and the Company’s repurchase authority.

Period	Total number of shares purchased	Average price paid per share		Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs	Maximum number of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs
October 1, 2017 through October 31, 2017	306,264	$	158.03	306,264	4,123,218
November 1, 2017 through November 30, 2017	136,745	$	160.88	136,745	3,986,473
December 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017	—	$	—	—	3,986,473
	443,009	$	158.91	443,009

The maximum number of shares that may yet be purchased under the existing stock repurchase plan is 3,986,473. At December 31, 2017, approximately $601 million remained on the open-ended repurchase authorities granted by the board. An

34

estimate of the maximum number of shares under the existing authority was determined using the closing price of our ordinary shares on December 31, 2017 of $150.69.

On February 23, 2018, the board of directors approved an increase to the existing share repurchase program of $400 million. The $400 million increase is in addition to the remaining authority of $601 million as of December 31, 2017.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The selected consolidated financial data presented below should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company and the related notes and Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations within this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The selected historical consolidated financial data presented below for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 and as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of Legacy Willis and Willis Towers Watson, as applicable, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Financial data set forth below for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 and at December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, has been derived from audited consolidated financial statements with adjustment for the reverse stock split on January 4, 2016 and not included in this Annual Report. The Merger affects the comparability of this data. See Note 3 — Merger, Acquisitions and Divestitures within Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

	Years ended December 31,
	2017		2016		2015		2014		2013
	(in millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
Statement of Comprehensive Income Data
Total revenues	$	8,202	$	7,887	$	3,829	$	3,802	$	3,655
Income from operations	738		551		427		647		663
Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates	489		340		340		518		499
Net income	592		438		384		373		377
Net income attributable to Willis Towers Watson	$	568	$	420	$	373	$	362	$	365
Earnings per share — basic (i)	$	4.21	$	3.07	$	5.49	$	5.40	$	5.53
Earnings per share — diluted (i)	$	4.18	$	3.04	$	5.41	$	5.32	$	5.37
Average number of shares outstanding
— basic	135		137		68		67		66
— diluted	136		138		69		68		68
Balance Sheet Data (end of year)
Goodwill	$	10,519	$	10,413	$	3,737	$	2,937	$	2,838
Other intangible assets, net	3,882		4,368		1,115		450		353
Total assets (ii)	32,458		30,253		18,839		15,421		14,785
Total equity	10,249		10,183		2,360		2,007		2,243
Long-term debt	4,450		3,357		2,278		2,130		2,297
Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt	85		508		988		167		14
Additional paid-in capital	10,538		10,596		1,672		1,524		1,316
Total Willis Towers Watson shareholders’ equity	10,126		10,065		2,229		1,985		2,215
Other Financial Data
Capital expenditures (excluding capitalized software and capital leases)	$	300	$	218	$	146	$	110	$	105
Cash dividends declared per share (i)	$	2.12	$	1.92	$	3.28	$	3.18	$	2.97

____________________

(i) Basic and diluted earnings per share, and cash dividends declared per share, for 2015, 2014 and 2013 have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split on January 4, 2016. See Note 3 — Merger, Acquisitions and Divestitures within Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.

(ii) We collect premiums from insureds and, after deducting our commissions, remit the premiums to the respective insurers; the Company also collects claims or refunds from insurers which it then remits to insureds. Uncollected premiums from insureds and uncollected claims or refunds from insurers (‘fiduciary receivables’) are recorded as fiduciary assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. Unremitted insurance premiums, claims or refunds (‘fiduciary funds’) are also recorded within fiduciary assets.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF

OPERATIONS

This discussion includes forward-looking statements. See ‘Disclaimer Regarding Forward-looking Statements’ for certain cautionary information regarding forward-looking statements and ‘Risk Factors’ in Item 1A for a list of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in those statements.

This discussion includes references to non-GAAP financial measures as defined in the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’). We present such non-GAAP financial measures, specifically, adjusted, constant currency and organic non-GAAP financial measures, as we believe such information is of interest to the investment community because it provides additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of the Company’s operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent under U.S. GAAP, and these provide a measure against which our businesses may be assessed in the future.

Our methods of calculating these measures may differ from those used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. These financial measuresshould be viewed in addition to, not in lieu of, the consolidated financialstatements for the year ended December 31, 2017.

See ‘Non-GAAP Financial Measures’ below for further discussion of our adjusted, constant currency and organic non-GAAP financial measures.

Executive Overview

Business Overview

Willis Towers Watson is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has more than 43,000 employees and services clients in more than 140 countries and territories. We design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimize benefits, cultivate talent, and expand the power of capital to protect and strengthen institutions and individuals. We believe our unique perspective allows us to see the critical intersections between talent, assets and ideas - the dynamic formula that drives business performance.

We offer clients a broad range of services to help them to identify and control their risks, and to enhance business performance by improving their ability to attract, retain and engage a talented workforce. Our risk control services range from strategic risk consulting (including providing actuarial analysis), to a variety of due diligence services, to the provision of practical on-site risk control services (such as health and safety or property loss control consulting), as well as analytical and advisory services (such as hazard modeling and reinsurance optimization studies). We assist clients in planning how to manage incidents or crises when they occur. These services include contingency planning, security audits and product tampering plans. We help our clients enhance their business performance by delivering consulting services, technology and solutions that help organizations anticipate, identify and capitalize on emerging opportunities in human capital management as well as investment advice to help our clients develop disciplined and efficient strategies to meet their investment goals.

As an insurance broker, we act as an intermediary between our clients and insurance carriers by advising our clients on their risk management requirements, helping clients determine the best means of managing risk and negotiating and placing insurance with insurance carriers through our global distribution network. We operate the largest private Medicare exchange in the U.S. Through this exchange and those for active employees, we help our clients move to a more sustainable economic model by capping and controlling the costs associated with healthcare benefits.

We are not an insurance company, and therefore we do not underwrite insurable risks for our own account.

We derive the majority of our revenue from either commissions or fees for broking or consulting services. No single client represented a significant concentration of our consolidated revenues for any of the periods presented.

Our shares are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

Market Conditions

Due to the cyclical nature of the insurance market and the impact of other market conditions on insurance premiums, commission revenues may vary widely between accounting periods. A period of low or declining premium rates, generally known as a ‘soft’ or ‘softening’ market, generally leads to downward pressure on commission revenues and can have a material adverse impact on our commission revenues and operating margin. A ‘hard’ or ‘firming’ market, during which premium rates rise, generally has a favorable impact on our commission revenues and operating margin. Rates, however, vary by geography,

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industry and client segment. As a result, and due to the global and diverse nature of our business, we view rates in the aggregate.

Market conditions in our broking industry are generally defined by factors such as the strength of the economies in the various geographic regions in which we serve around the world, insurance rate movements, and insurance and reinsurance buying patterns of our clients.

Management has considered the U.K. referendum vote on June 23, 2016 to depart from the E.U., the triggering of Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon (providing the right to and procedures for a member to leave the E.U.) on March 29, 2017, the early general election held on June 8, 2017, and the uncertainties about the near-term and longer-term effects of Brexit on the Company. The terms of Brexit, and its impact, are highly uncertain. For a further discussion of the risks of Brexit to the Company, see Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors within this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Typically, our business benefits from regulatory change, political risk or economic uncertainty. Insurance broking generally tracks the economy, but demand for both insurance broking and consulting services usually remains steady during times of uncertainty. We have some businesses, such as our health and benefits and administration businesses, which can be counter cyclical during the early period of a significant economic change.

Although approximately 22% of our revenues are generated in the U.K. on an annual basis, only about 13% of revenues are denominated in Pounds sterling as much of the insurance business is transacted in U.S. dollars. Approximately 19% of our expenses are denominated in Pounds sterling, thus we generally benefit from a weakening Pound sterling in our income from operations. However, we have a Company hedging strategy for this aspect of our business, which is designed to mitigate significant fluctuations in currency.

The markets for our consulting, technology and solutions, and marketplace services are subject to changes as a result of economic, regulatory and legislative changes, technological developments, and increased competition from established and new competitors. We believe the primary factors in selecting a human resources or risk management consulting firm include reputation, the ability to provide measurable increases to shareholder value and return on investment, global scale, quality of service and the ability to tailor services to clients’ unique needs. With regard to the market for exchanges, we believe that clients base their decisions on a variety of factors that include the ability of the provider to deliver measurable cost savings for clients, a strong reputation for efficient execution and an innovative service delivery model and platform. Part of the employer sponsored insurance market has matured and become more fragmented while other segments remain in the entry phase. As these market segments continue to evolve, we may experience growth in intervals, with periods of accelerated expansion balanced by periods of modest growth.

See Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for discussions of risks that may affect our ability to compete.

Business Strategy

Willis Towers Watson sees that a unified approach to people and risk can be a path to growth for our clients. Our integrated teams bring together our understanding of risk strategies and market analytics. This helps clients around the world to achieve their objectives.

We operate in attractive markets - both growing and mature - with a diversified platform across geographies, industries, segments and lines of business. We aim to create and become the premier advisory, broking and solutions company of choice globally. We design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimize benefits, cultivate talent, and expand the power of capital to protect and strengthen institutions and individuals. We also help organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management by focusing on providing human capital and financial consulting services.

We believe we can achieve this by:

• Delivering a powerful client proposition with an integrated global platform. Our combined offerings provide comprehensive advice, analytics, specialty capabilities and solutions covering benefits, benefits delivery solutions, brokerage and advisory, risk and capital management, and talent and rewards;

• Leveraging our combined distribution strength and global footprint to enhance market penetration and provide a platform for further innovation; and

• Underpinning this growth through continuous operational improvement initiatives that help make us more effective and efficient and drive cost synergies. We do this by:

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◦ continuing to modernize the way we run our business to better serve our clients, enable the skills of our staff, and lower our costs of doing business;

◦ making the necessary changes to our processes, our IT, our real estate and workforce locations; and

◦ targeting and delivering identified, highly achievable cost savings as a direct consequence of the Merger.

We care as much about how we work as we do about the impact that we make. This means commitment to shared values, a framework that guides how we run our business and serve clients.

Through these strategies we aim to accelerate revenue, cash flow, EBITDA and earnings growth, and generate compelling returns for investors by delivering tangible growth in revenues and capitalizing on the identified cost synergies.

Merger with Towers Watson

On January 4, 2016, pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated June 29, 2015, as amended on November 19, 2015, between Willis, Towers Watson, and Citadel Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Willis formed for the purpose of facilitating this transaction (‘Merger Sub’), Merger Sub merged with and into Towers Watson, with Towers Watson continuing as the surviving corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Willis.

At the effective time of the Merger (the ‘Effective Time’), each issued and outstanding share of Towers Watson common stock (the ‘Towers Watson shares’), was converted into the right to receive 2.6490 validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable ordinary shares of Willis (the ‘Willis ordinary shares’), $0.000115 nominal value per share, other than any Towers Watson shares owned by Towers Watson, Willis or Merger Sub at the Effective Time and the Towers Watson shares held by stockholders who are entitled to, and who properly exercised, dissenter’s rights under Delaware law.

Immediately following the Merger, Willis effected (i) a consolidation (i.e., a reverse stock split under Irish law) of Willis ordinary shares whereby every 2.6490 Willis ordinary shares were consolidated into one Willis ordinary share ($0.000304635 nominal value per share) and (ii) an amendment to its constitution and other organizational documents to change its name from Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company to Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company.

We are continuing our integration of Legacy Willis and Legacy Towers Watson, creating a unified platform for global growth, including positioning the Company to leverage our mutual distribution strength to enhance market penetration, expand our global footprint and create a strong platform for further innovation.

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As Reported Consolidated Financial Information

The table below sets forth our summarized consolidated statements of comprehensive income and data as a percentage of revenues for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015.

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

($ in millions, except per share data)

	Years ended December 31,
	2017					2016					2015
Total revenues	$	8,202		100	%	$	7,887		100	%	$	3,829		100	%
Costs of providing services
Salaries and benefits	4,745			58	%	4,646			59	%	2,303			60	%
Other operating expenses	1,534			19	%	1,551			20	%	718			19	%
Depreciation	203			2	%	178			2	%	95			2	%
Amortization	581			7	%	591			7	%	76			2	%
Restructuring costs	132			2	%	193			2	%	126			3	%
Transaction and integration expenses	269			3	%	177			2	%	84			2	%
Total costs of providing services	7,464					7,336					3,402
Income from operations	738			9	%	551			7	%	427			11	%
Interest expense	188			2	%	184			2	%	142			4	%
Other expense/(income), net	61			1	%	27			—	%	(55		)	(1	)%
Benefit from income taxes	(100		)	(1	)%	(96		)	(1	)%	(33		)	(1	)%
Interest in earnings of associates, net of tax	3			—	%	2			—	%	11			—	%
Income attributable to non-controlling interests	(24		)	—	%	(18		)	—	%	(11		)	—	%
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WILLIS TOWERS WATSON	$	568		7	%	$	420		5	%	$	373		10	%
Diluted earnings per share	$	4.18				$	3.04				$	5.41

The Merger affects the comparability of this data between 2015 and other periods presented. See ‘Supplementary Pro Forma Financial Information’ for additional analysis.

Consolidated Revenues

We derive the majority of our revenues from commissions from our brokerage businesses and fees for consulting services. Brokerage commissions and fees negotiated in lieu of commissions are recognized at the later of the policy inception date or when the policy placement is complete or as the fees are otherwise determined. Commissions on additional premiums and adjustments are recognized when approved by or agreed between the parties and collectability is reasonably assured. Consulting revenue is generally recognized as services are performed. No single client represented a significant concentration of our consolidated revenues for any of our three most recent fiscal years.

The following table details our top five markets based on percentage of consolidated revenues (in U.S. dollars) from the countries where work is performed for the year ended December 31, 2017. These figures do not represent the currency of the related revenue, which is presented in the table below.

Geographic Region	% of Revenues
United States	47	%
United Kingdom	22	%
France	4	%
Canada	3	%
Germany	3	%

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The table below details our revenues and expenses by transactional currency for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Transactional Currency	Revenues	Expenses (i)
U.S. dollars	55%	50%
Pounds sterling	13%	19%
Euro	15%	13%
Other currencies	17%	18%

____________________

(i) These percentages exclude certain expenses for significant items which will not be settled in cash, or which we believe to be items that are not core to our current or future operations. These items include Merger-related amortization of intangible assets, restructuring costs, and transaction and integration expenses.

The following table sets forth the total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 and the components of the change in total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017, as compared to the prior year:

	Years ended December 31,					Components of Change (i)
	2017		2016		As Reported Change	Currency Impact	Constant Currency Change	Acquisitions/Divestitures	Organic Change
	(in millions)
Total revenues	$	8,202	$	7,887	4%	—%	4%	—%	5%

____________________

(i)Components of revenue change may not add due to rounding.

Total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017 were $8.2 billion, compared to $7.9 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2016, an increase of $315 million or 4%. This growth in revenues was driven by strong performances in all segments.

Our revenues can be materially impacted by changes in currency conversions, which can fluctuate significantly over the course of a calendar year. For the year endedDecember 31, 2017, currency translation decreased our consolidated revenues by $27 million. The decrease was driven primarily by a weaker Pound sterling during the first half of the year, partially offset by increases in the Pound sterling, Euro, the Brazilian real and Canadian dollar in the second half of the year.

The impact of acquisitions and divestitures did not have a significant impact on the change in total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017 since most of these transactions happened in the latter part of the year. Prospectively, our 2018 revenues will exclude a net $65 million related to the impact of various acquisitions and divestitures initiated or completed in 2017.

The following table sets out the total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 and the components of the change in total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the prior year:

	Years ended December 31,					Components of Change (i)
	2016		2015		As Reported Change	Currency Impact	Constant Currency Change	Acquisitions/Divestitures	Organic Change
	(in millions)
Total revenues	$	7,887	$	3,829	106%	(6)%	112%	112%	—%

____________________

(i)Components of revenue change may not add due to rounding.

Total revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2016 were $7.9 billion, compared to $3.8 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2015, an increase of $4.1 billion, or 106%. This growth in revenues was driven by our merger with Towers Watson and our acquisition of Gras Savoye.

For the year ended December 31, 2016, the foreign currency impact resulted from the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against a number of currencies, most significantly the Euro and the Pound sterling.

Definitions of Constant Currency Change and Organic Change are included in the section entitled ‘Non-GAAP Financial Measures’ elsewhere within this Form 10-K.

As Reported Segment Revenues

In 2016, we began managing our business across four integrated reportable operating segments: Human Capital and Benefits; Corporate Risk and Broking; Investment, Risk and Reinsurance; and Benefits Delivery and Administration, formerly Exchange Solutions.

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Beginning in 2017, we made certain changes that affect our segment results. These changes, which are detailed in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 7, 2017, include the realignment of certain businesses within our segments, as well as changes to certain allocation methodologies to better reflect the ongoing nature of our businesses. The prior period comparatives reflected in the tables below have been retrospectively adjusted to reflect our current segment presentation. See Note 4 — Segment Information within Item 8 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of these changes.

Segment revenues exclude amounts that were directly incurred on behalf of our clients and reimbursed by them (reimbursed expenses); however, these amounts are included in consolidated revenues.

The Merger affects the comparability of this data between 2015 and other periods presented. See ‘Supplementary Pro Forma Segment Revenues Analysis’ for additional analysis.

Human Capital and Benefits (‘HCB’)

The HCB segment provides an array of advice, broking, solutions and software for our clients.

HCB is the largest segment of the Company, generating approximately 39% of our segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2017. HCB is focused on addressing our clients’ people and risk needs to help them take on the challenges of operating in a global marketplace.HCB is further strengthened with teams of international consultants that provide support through each of our business units to the global headquarters of multinational clients and their foreign subsidiaries.

The HCB segment provides services through four business units:

• Retirement — The Retirement business provides actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for traditional pension and retirement savings plans. Our colleagues help our clients assess the costs and risks of retirement plans on cash flow, earnings and the balance sheet, the effects of changing workforce demographics on their retirement plans and retiree benefit adequacy and security.

• Health and Benefits — The Health & Benefits (‘H&B’) business provides plan management consulting, broking and administration across the full spectrum of health and group benefit programs, including medical, dental, disability, life and other coverage.

• Talent & Rewards — Our Talent & Rewards (‘T&R’) business provides advice, data, software and products to address clients’ total rewards and talent issues.

• Technology and Administration Solutions — Our Technology and Administration Solutions (‘TAS’) business provides benefits outsourcing services to clients outside of the U.S.

The table below presents segment commissions and fees and segment interest and other income for HCB for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

						Components of Revenue Change (i)
	December 31,				As Reported Change	Currency Impact	Constant Currency Change	Acquisitions/Divestitures	Organic Change
	2017		2016
	($ in millions)
Commissions and fees	$	3,163	$	3,100	2%	—%	2%	(1)%	3%
Interest and other income	29		17
Total segment revenues	$	3,192	$	3,117

____________________

(i)Components of revenue change may not add due to rounding.

HCB commissions and fees, and total segment revenues, for the year endedDecember 31, 2017 were $3.2 billion, compared to $3.1 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2016. Retirement revenues increased in Western Europe, International and Great Britain and were partially offset by a decline in North America. The decline in North America was expected as bulk lump sum projects declined year over year. Actuarial consulting projects in Great Britain were strong due to regulation changes. The growth in Talent & Rewards was flat. Healthcare consulting revenues in Health and Benefits were up significantly for all markets globally. North America grew due to increased consulting and product demand and Great Britain grew due to global benefits solutions implementations. Revenue in the Technology and Administration Solutions business in Great Britain experienced strong growth as a result of new administration clients and project activity.

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The table below presents segment commissions and fees and segment interest and other income for HCB for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

	December 31,				As reported change
	2016		2015
	($ in millions)
Commissions and fees	$	3,100	$	583	432	%
Interest and other income	17		1
Total segment revenues	$	3,117	$	584	434	%

HCB total segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2016 were $3.1 billion, compared to $584 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2015, an increase of $2.5 billion or 434%. This growth in revenues was driven by our Merger and our acquisition of Gras Savoye. See the ‘Supplementary Pro Forma Segment Revenues’ section below for additional discussion of our 2016 results.

Corporate Risk and Broking (‘CRB’)

The CRB segment provides a broad range of risk advice, insurance broking and consulting services to clients worldwide ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations. The segment delivers integrated global solutions tailored to client needs and underpinned by data and analytics.

CRB generated approximately 33% of Willis Towers Watson segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2017, and places more than $20 billion of premiums into the insurance markets, annually.

CRB operates as an integrated global team comprising both functional and geographic leadership with three global offerings:

• Property and Casualty —Property and Casualty provides property and liability insurance brokerage services across a wide range of industries including construction, real estate, healthcare, and natural resources.

• Financial Lines —Financial Lines specializes in brokerage services for financial, political and credit risks.

• Transport —Transport provides specialist expertise to the transportation, aerospace, marine and inspace industries.

The table below presents segment commissions and fees, and segment interest and other income for CRB for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

						Components of Revenue Change (i)
	December 31,				As Reported Change	Currency Impact	Constant Currency Change	Acquisitions/Divestitures	Organic Change
	2017		2016
	($ in millions)
Commissions and fees	$	2,625	$	2,519	4%	—%	4%	—%	4%
Interest and other income	23		28
Total segment revenues	$	2,648	$	2,547

____________________

(i)Components of revenue change may not add due to rounding.

CRB commissions and fees, and total segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2017 were $2.6 billion, compared to $2.5 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2016. All regions contributed to the strong revenue growth led by International followed by Western Europe, North America and Great Britain. International’s growth was fueled by excellent client retention and strong new business. Western Europe, North America and Great Britain experienced good client retention and solid new business growth.

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The table below presents segment commissions and fees and segment interest and other income for CRB for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

	December 31,				As reported change
	2016		2015
	($ in millions)
Commissions and fees	$	2,519	$	2,332	8	%
Interest and other income	28		17
Total segment revenues	$	2,547	$	2,349	8	%

CRB total segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2016 were $2.5 billion, compared to $2.3 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2015, an increase of $198 million or 8%. The growth for the year ended December 31, 2016 was primarily due to the acquisition of Gras Savoye, which occurred on December 29, 2015. Great Britain led organic growth with solid revenue increases across all lines of business.  Western Europe contributed to organic growth with strong growth in Iberia, partially offset by softness in Italy.  North America was flat with strong retention offset by lower new business.  International organic revenue declined as a result of lower revenues in Asia and Australasia, partially offset by better performance in Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (‘CEEMEA’).

Investment, Risk and Reinsurance (‘IRR’)

The IRR segment uses a sophisticated approach to risk, which helps clients free up capital and manage investment complexity. The segment works closely with investors, reinsurers and insurers to manage the equation between risk and return. Blending advanced analytics with deep institutional knowledge, IRR identifies new opportunities to maximize performance. IRR provides investment consulting services and insurance specific services and solutions through reserves opinions, software, ratemaking, usage-based insurance, risk underwriting and reinsurance broking.

This segment is our third largest segment and generated approximately 19% of segment revenues for the Company for the year endedDecember 31, 2017. With approximately 75% of the revenues for this segment split between North America and the U.K., this segment includes the following businesses and offerings:

• Willis Re —Willis Re provides reinsurance industry clients with an understanding of how risk affects capital and financial performance and advises on the best ways to manage related outcomes.

• Insurance Consulting and Technology —Insurance Consulting and Technology, formerly Risk Consulting and Software, is a global business that provides advice and technology solutions to the insurance industry, as well as to corporate clients with respect to their insurance programs. Services include software and technology, risk and capital management, products and pricing, financial and regulatory reporting, financial and capital modeling, M&A, outsourcing and business management.

• Investment —Investment provides advice to improve investment outcomes for asset owners using a broad and sophisticated framework for managing risk.

• Wholesale Insurance Broking —Wholesale Insurance Broking provides wholesale and specialist broking services to retail brokers.

• Portfolio and Underwriting Services —Portfolio and Underwriting Services acts on behalf of our insurance carrier partners and self-insured entities in product marketing and distribution, risk underwriting and selection, claims management and other general administrative responsibilities.

• Willis Towers Watson Securities —Willis Towers Watson Securities, formerly Capital Markets & Advisory, provides investment banking services to companies involved in the insurance and reinsurance industries for a broad array of merger and acquisition transactions as well as capital markets products.

• Max Matthiessen — Max Matthiessen is a leading advisor and broker within insurance, benefits, human resources and savings in the Nordic region. The business specializes in providing human capital and benefits administration together with providing market leading savings and insurance solutions.

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The table below presents segment commissions and fees, and segment interest and other income for IRR for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

						Components of Revenue Change (i)
	December 31,				As Reported Change	Currency Impact	Constant Currency Change	Acquisitions/Divestitures	Organic Change
	2017		2016
	($ in millions)
Commissions and fees	$	1,505	$	1,475	2%	(1)%	3%	—%	4%
Interest and other income	30		59
Total segment revenues	$	1,535	$	1,534

____________________

(i)Components of revenue change may not add due to rounding.

IRR commissions and fees and total segment revenues for both years endedDecember 31, 2017 and 2016 were $1.5 billion. Total segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2016 included £28 million ($41 million) received for a settlement related to the Fine Arts, Jewellery and Specie Team. Wholesale Insurance Broking, Investment, Insurance Consulting and Technology, Max Matthiessen and Willis Re all posted commissions and fees revenue growth, primarily as a result of strong sales and increased performance fees. Willis Towers Watson Securities growth was flat. The reduction in Portfolio and Underwriting Services commissions and fees was driven by a loss of profit commissions following the Atlantic hurricanes, the cancellation of a key contract, and the divestiture of small programs in the portfolio.

The table below presents segment commissions and fees and segment interest and other income for IRR for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

	December 31,				As reported change
	2016		2015
	($ in millions)
Commissions and fees	$	1,475	$	895	65	%
Interest and other income	59		1
Total segment revenues	$	1,534	$	896	71	%

IRR total segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2016 were $1.5 billion, compared to $896 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2015, an increase of $638 million or 71%. This growth in revenues was driven by the Merger and a full year of revenues from Miller, following our acquisition in May 2015. See the ‘Supplementary Pro Forma Segment Revenues’ section below for additional discussion of our 2016 results.

Benefit Delivery and Administration (‘BDA’)

The BDA segment, formerly Exchange Solutions, provides primary medical and ancillary benefit exchange and outsourcing services to active employees and retirees across both the group and individual markets.  A significant portion of the revenues in this segment is recurring in nature, driven by either the commissions from the policies we sell, or from long-term service contracts with our clients that typically range from three to five years. Revenues across this segment may be seasonal, driven by the magnitude and timing of client transition activities, and we typically increase our membership levels significantly effective January 1, after calendar year-end benefits elections.

BDA generated approximately 9% of our segment revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2017. BDA provides services across four integrated or related offerings to customers primarily in the U.S. through four business units:

• Individual Marketplace (formerly Retiree & Access Exchanges) —This business provides solutions through a proprietary technology platform, OneExchange Retiree, which enables our employer clients to transition their retirees to individual, defined contribution health plans that provide individuals with a tax-free allowance or contribution to spend on healthcare services at an annual cost that the employer controls, as opposed to group-based, defined benefit health plans that provide groups of individuals with healthcare benefits at uncertain annual costs.

• Group Marketplace (formerly Active Exchanges) —This business is focused on delivering group benefit exchanges, serving the active employees of employers across the United States through our proprietary BenefitConnect or Bright Choices exchange platforms.

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• Benefits Outsourcing (formerly Technology and Administration Solutions) — Through our proprietary BenefitConnect technology, this business provides a broad suite of health and welfare outsourcing services as well as decision support and modeling tools for pension users within the U.S.

• Benefits Accounts (formerly Consumer-Directed Accounts) —This business uses its SaaS-based technology and related services to deliver consumer-driven healthcare and reimbursement accounts, including health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements and other consumer-directed accounts.

The table below presents segment commissions and fees, and segment interest and other income for BDA for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

						Components of Revenue Change (i)
	December 31,				As Reported Change	Currency Impact	Constant Currency Change	Acquisitions/Divestitures	Organic Change
	2017		2016
	($ in millions)
Commissions and fees	$	729	$	652	12%	—%	12%	—%	12%
Interest and other income	—		2
Total segment revenues	$	729	$	654

____________________

(i)Components of revenue change may not add due to rounding.

BDA total segment revenues for the years endedDecember 31, 2017 and 2016were $729 million and $654 million, respectively. Individual Marketplace revenues increased by 10%, and the rest of the segment grew by 14%, led by Group Marketplace and Benefits Outsourcing. Growth in the Individual and Group Marketplaces resulted from the additional 2017 enrollments, and Benefits Outsourcing’s growth was a result of new client wins and special projects.

See the ‘Supplementary Pro Forma Segment Revenues’ section below for additional discussion of our 2016 results.

Costs of Providing Services

Total costs of providing services were $7.5 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2017, compared to $7.3 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2016, an increase of $128 million, or 2%. Total costs of providing services were $7.3 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2016, compared to $3.4 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2015, an increase of $3.9 billion. See the analysis below for further information.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits for theyears endedDecember 31, 2017and December 31, 2016were$4.7 billionand $4.6 billion, respectively,an increase of $99 million. The increase was primarily a result of a $36 million pension settlement charge related to our U.K. pension plan as well as higher incentive accruals as compared to the prior year. Salaries and benefits for the years endedDecember 31, 2016and December 31, 2015were $4.6 billionand $2.3 billion, respectively,an increase of $2.3 billion. The increase in expenses was primarily driven by the Merger and our acquisition of Gras Savoye. As a percentage of revenues, salaries and benefits expenses represented 58%, 59% and 60% for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Other Operating Expenses

Other operating expenses include occupancy, legal, marketing, licenses, royalties, supplies, technology, printing and telephone costs, as well as insurance, including premiums on excess insurance and losses on professional liability claims, non-client-reimbursed travel by colleagues, publications, professional subscriptions and development, recruitment, other professional fees and irrecoverable value added and sales taxes.

Other operating expenses for theyears endedDecember 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016were $1.5 billion and$1.6 billion, respectively,a decrease of $17 million. The decrease was due primarily to the Stanford litigation provision of $50 million in 2016, partially offset by reserves for the City of Houston and CalPERS litigations and increases in other litigation reserves and professional services in 2017. Other operating expenses for the years endedDecember 31, 2016and December 31, 2015were$1.6 billion and$718 million, respectively,an increase of $833 million. The increase was primarily driven by the Merger and our acquisition of Gras Savoye.

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Depreciation

Depreciation represents the expense incurred over the useful life of our tangible fixed assets and internally developed software. Depreciation for theyears endedDecember 31, 2017and December 31, 2016was $203 million and $178 million, respectively,an increase of $25 million. This increase was due primarily to a higher depreciable base of assets resulting from additional assets placed in service in 2016. Depreciation expense for the years endedDecember 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 was $178 million and $95 million, respectively,an increase of$83 million. This increase was primarily driven by the Merger and our acquisition of Gras Savoye.

Amortization

Amortization includes amortization of acquired intangible assets, including acquired internally developed software. Amortization for theyears endedDecember 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was$581 million and$591 million, respectively,a decrease of $10 million. Our intangible amortization is more heavily weighted to the initial years of the useful lives of the related intangibles, and therefore amortization expense will decrease over time. Amortization for the years endedDecember 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 was$591 million and$76 million, respectively, an increase of $515 million. The primary driver of the increase in amortization was our acquisition of approximately $4.0 billion in intangible assets in our Merger with Towers Watson and our acquisition of $231 million and $440 million of intangible assets related to our acquisitions of Miller and Gras Savoye, respectively.

Restructuring Costs

Restructuring costs for theyear endedDecember 31, 2017 were $132 million, all of which related to the final year of the Operational Improvement Program (‘OIP’). Restructuring costs for the year ended December 31, 2016were$193 million, of which $145 million related to the OIP and $48 million related to the Business Restructuring Program. Restructuring costs for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $126 million, all of which was related to the OIP.See our discussion in the Operational Improvement Program and Business Restructuring Program section herein and Note 5— Restructuring Costswithin Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details about these expenses.

Transaction and integration expenses

Transaction and integration expenses for theyear endedDecember 31, 2017 were $269 million, which consists of costs associated with our information technology and finance initiatives and rationalization, property consolidation, benefits harmonization and costs associated with the settlement of the Merger-related appraisal demand lawsuit (see Note 13 — Commitments and Contingencieswithin Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K). Transaction and integration expenses for the year ended December 31, 2016 were $177 million. Approximately $162 million of these expenses were related to the Merger and $15 million were related to the acquisition of Gras Savoye. Transaction and integration expenses for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $84 million. Approximately $58 million of these expenses were related to the Merger, $15 million were related to the acquisition of Gras Savoye and $11 million were related to our acquisition of Miller.

Income from Operations

Income from operations for theyear endedDecember 31, 2017 was $738 million compared to $551 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2016, an increase of $187 million, or 34%. This increase resulted primarily from additional revenue of $315 million driven by growth across all segments, partially offset by additional costs resulting primarily from our integration activities and additional salary and benefits costs. Income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $551 million compared to $427 millionfor the year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of $124 million or 29%. The growth in income from operations compared to that of 2015 was primarily driven by the Merger and our acquisition of Gras Savoye.

Interest Expense

Interest expense for the years endedDecember 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $188 million, $184 million and $142 million, respectively. Interest expense is primarily related to interest on our senior notes and term loans. Interest expense increased by $4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, which primarily resulted from additional levels of indebtedness. Interest expense increased by $42 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, which was primarily related to additional debt acquired in the Merger and as part of the acquisition of Gras Savoye.

Other Expense/(Income), Net

Other expense/(income), net, includes other gains and losses, including gains and losses on foreign currency transactions.Other expense/(income), net for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was expense of $61 million and $27 million, respectively, which were primarily foreign currency transaction losses. Other expense/(income), net for the year ended

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December 31, 2015 was income of $55 million, which included gains on disposals of operations of $25 million, and a gain on re-measurement of equity interests related to the Gras Savoye acquisition of $59 million, partially offset by the $30 million impact of the Venezuelan currency devaluation.

Benefit from Income Taxes

Benefit from income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $100 million, $96 million and $33 million, respectively. The benefit in 2017 was primarily due to the impact of U.S. Tax Reform. The provisional net benefit of $204 million includes a $208 million net benefit due to the reduction in the federal corporate tax rate and re-measurement of net U.S. deferred tax liabilities primarily related to acquisition-based intangibles. The benefit from income taxes in 2016 was primarily due to the release of a portion of U.S. valuation allowances and shifts in the global mix of income as a result of the Merger. This shift resulted in additional deductions in jurisdictions with high statutory income tax rates, which reduced the global effective tax rate. The benefit from income taxes in 2015 was primarily due to an income tax benefit from the release of a portion of U.S. valuation allowances.

Net income attributable to Willis Towers Watson

Net income attributable to Willis Towers Watson for theyear endedDecember 31, 2017was $568 million, an increase of $148 million compared to $420 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2016. The increase was primarily driven by an improvement of $187 million in income from operations partially offset by a $34 million increase to expense in other expense/(income), net.Net income attributable to Willis Towers Watson for the year endedDecember 31, 2016 was$420 million, an increase of $47 million compared to $373 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2015. The growth was primarily driven by an improvement of $124 million in income from operations and an increase of$63 million in the benefit from income taxes, partially offset by a $42 million increase in interest expense and an $82 million increase to expense in other expense/(income), net.

Supplementary Pro Forma Financial Information

To assist the reader in understanding our comparative analysis, we have included discussion and analysis of pro forma financial information for Willis Towers Watson as if the Towers Watson Merger had occurred on January 1, 2015.

The pro forma financial information for the year ended December 31, 2015 combines: (i) the historical consolidated statement of operations of Willis Towers Watson for the year ended December 31, 2015 and (ii) the historical consolidated statement of operations of Towers Watson for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015 less the historical consolidated statement of operations of Towers Watson for the six months ended December 31, 2014, plus the historical consolidated statement of operations of Towers Watson for the six months ended December 31, 2015.

The pro forma financial information is only for Willis and Towers Watson and does not include Gras Savoye or other merger or acquisition activity on a pro forma basis.

Pro forma financial information is for illustrative purposes only, and is based on adjustments that are estimates based upon available information and certain assumptions that Willis Towers Watson management believes are reasonable under the circumstances, as described in ‘Pro Forma Adjustments’ below. The pro forma financial information has not been adjusted to give effect to certain expected financial benefits of the Merger, such as revenue synergies, tax savings and cost synergies, or the anticipated costs to achieve these benefits, including the cost of integration activities. The pro forma financial information does not purport to represent what the actual consolidated results of operations of Willis Towers Watson would have been had the Merger occurred on the date indicated, nor is it necessarily indicative of future consolidated results of operations. The actual results of operations will differ, potentially significantly, from the pro forma amounts reflected herein due to a variety of factors, including access to additional information, changes in value not currently identified and changes in operating results following the date of the unaudited pro forma financial information.

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Pro Forma Consolidated Statements of Operations

(in millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data)

	Years ended December 31,
	2016				2015
	Willis Towers Watson				Legacy Willis			Legacy Towers Watson				Pro Forma Adjustments				Pro Forma Willis Towers Watson
Total revenues	$	7,887		100%	$	3,829		$	3,664		b	$	(1	)	a	$	7,492		100%
Costs of providing services
Salaries and benefits	4,646			59%	2,303			2,161				(33		)	c	4,431			59%
Other operating expenses	1,551			20%	718			725			b	3			a, d	1,446			19%
Depreciation	178			2%	95			110				(46		)	e	159			2%
Amortization	591			7%	76			71				388			f	535			7%
Restructuring costs	193			2%	126			—				—				126			2%
Transaction and integration expenses	177			2%	84			97				(151		)	k	30			—%
Total costs of providing services	7,336			93%	3,402			3,164				161				6,727			90%
Income from operations	551			7%	427			500				(162		)		765			10%
Interest expense	184			2%	142			9				13			g	164			2%
Other expense/(income), net	27			—%	(55		)	(57		)		—				(112		)	(1)%
(Benefit from)/provision for income taxes	(96		)	(1)%	(33		)	217				(114		)	h	70			1%
Interest in earnings of associates, net of tax	2			—%	11			(2		)		—				9			—%
Net income	438			6%	384			329				(61		)		652			9%
Income attributable to non-controlling interests	(18		)	—%	(11		)	(1		)		—				(12		)	—%
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WILLIS TOWERS WATSON	$	420		5%	$	373		$	328			$	(61	)		$	640		9%
Basic earnings per share	$	3.07			$	5.49		$	4.75							$	4.67		i, j
Diluted earnings per share	$	3.04			$	5.41		$	4.75							$	4.64		i, j

Pro Forma Adjustments

The unaudited pro forma financial information reflects the following adjustments:

a. Intercompany trading. Adjustments to eliminate trading between Legacy Willis and Legacy Towers Watson of $1 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2015.

b. Conforming reclassifications and adjustments. Certain reclassifications have been made to amounts in the Towers Watson historical statement of operations to conform to Willis’ presentation, including reclassifying certain contra revenue accounts and Towers Watson’s professional and subcontracted services, occupancy and general and administrative expenses within the relevant Willis captions.

c. Pension and post-retirement benefit amortization. Adjustments to remove the net periodic benefit costs of $33 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2015 associated with the amortization of net actuarial losses and prior service credits/costs for Towers Watson’s pension and other post-retirement benefit plans.

d. Rent. Adjustment to eliminate $5 million of historical rent expense for the year endedDecember 31, 2015 offset by $1 million amortization of our favorable and unfavorable lease agreements.

e. Depreciation. Adjustment related to depreciation on internally developed software of $57 million partially offset by an increase of $11 million for the year endedDecember 31, 2015 due to an increase in the estimated fair value for leasehold improvements, furniture and fixtures and computer hardware and software.

f. Amortization. Historical amortization expense of $71 million was removed and amortization expense of $459 million has been recorded to reflect the estimated fair values of Towers Watson’s identifiable intangible assets and related

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amortization. See Item 8, Note 3 — Merger, Acquisitions and Divestitures and Note 8 — Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.

g. Interest Expense. Net adjustments to interest expense include additional interest and amortization of related deferred debt issuance costs. Approximately $13 million incremental interest expense was recorded for the year endedDecember 31, 2015 related to a borrowing under a $340 million term loan as part of the funding for the pre-Merger special dividend on December 29, 2015 and the portion of the senior notes issuance used to repay Towers Watson’s existing debt at the time of the Merger.

h. Income taxes. Adjustments to record the income tax impact of the pro forma adjustments, including the removal of the tax consequences of the repatriation of foreign earnings to partially fund the pre-Merger special dividend. The income tax expense was calculated based on the U.S. and foreign statutory rates applicable to adjustments made. Where applicable, a U.S. statutory rate of 40% was used. Pro forma adjustments for income tax purposes have been determined without regard to potential tax planning strategies that may result from the Merger of Towers Watson with Willis. Tax benefits from the Merger have not been considered in our pro forma adjustments.

i. Willis ordinary shares issuance. Approximately 184 million Willis ordinary shares (prior to the reverse stock split) were issued to Towers Watson stockholders as the Merger Consideration in connection with the Merger, based on Towers Watson shares of common stock outstanding as of January 4, 2016, at a per share price of $47.18, which was the closing share price on that date, for a total value of approximately $8.7 billion.

j. Earnings per share. The pro forma consolidated basic and diluted earnings per share for the year endedDecember 31, 2015 are calculated as follows:

	Year Ended   December 31, 2015
	(in millions, except per share data)
Willis historic average basic shares in issue (i)	68
Shares issued for Towers Watson (ii)	69
Willis historic average basic shares in issue	137
Dilutive effect of securities	1
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	138
Pro forma net income attributable to Willis Towers Watson	$	640
Basic earnings per share	$	4.67
Diluted earnings per share	$	4.64

____________________

(i) After taking into account the impact of the reverse stock split on January 4, 2016.

(ii) Shares issued for Towers Watson based on approximately 69 million Towers Watson shares outstanding at January 4, 2016.

k. Transaction and integration expenses. Transaction and integration costs related to the Merger and have been eliminated.

Consolidated Revenues

The following table sets out the total revenues generated for the year endedDecember 31, 2016, pro forma revenues generated for the year endedDecember 31, 2015, and the components of the change for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to the pro forma prior year.

	Years ended December 31,					Components of Change
			Pro Forma		Pro Forma Change	Currency Impact	Constant Currency Change	Acquisitions/Divestitures	Organic Change
	2016		2015
	(in millions)
Total revenues	$	7,887	$	7,492	5%	(3)%	8%	7%	1%

Total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2016 were $7.9 billion, compared to $7.5 billion pro forma revenues for the year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of $395 million, or 5%. This growth was driven by a 7% increase due to our acquisitions of Gras Savoye and Miller and 1% organic revenue growth, partially offset by adverse foreign currency exchange movements of 3%. The primary drivers of our growth were within our Corporate Risk and Broking and Benefits Delivery and

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Administration, formerly Exchange Solutions, segments. See our segment revenues analysis for a further discussion of our segment results.

Our results can be materially impacted by changes in currency conversions, which can fluctuate significantly over the course of a calendar year. For the year endedDecember 31, 2016, currency translation decreased our consolidated revenues by $202 million on a constant currency basis from the pro forma year endedDecember 31, 2015. The primary currency driving the change was the Pound sterling which weakened against the U.S. dollar during 2016.

The organic change presented above includes the reduction to revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2016 related to the fair value adjustment for deferred revenue made during purchase accounting for the Merger. If this revenue had not been reduced, the constant currency change would have been an increase of 9% and the organic change would have been an increase of 2%, respectively, for the year endedDecember 31, 2016.

Definitions of Constant Currency Change and Organic Change are included in the section entitled ‘Non-GAAP Financial Measures’ in this Form 10-K.

Costs of Providing Services

Total costs of providing services were $7.3 billion for the year endedDecember 31, 2016, compared to $6.7 billion for the pro forma year endedDecember 31, 2015, an increase of $609 million or 9%. See the analysis below for further information.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits were $4.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2016, an increase of $215 million, or 5%, compared to $4.4 billion for the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015. The increase was primarily related to our acquisitions of Gras Savoye and Miller, which contributed approximately $291 million of the increase, partially offset by increased net periodic benefit credits from the adoption of the granular approach to calculating service and interest costs of $51 million.

Other Operating Expenses

Other operating expenses include occupancy, legal, marketing, licenses, royalties, supplies, technology, printing and telephone costs, as well as insurance, including premiums on excess insurance and losses on professional liability claims, non-client-reimbursed travel by colleagues, publications, professional subscriptions and development, recruitment, other professional fees and irrecoverable value added and sales taxes.

Other operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2016 were $1.6 billion, compared to $1.4 billion for the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of $105 million or 7%. The increase was primarily related to our acquisitions of Gras Savoye and Miller, which contributed approximately $135 million of the increase. In 2016, we accrued $50 million for the Stanford litigation, which was $20 million less than the $70 million accrued in 2015.

Depreciation

Depreciation represents the expense incurred over the useful life of our tangible fixed assets and internally developed software. Depreciation was $178 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, an increase of $19 million, or 12%, compared to $159 million for the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015. The increase was primarily related to our acquisitions of Gras Savoye and Miller and our normal capital expenditures.

Amortization

Amortization includes amortization of acquired intangible assets, including acquired internally developed software. Amortization was $591 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, an increase of $56 million, or 10%, compared to $535 million for the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in amortization in 2016 is primarily due to amortization of the intangible assets acquired in our acquisitions of Gras Savoye and Miller. We acquired approximately $231 million and $440 million in intangible assets in our acquisitions of Miller and Gras Savoye, respectively. These intangible assets are amortized over their expected lives which range from 4 to 25 years. SeeNote 3 — Merger, Acquisitions and Divestitures andNote 8 — Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets within Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information about our intangible assets.

Transaction and integration expenses

Transaction and integration expenses were $177 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, an increase of $147 million compared to $30 million for the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in 2016 is primarily due to integration expenses incurred subsequent to the Merger. For the year ended December 31, 2016, approximately $162 million of these

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expenses were related to the Merger and $15 million were related to the integration of Gras Savoye. For the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015, transaction expenses related to the Merger of $151 million have been eliminated as part of the pro forma adjustments. Of the remaining $30 million of transaction and integration expenses, approximately $15 million were related to Gras Savoye, $11 million were related to Miller, and $4 million were related to other miscellaneous M&A activity.

Restructuring costs and Interest expense

Please see the discussion in the ‘As Reported Consolidated Financial Information’ section above.

Income from Operations

Income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $551 million, compared to $765 million for the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015, a decrease of $214 million. The decrease was primarily due to increases in transaction and integration expenses of $147 million and restructuring costs of $67 million.

Other Expense/(Income), Net

Other expense/(income), net, includes other gains and losses, including gains and losses on foreign currency transactions.Other expense/(income), net, for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $27 million of net expense, which was primarily foreign currency transaction losses. Other expense/(income), net for the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015 was $112 million of net income, which was primarily due to $80 million of gains on disposals of operations and $59 million in the gain on the re-measurement of equity interests, partially offset by $30 million in foreign currency transaction losses in 2015.

(Benefit from)/Provision for Income Taxes

For the year ended December 31, 2016, there was a $96 million benefit from income taxes, due primarily to a benefit from the release of a portion of our U.S. valuation allowances and shifts in the global mix of income as a result of the Merger. This shift creates additional deductions in jurisdictions with high statutory income tax rates, which reduces the global effective tax rate. For the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015, there was a provision for income taxes of $70 million. Legacy Willis had a benefit from income taxes due to the release of a portion of U.S. valuation allowances in 2015 which was more than offset by the provision for income taxes for Legacy Towers Watson.

Net Income Attributable to Willis Towers Watson

Net income attributable to Willis Towers Watson for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $420 million, a decrease of $220 million compared to $640 million for the pro forma year ended December 31, 2015. The decrease was primarily driven by increased transaction and integration expenses of $147 million and restructuring costs of $67 million in 2016 and gains on disposals of $80 million and re-measurement of equity interests of $59 million in 2015, partially offset by a decrease in income tax expense of $166 million.

Supplementary Pro Forma Segment Revenues

Beginning in 2017, we made certain changes that affect our segment results. These changes, which are detailed in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 7, 2017, include the realignment of certain businesses within our segments, as well as changes to certain allocation methodologies to better reflect the ongoing nature of our businesses. The prior period comparatives reflected in the tables below have been retrospectively adjusted to reflect our current segment presentation. See Note 4 — Segment Information within Item 8 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of these changes.

Human Capital and Benefits

The following table sets out the components of HCB revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2016and pro forma revenues for the year endedDecember 31, 2015, and the components of the change in commissions and fees for the year endedDecember 31, 2016 as compared to the pro forma prior year.

Years ended December 31,			Components of Change
	Pro Forma	Pro Forma Change	Currency Impact	Constant Currency Change	Acquisitions/Divestitures	Organic Change
2016	2015
(in millions)