About the Universal Trade Alliance - Universal Trade Alliance

We are the Universal Trade Alliance

Our alliance is the hub for a community of real people connecting over what they do. We unite passionate, driven small business owners and professionals with trusted partners, industry resources—and most importantly—with each other.

Years Serving

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Members & Counting

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Business Types Insured

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Available In All States

in Annual Web Traffic

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2010

Stratus Enters the Small Business Atmosphere

Start-up insurance brokerage dubbed as “Stratus” first made its mark on the map of Pleasant Grove, Utah. Led by a small team of industry pros, their mission was to craft specialty insurance plans for entrepreneurs and small business owners. These plans were affordable and available entirely online, something unheard of at the time.

2010

2012

Rebrand to Veracity Insurance

After months of extensive market research, it was clear there were hundreds of professionals and industries in need of customizable coverage tailored to the work they do. Stratus rebranded to Veracity Insurance Solutions and partnered with Great American Insurance Company to start offering more policies and growing their team.

2012

Launched BBI (Insurebodywork.com)

Giving beauty and bodywork professionals the ability to buy insurance online for as little as $96 a year at insurebodywork.com.

2012

2013

Launched Fliprogram.com

Food businesses of all shapes and sizes from home bakers to food truck operators can all get the insurance they need to protect their businesses. Policies start at $25.92 a month and include unlimited additional insureds just to make doing food business easier!

2013

Launched ACTInsurance.com

Artists, crafters, and tradespeople can purchase event or annual insurance coverage online for less than $25 a month or as little as $49 per event.

2013

Launched PetCareIns.com

Professionals in the pet care industry can buy insurance online 24/7 for $139 a year or as little as $13.33 per month.

2013

2016

Launched FullFrameInsurance.com

For $129 annually or as little as $59 per event, photographers and videographers can get the insurance they need through our quote-free 100% online app.

2016

Launched Insurance Canopy

As the digital age was propelling forward at light speed, Veracity launched Insurance Canopy—an all-in-one online insurance marketplace. This is a place where instant coverage, custom policies, licensed agents, business tips, and more all live under one roof. “Quick, quality quotes” lie at the heart of this one-of-a-kind business.

2016

2024

Say Hello to the Universal Trade Alliance

We strive to help equip professionals with the tools they need to succeed and we realize this can’t happen solely as an insurance company. We established the UTA as a way to give our members more tools and resources to start, grow, and protect their businesses, so they can turn their passions into professions.

2024

Our Partners Include

Mission, Vision, and Values

We’re on a mission to turn your small business dreams into reality, with a little help from our forward-thinking benefits, top-notch customer service, and cutting-edge resources. Start, protect, and grow your small business with the UTA by your side.

We’re hard at work fulfilling our dream of being a beacon of trust, stability, and support for small businesses—whether you’re just getting started or scaling to new heights.

The way we do business matters. We value a culture of open communication, trust, empowerment, and employee development. In addition, we operate by “the golden rule”: treating others the way we would want to be treated.

Meet our Team

Daryle Stafford

PRESIDENT & CEO

Daryle believes in high-quality customer service and personal interaction. He’s driven this focus with cutting-edge technology and automated tools. He enjoys spending time with his family, including volunteering as a coach for his kids’ baseball and softball teams. Once in a blue moon he gets to go play golf.

BRENT WALDRON, CPA

VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE

Brent brings with him over 20 years of accounting, finance, and executive management experience guiding businesses to financial success. He enjoys playing golf and traveling with his beautiful wife and daughter. Although he graduated from Boise State, he also loves cheering on the Virginia Tech Hokies.

JULIE SHEFFIELD

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Julie applies her over 13 years of experience in the property management and real estate development sector to this evolving industry. Julie and her husband Mark love to explore new places, ride motor vehicles, play golf, and relax by the pool. She fulfilled her dream of owning a horse.

DANIEL STEADMAN, CPCU

VICE PRESIDENT OF UNDERWRITING

Daniel began his insurance career as an underwriter for a Fortune 500 national carrier. Since joining our team, written premiums have more than doubled and loss ratios have dramatically decreased. He enjoys following his favorite sports teams, reading, and spending time with his wife and three young children.

CLINT BISHOP

VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING

Clint brings more than 10 years of experience leading marketing teams of various sizes in a variety of industries. He is big on culture, big on autonomy, and big on innovation. When he’s not at work, Clint enjoys watching baseball, playing games with his kids, gardening, ATVing, and wrestling his black lab.

JASON MCCAUL

VICE PRESIDENT OF TECHNOLOGY

Jason is a diversified leader and has a decade+ experience in marketing and product/project management. He believes in creating a fun and challenging work environment for his teams. His home life involves a lot of sports, whether it’s watching his favorite sports teams or coaching his kids’ football team.

GAVIN JONES

VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT

Gavin is one of our newest team members bringing with him more than 13 years of experience in the Tech industry. He graduated with his MBA from the University of Utah with an emphasis on Program/Project Management in 2016. Gavin has spent the last 4 years focused on building very successful teams and products. He is deeply passionate about leadership, processes, and helping the team and company win.

LIJANA ZABULIONIENE

VICE PRESIDENT OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Lijana brings a decade+ of experience in technical project management and development. She has led the software development team in delivering innovation, quality, and security. She is an avid traveler and enjoys rock climbing, golfing, hiking, camping, reading, and simply spending time with her family.

ELIZABETH KRAUS

DIRECTOR OF CONTENT

Elizabeth has 10+ years experience working with beauty product distributors and manufacturers and hundreds of salons and hair stylists. She’s written dozens of published works for salons and hair stylists, including annual marketing calendars and books sold through Amazon. With over 10,000 followers on LinkedIn, you’ll find Elizabeth regularly posting on topics related to beauty growth, marketing, and more.

CHRIS VAN LEEUWEN, CIC

VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Chris is a third-generation insurance professional who owned an agency for 13 years before joining our team. He’s been instrumental in the development and implementation of several national programs and Risk Purchasing Groups. He enjoys travel, cycling, fishing, cooking, and spending time with the family.

TROY SMITH

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Troy thrives at building relationships and creating partnerships that benefit beauty professionals across the United States. He helps orchestrate win-win solutions for organizations and networks. He loves going on vacations with his family and history. He once got the opportunity to hike the remote jungles of Guatemala and take pictures of the pre-classic maya ruins.

Why our members love us

"I recommend it to everyone."

Great comprehensive coverage that conforms to the needs of the home office, studio, atelier and business while also considering health, employees and auto. Great buy! I recommend it to everyone because it’s a very affordable insurance that can be molded to the business’ complexity or simplicity. Amazing!

"The cost was affordable and we now have the coverage we need"

We were thrilled to find exactly what we needed and the process was really fast and easy. The cost was affordable and we now have the coverage we need to take our bread to the farmers markets. We're very happy.

"I recommend this service to anyone "

I appreciate an awesome communication and excellent customer service. All my questions and concerns were addressed thoughtfully and in a timely manner. It is very easy to use my account dashboard to access all the documents in one place. It is also very easy to correct mistakes within the tools in my account and instantly generate updated documents. I will definitely use ACT Insurance in the future for the upcoming vendor events and my other business needs. I recommend this service to anyone needing a proof of insurance right away.

"I have confidence that I can do my own business by having this insurance"

It was very reasonable price for the pet insurance and it was easy to get it. Now I have confidence that I can do my own business by having this insurance. Thank you.

"helpful and kind"

Quick easy and more affordable than other options. I called to get a question answered and it was a really nice experience, the lady I spoke with was really helpful and kind.

"Wonderful customer service"

Sarah was outstanding!!! Wonderful customer service with a smile and a laugh!! Doesn't get any better than that!