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Valdet Zuteja

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Valdet Zuteja is the founder and CEO of Relia Insurance Group in Illinois. With an emphasis on insurance risk, the brokerage partners with carriers such as Nationwide Insurance, Travelers, MetLife, Safeco, Chubb and Berkshire Hathaway to provide coverage in the areas of auto, home, small commercial business, workers compensation and trucking insurance. “When people work with us, they get treated like VIPs,” he shares. It’s this level of truly personalized service that Relia is known for. But what many people don’t know is that Valdet’s unwavering commitment to help others flourish comes from a deeply personal place. In 1998, he traveled to the United States from Macedonia when he was just 18 years old. He was fluent in five languages—Albanian, Turkish, Croatian, Macedonian, and Serbian—but didn’t speak a word of English, yet he was determined to create a better life for himself and his family. Today, Valdet leads a thriving insurance enterprise heralded for providing not only the fastest service possible, but the best value. “People often need immediate quotes. They don’t want to wait three days. Our clients can text us, call, or email, and we’re always here when they need us,” he says.

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Valdet began his professional career as a mortgage consultant, but as he gained increasing insight into insurance side of his work over a decade, his desire to own his own agency grew. In 2014, he left the mortgage world and joined Nationwide Insurance as an agent in their Glen Ellyn, Illinois, office. “My goal was to master every aspect of the industry,” he shares. In spring of 2016, his entrepreneurial dream came true when the company announced they were shuttering their office. Valdet pivoted and launched Relia Insurance Group, and the rest, as they say, is history. “I believe things happen for a reason,” he says. “I thank Nationwide Insurance every day for their decision to close our office.”

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Valdet holds an associate’s degree in computer programming from MATC.

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Valdet Zuteja

Founder & CEO — Relia Insurance Group