Not all value can be measured in returns. For Mittare Insurance Public Company Limited, the most enduring currency has always been trust.
Known in Thai as มิตรแท้, meaning a genuine friend, มิตร (mit) for friend and แท้ (tare) for true, the company has spent more than seven decades building protection around people.
Under the leadership of Mr. Sukhathep Chansrichawla, President and CEO of Mittare Insurance Public Company Limited, this philosophy has remained steady through decades of industry change.
In conversation at the company’s headquarters, Masala sat down with Sukhathep to reflect on the values that have shaped his career, and why sincerity and clarity continue to underpin meaningful, long-term growth.
Could you share some insight into your upbringing and how you ventured into the insurance sector?
My early years carried their share of challenges. I experienced the loss of both my parents at seven, with my grandparents passing around the same time.
I was fortunate to be raised by my three uncles, who later enrolled me in school in the United Kingdom at the age of 11. Living overseas with my younger brother taught us independence and resilience early on.
By 19, I chose to enter the workforce rather than university, taking a different path from many of my peers in order to establish myself.
My uncle acquired Thai Prasit Insurance in 1978, which later became Mittare Insurance Public Company Limited. I did not immediately join the insurance industry.
In fact, I spent several years exploring different fields, from working as a stockbroker to founding Hoburger, Thailand’s first fast-food restaurant with multiple outlets, including one in Siam Square.
This endeavour broadened my commercial perspective, even when some ideas proved ahead of their time or were impacted by external challenges such as Thailand’s major flooding crisis.
When my uncle later urged me to join the business, I took the time to properly understand it.
To gain a better grasp on the field, I spent a period in Japan with Dai-ichi Life Insurance, learning the fundamentals of insurance through their foundation, FALIA, and its community-driven ethos.
It was an early lesson in understanding insurance as a societal responsibility, rather than just a financial service.
Who or what has had the greatest influence on your leadership style over the years?
The greatest influence on my leadership style has been my three uncles. They were fighters in the truest sense, stepping in to carry the family forward after the sudden loss of four senior family members within a short period of time.
They remained steadfast in the face of adversity, and from them, I learned responsibility and the importance of leading by example.
My younger brother, Mr. Gurdist Chansrichawla, has been another significant influence in my life.
I also developed my leadership skills through my involvement with the Junior Chamber International, which taught me how to carry myself more confidently, manage people effectively, and work as part of a team.
Mittare offers a listing of coverage, from motor insurance to personal. Which segments do you see as the company’s defining pillars?
Our core focus has always been non-life insurance, with motor insurance leading as the company’s defining pillar.
Over time, we have also drawn from life insurance models to build a more structured agent network, prioritising long-term relationships and trust.
Equally important is our commitment to operating as a social enterprise. At Mittare, we regard insurance as a responsibility to support individuals and businesses in moments of vulnerability.
As part of our next phase of growth, we are expanding into insurance solutions designed specifically for the restaurant sector.
This plan is informed by my own background in F&B, as well as my son’s experience in the industry after graduating from Le Cordon Bleu, now helming an Indian eatery.
Restaurants face complex and often underestimated risks, such as fires, on-site accidents, customer incidents, and food-related liabilities.
Without appropriate coverage, these incidents can be financially devastating.
The expansion aims to deliver practical coverage for restaurateurs, helping to safeguard their businesses against everyday operational risks.
Mittare has been operating for more than 70 years. From your perspective, which guiding principles have remained constant, and which have changed with the times?
At its core, Mittare has always stood for being a genuine partner to Thai society.
The values behind the name, sincerity, trust, and reliability, have remained unchanged, as has the reputation the company has built over seven decades.
What has changed is the way we operate around those principles.
We have updated our agent compensation structures to better reflect performance and fairness, while also embracing technology to improve efficiency and accessibility.
The introduction of digital tools, such as online claims systems, has optimised how we serve our customers, making the experience faster, more transparent, and better aligned to modern needs.
How has Mittare evolved, and what meaningful shifts, if any, have you observed since the company became publicly listed?
Mittare began as a relatively small player, with premium volumes in the range of two to three hundred million baht.
Today, we operate as a national insurer supported by a network of nearly 20,000 agents.
While the scale of the business has changed, the turn to being “public company limited” really sharpened our focus on sustainable growth, professionalism, and responsibility to both policyholders and shareholders alike.
What strategic assumption about the insurance industry do you believe is most widely misunderstood?
One of the most widely misunderstood assumptions is that insurance is a sunk cost, something people feel they have paid for nothing if an incident never occurs.
In actuality, insurance is about risk management and, just as importantly, peace of mind.
Another common misunderstanding is the idea that insurers and customers are on opposing sides when a claim is made.
A good insurer should never feel like an adversary. Insurance is a partnership, one that makes handling life easier during difficult moments, not more complicated, as demonstrated in Mittare’s namesake.
Many insurers focus primarily on products, yet Mittare continues to invest in public education around insurance. Why do you see knowledge-building as an important aspect of the business?
I believe knowledge-building is a responsibility.
When people truly understand insurance, they are better prepared and less vulnerable during crises.
This belief has directed me for many years.
I previously hosted a television programme, Thai Real TV (เรื่องจริงผ่านจอ), for four years, focusing on real-life situations and insurance protection, with the aim of making complex concepts accessible to the public.
Now, I am moving towards short-form digital platforms like TikTok to reach a younger audience, as people’s information consumption habits have changed.
If people understand the value of insurance rather than focusing solely on price, the entire industry improves, and the social burden during times of crisis is reduced.
That philosophy also reflects my own journey. I completed my bachelor’s degree at Ramkhamhaeng University at 48, followed by a master’s degree in Political Science, driven by the principle of lifelong learning.
Congratulations on receiving the Thai Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Ethical Conduct Award for 2025. How do the values of sincerity and transparency continue to guide Mittare’s leadership and decision-making?
Sincerity and transparency are what guide Mittare. We hold these standards in every decision we make.
Sincerity, for us, means ensuring that customers genuinely receive the benefits they were promised, without ambiguity or hidden conditions.
This is reinforced through transparency, which begins with clarity.
We put forth a conscious effort to write our policies in plain, colloquial language, with clear wording and readable text, so customers fully understand what they are purchasing.
See, insurance should feel straightforward and fair.
When people know they are being treated openly, trust follows naturally and endures over time.
With such an extensive agent network and support infrastructure, how do you cultivate leadership and accountability across the organisation?
I focus on empowering my team through confidence and delegation.
Each function is guided by experienced specialists who are trusted to lead their respective areas.
With much of our executive team having worked together for decades, accountability and shared ownership have become part of the culture organically.
As your own career has progressed, how has your definition of success changed over time?
Earlier in my career, I was motivated by curiosity and ambition.
Success, at that time, was about challenge and the excitement of proving myself through different business ventures.
Today, I view success through a much different lens.
It is about building a company that grows steadily and sustainably, while ensuring our people and agents have stable careers and the ability to support their families.
More broadly, success is helping people across Thailand, through Mittare, understand the importance of insurance as an essential form of security for daily life.
Looking ahead, what would you like Mittare to represent in the Thai insurance market 10 years from now?
I hope to see Mittare recognised as the insurer that customers trust instinctively.
Being principal in the minds of customers, and more importantly, in their confidence, is a far more meaningful accomplishment than scale alone.
At the same time, I want Mittare to set the standard for on-the-ground service, resolving issues as close to the point of incident as possible, reducing feelings of uncertainty when people need support most.
Outside of Mittare, what other hats do you wear?
Over the years, I have participated in a wide range of executive programmes across both the public and private sectors, including the National Defence College (NDC) and the Capital Market Academy, as well as courses run by government bodies, the military, the Stock Exchange of Thailand, and private institutions.
While these programmes were valuable, I noticed a limitation: once the course concluded, the relationships formed often faded with time.
That experience led me to start True Friends Society (TFS), a community built around fostering long-term connections beyond formal education.
The community focuses on work-life balance, health, and shared interests such as golf, tennis, diving, and jet skiing, alongside keynote discussions by invited speakers.
We have hosted figures such as Robert P. Miles, the author known for his work on Warren Buffett, who had strong interest from members.
In many ways, TFS mirrors the same long-term thinking I apply to business, rooted in sustained relationships and lifelong learning.
Among the many responsibilities, how do you unwind and regain perspective?
Golf is my preferred way to unwind.
I find it to be the only sport that offers something that few others do: camaraderie and precision.
You spend hours walking, talking, and thinking, and even on the same course, no two days are ever the same.