This book has been written for people who would like to know how agricultural insurance could play a role in improving the livelihoods of the rural poor. It will be useful for development agents such as donors, development banks and development workers in NGOs, cooperatives, credit unions and microfinance institutions (MFIs). It is written for a reader who has no prior knowledge of insurance. The first chapter introduces the principles of insurance. The second chapter presents four agricultural microinsurance case studies, using the principles described in the first chapter to analyze the successes, failures and challenges of providing agricultural microinsurance in practice. The third chapter summarizes a comprehensive literature survey to establish what kinds of agricultural microinsurance products exist worldwide, and how they function. The fourth and final chapter discusses whether, given all the challenges, agricultural microinsurance can play a role in improving the livelihoods of the rural poor.