The costs of uninsured risks for low-wealth agricultural and pastoral households are well documented. Risk makes people poor when it leads them to shy away from higher-return but riskier activities. Yet, insurance is most notable for its absence in low-income rural areas. While there are many reasons why insurance contracts are not offered in these areas, the innovation of a new generation of financial technologies built around the concept of parametric or index insurance raises the prospect that insurance instruments could be made to sustainably work in low-income environments.