The purpose of this paper is to provide a basic primer on the agricultural insurance, including an overview of previous experiences, and a set of guidelines and recommendations on how to develop viable and sustainable agricultural yield insurance markets. The paper relies heavily on the data and analysis stemming from a regional technical cooperation project financed by the Spanish Trust Fund, which conducted reviews and pre-feasibility studies in three countries—the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Uruguay— between 2003-2004. That work has been supplemented by an extensive economic literature review, fieldwork in Honduras, and numerous interviews and exchanges of opinions with leading authorities on the topic and key regional stakeholders.