Research Paper #34 presents results from a randomized control trial in rural China designed to understand whether a change in the timing of the payment of a premium for swine insurance helps overcoming barriers to insurance demand and whether insurance allows farmers to increase investment in activities that expose them to more risk. Findings show that insurance take-up is three times higher among those who were given the option to pay at the end of the insured period; that insurance has a positive impact on investment; and that encouraging insurance purchases can have a positive long run effect on the income and welfare or rural households.