The purpose of the paper is to compare population of farmers that bought crop insurance with farmers that are uninsured. Based thereon, the author identified features characterizing the insured farmers. These findings were applied to draw more general conclusions concerning factors influencing the insurance awareness and propensity to buy insurance coverage. Demographic, social and economic criteria, individual perception of risk, the loss ratio, and the willingness to pay the insurance premium were taken into consideration. Empirical research is based upon a sample of 150 Polish farmers that were interviewed using the CATI approach. It was found that farms with greater production volume (annual income) and with a larger crop area present higher willingness to buy insurance. Farmers who experienced damage to crops are more inclined to buy insurance coverage. Moreover, higher insurance penetration rate can be found among farmers who are willing to pay a higher price for a crop insurance policy. Surprisingly, despite frequently formulated assumptions, variables such as age of farmer, level of education or individual perception of risk do not determine the decision on insurance purchase.