Agriculture in coastal Odisha remains highly vulnerable to monsoon rainfall variability, making crop insurance a critical tool for risk management. This study examines whether farmers are aware of and satisfied with crop insurance, focusing on the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), which is the sole crop insurance scheme implemented in the state. Primary data were collected from 407 paddy cultivators across seven coastal districts of Odisha. A multi-stage purposive sampling approach was used to select districts and villages, and respondents were drawn by simple random sampling from village lists. Awareness was measured with dichotomous and multiple-response items, while satisfaction was assessed through a multi-item Likert scale (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.910; KMO = 0.852). Analysis comprised descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations and Chi-square tests to examine associations with socio-economic characteristics. Findings reveal that although awareness is fairly widespread, satisfaction levels present a sharper divide. While farmers are generally satisfied with premiums and payment modes, dissatisfaction is concentrated around claim settlement, coverage adequacy, and service responsiveness. The results confirm that socio-economic disparities significantly influence both awareness and satisfaction, indicating that crop insurance has yet to evolve into an equitable and trusted safety net. Thus, while crop insurance provides a framework for managing rainfall risk, for many farmers in coastal Odisha the promise of a reliable safety net remains only partially realized because operational and informational gaps limit trust and effective use.