diff --git a/builtin/providers/openstack/config.go b/builtin/providers/openstack/config.go
index d05662017..903345fb6 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/openstack/config.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/openstack/config.go
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package openstack
 
 import (
+	"crypto/tls"
+	"net/http"
+
 	"github.com/rackspace/gophercloud"
 	"github.com/rackspace/gophercloud/openstack"
 )
@@ -15,6 +18,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	TenantName       string
 	DomainID         string
 	DomainName       string
+	Insecure         bool
 
 	osClient *gophercloud.ProviderClient
 }
@@ -32,7 +36,19 @@ func (c *Config) loadAndValidate() error {
 		DomainName:       c.DomainName,
 	}
 
-	client, err := openstack.AuthenticatedClient(ao)
+	client, err := openstack.NewClient(ao.IdentityEndpoint)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if c.Insecure {
+		// Configure custom TLS settings.
+		config := &tls.Config{InsecureSkipVerify: true}
+		transport := &http.Transport{TLSClientConfig: config}
+		client.HTTPClient.Transport = transport
+	}
+
+	err = openstack.Authenticate(client, ao)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/builtin/providers/openstack/provider.go b/builtin/providers/openstack/provider.go
index d71f5a8f0..188beadd7 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/openstack/provider.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/openstack/provider.go
@@ -56,6 +56,11 @@ func Provider() terraform.ResourceProvider {
 				Optional: true,
 				Default:  "",
 			},
+			"insecure": &schema.Schema{
+				Type:     schema.TypeBool,
+				Optional: true,
+				Default:  false,
+			},
 		},
 
 		ResourcesMap: map[string]*schema.Resource{
@@ -93,6 +98,7 @@ func configureProvider(d *schema.ResourceData) (interface{}, error) {
 		TenantName:       d.Get("tenant_name").(string),
 		DomainID:         d.Get("domain_id").(string),
 		DomainName:       d.Get("domain_name").(string),
+		Insecure:         d.Get("insecure").(bool),
 	}
 
 	if err := config.loadAndValidate(); err != nil {
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/openstack/index.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/openstack/index.html.markdown
index 02b8c8dc8..808b71d1e 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/openstack/index.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/openstack/index.html.markdown
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 * `tenant_name` - (Optional) If omitted, the `OS_TENANT_NAME` environment
     variable is used.
 
+* `insecure` - (Optional) Explicitly allow the provider to perform
+    "insecure" SSL requests. If omitted, default value is `false`
+
 ## Testing
 
 In order to run the Acceptance Tests for development, the following environment