diff --git a/awx/api/views.py b/awx/api/views.py
index 0b6047be92..cf40687256 100644
--- a/awx/api/views.py
+++ b/awx/api/views.py
@@ -2116,7 +2116,9 @@ class HostInsights(GenericAPIView):
         except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
             return (dict(error=_('Unkown exception {} while trying to GET {}').format(e, url)), status.HTTP_502_BAD_GATEWAY)
 
-        if res.status_code != 200:
+        if res.status_code == 401:
+            return (dict(error=_('Unauthorized access. Please check your Insights Credential username and password.')), status.HTTP_502_BAD_GATEWAY)
+        elif res.status_code != 200:
             return (dict(error=_('Failed to gather reports and maintenance plans from Insights API at URL {}. Server responded with {} status code and message {}').format(url, res.status_code, res.content)), status.HTTP_502_BAD_GATEWAY)
 
         try:
diff --git a/awx/main/tests/unit/api/test_views.py b/awx/main/tests/unit/api/test_views.py
index f926f4eade..2402186606 100644
--- a/awx/main/tests/unit/api/test_views.py
+++ b/awx/main/tests/unit/api/test_views.py
@@ -158,6 +158,14 @@ class TestHostInsights():
         (msg, code) = view.get_insights('https://myexample.com/whocares/me/', 'ignore', 'ignore')
         assert msg['error'] == 'Failed to gather reports and maintenance plans from Insights API at URL https://myexample.com/whocares/me/. Server responded with 500 status code and message mock 500 err msg'
 
+    def test_get_insights_401(self, patch_parent, mocker):
+        view = HostInsights()
+        Response = namedtuple('Response', 'status_code content')
+        mocker.patch.object(view, '_get_insights', return_value=Response(401, ''))
+
+        (msg, code) = view.get_insights('https://myexample.com/whocares/me/', 'ignore', 'ignore')
+        assert msg['error'] == 'Unauthorized access. Please check your Insights Credential username and password.'
+
     def test_get_insights_malformed_json_content(self, patch_parent, mocker):
         view = HostInsights()