According to the private insurance industry’s Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) they do.  In a recent report, “Residual Market Property Plans: From Markets of Last Resort to Markets of First Choice,” I.I.I. says that by year-end 2006, total exposure to loss in state-run property insurers is estimated to reach more than $600 billion, well above the $54.7 billion in 1990. As more private property insurers shy away from high risk markets an  enormous financial burden is being placed on state-run insurers, leaving a number of them operating at substantial deficits.  I.I.I. indicates that the rapid growth of state-run property insurers of last resort may shift much of the long-term risk of hurricane-related losses to policyholders and taxpayers, even those who live nowhere near the coast.   Read more from the Insurance Journal