NEW YORK — Insurance regulation should focus on deterring future wrong acts, not on punishing the sins of the past, New York's top regulator said here Friday. 

New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky, speaking before the Insurance Federation of New York (IFNY), told the crowd of insurance professionals, "I do think we've entered an era right now of very severe enforcement."

He explained, "It feels as if the focus more and more is on punishing firms for acts that happened years ago. We're moving more and more in that direction even as we move further and further away from the financial crisis."

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