Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. and Hartford Underwriters Insurance Co. had a request to vacate an order against them denied by the Maryland Insurance Administration.

The companies sought the reversal of the ruling after they missed a Sept. 3, 2009, hearing on the case because of “an administrative oversight,” according to MIA records.

The hearing was to address a complaint of notices of non-renewal, filed by Aliron International Inc. The MIA scheduled the hearing on the case for Aug. 13, 2009, but rescheduled it after Ron Grow, Aliron’s president, had a scheduling conflict, records show. All parties received notification by mail of the change.

The insurance companies sought to have the order against them vacated, arguing that the record stood by itself and did not require their presence at the hearing.

Karen Stakem Hornig, a deputy commissioner at the MIA, disagreed, saying the failure to appear is not excused because the notification sent to all parties indicated that the hearing would be held without them and a judgment could be made against the missing party.

This story originally appeared in the January 2010 print edition of Insurance & Financial Advisor.