Does anyone see the irony of this owner getting hit by another "uninsured vehicle"?

Take it as a lesson learned not to let your policy lapse.

Auto insurance has no grace period. Anywhere. Cancelled is cancelled.

SACRAMENTO—Californians who operate their vehicles without auto insurance could have their vehicle registrations suspended effective October 1 as part of SB 1500, designed to reduce the risk of economic losses sustained as the result of collisions involving uninsured motorists.

The legislation, signed in 2004 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to notify a customer about possible vehicle registration suspension if their insurance company fails to provide proof of insurance within 30 days of a vehicle’s initial registration with the department, or within 45 days once DMV has been notified by an insurance carrier about a policy cancellation or change in coverage.

“This new law is intended to protect Californians by reducing the number of uninsured vehicles on our roads,” said Sunne Wright McPeak, Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency during a 10 a.m. news conference today at the DMV South Sacramento Field Office. “Each year thousands of collisions occur involving uninsured vehicle owners.” Secretary McPeak was joined by State Senator Jackie Speier, who authored the law, and George Valverde, Director of the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

“SB 1500 requires insurers to electronically transmit insurance verifications to the DMV and it directs the DMV to notify a vehicle owner if the vehicle is not insured,” said Director Valverde. “Beginning October 1, we’ll be in a position to identify vehicles that are uninsured and begin the process of notifying motorists of the need to get their vehicle insured.”

The initial provision of SB 1500, which took effect Jan. 1, 2006, requires that insurance companies doing business in California electronically report all private-use vehicle (except trailers, off-highway vehicles or boats) liability policies to DMV, both when a policy is issued and/or cancelled.

Since July 1, 2006, law enforcement agencies have been able to electronically verify if any private-use vehicle is properly insured by accessing the department’s vehicle registration database. DMV statistics show that there are more than 23 million licensed drivers in California who operate almost 30 million vehicles.

Mercury is a substandard company, they won't do diddley squat for you that's not spelled out in the policy.
.

The company would look at from the stand point that you might NOT have paid the renewal if you had not have had the accident.

Looks like this one is one you.

Good luck and I hope this helps!