Auto Insurance Claims: accident question and forced insurance, last ditch effort, place insurance

Question
Hello,

I was recently in an accident where I rear-ended someone (it was my fault).  I come to find out that for whatever messed-up reason I do not have collision coverage.  I bought my insurance online and clicked that I was making payments on the vehicle (it is new) as it is not paid for.  I did not realize I was only purchasing liability insurance at the time.  The insurance says they cannot help me at this point, but a few people have told me the insurance company is responsible for selling me less than full coverage because the car is not paid for, and it is illegal in this state to drive with less if the car is not paid for.  First, is this true?  Can the insurance company be responsible for this or is it my fault?  Could the dealership be liable for letting me drive off the lot without more than liability?  

Also, I am wondering as a last-ditch effort if you could tell me anything about forced insurance.  Someone has told me that banks you lend your car through has back up insurance built in to your monthly payments in the event the insurance company does not pay for something if there was a collision, called Forced Insurance.  Do you know anything about this?

If you could help me out I would really appreciate it.

Answer
It is not illegal to drive a car without collision coverage; with or without a lien.  The coverage that you were purchasing would have been clearly shown before you clicked the "pay" button so I don't see how the insurance company could be responsible.
As an agent of the finance company, the dealer could potentially be held to that finance company for not verifying that coverage was in place at the time of the sale.  Then again, I do not know how long after the purchase this accident took place or what the agreement is between the finance company and the dealer.  If it was within a few days, then the dealer might be on the hook.  Otherwise, it will be your responsibility.

Yes, the finance company can "force place" insurance but unless they had already done so at the time of the loss, there would be no coverage.  By the way, force placed insurance is very, very expensive.

Good luck!