Can my employer cancel my health insurance without informing me about COBRA first?

I quit my job at the end of January (around the 27th), on good terms. It is now March 19, I just discovered that my insurance was cancelled on 3/1. I had always planned on continuing coverage through COBRA, but I never received any information on it. I called my former employer, Pearson VUE, who told me that they notify employees about COBRA through some 3rd party called "Benefit Concepts". They told me that COBRA information was sent to me yesterday. My question is very simple (I live in CA)...I would like to know if it is legal and/or common practice for an employer to terminate my insurance before I can sign up for COBRA? Shouldn't I have been notified? I understand that once I do sign on, coverage will be retroactive to 3/1, but if I need medical treatment tomorrow, why should I have to pay out of my own pocket and then get reimbursed? At the very least this is morally wrong, but I would like to know if Pearson has broken the law.