Geico Cancelled my policy without notice because of a license in another state expiring.

I've been a long time Geico customer, 20+ years, and I moved to a new state from Washington where I'd been living for a number of years. Prior to Washington I lived in California. While in the new state, my California driver's license expired, even though it had a hole punched through it a long time ago, when I moved to Washington. Geico, didn't send me a notice via e-mail or mail, they just stopped charging my account. I only got a message from them a month after the cancellation, at which point I called and found out the story. I was more than a bit annoyed and switched carriers. Now, 6 months later, I just got an email from my state about the lapse, asking for proof of coverage for that month.

I'm calling Geico to ask for proof of notice of cancellation tomorrow, however it looks like I'm going to end up paying the state a $600 penalty for the lapse. If Geico can't show proof of notice, should I ask for a reimbursement of the $600 or just file a notice with the Insurance Commissioner knowing I'm eating the penalty? Yes, I know I should have noticed they didn't deduct the money and called, but I'm a no claim perfect driver so my insurance is really low and it wasn't something I would notice on my bills.