Mmmh,
Unless I am mistaken I have been in a similar situation as that outlined and been unceremoniously dumped by the controller at a really awkward time in the cockpit although thankfully two crew, I hate to think how it would affect a single pilot IFR guy.
For all the ATC hoods out there procrastinating; I suppose the reverse would be pitching up at your zone boundary and calling finals totally unannounced, how would that flick your switch with a busy traffic pattern?
If you would like a little notice of the arrival then I guess what is being got at here is that an "expect to lose the service in 5 miles" call would go a long way to allowing the single pilot IFR guy to have his ducks in a row and perhaps avoid the possibility of disorientation in cloud when the call comes.
Flippant I know but safety first and all that,
HEDP