I do not own a car and thus have no insurance. I took out a rental car from Avis. I was involved in an accident in which I was not at fault. In fact, I filed a third party claim with the other driver's insurance company and they accepted responsibility. I thought I was in the clear... Today, I received a letter from the CA DMV advising that I had a duty to report the accident within 10 days because it involved more than $750 in property damage. The CA DMV is now requesting me to provide proof of insurance which I don't have. From what I've read, even if you aren't at fault in CA, your drivers license is subject to a mandatory 1 year suspension.

I don't think the CA DMV knows that I was in a rental car and not my own vehicle. Even so, does the fact that it was a rental car shield me from the CA DMV coming after my license for not having insurance at the time of the accident?