Auto Insurance Claims: File claim or not?, side marker lamp, minor scratches

Question
Yesterday, I was driving in the South Bay Plaza here in Boston, MA down the center road. A bus didn't stop for their stop sign because it was missing; however, the police officer who happened to be patrolling the plaza was there and told me I still had the right of way. The bus pulled out, and I stepped on my brakes. I swerved to the side and probably bumped into the bus at about 5 mph or less. All that happened was a few minor scratches on my front bumper (its plastic) and my little signal marker on the right side got cracked. I could live with the scratches and could probably find another signal marker on eBay for $10-20. Is it worth it to even file a claim? Will it go on my record and the record of the car that I got involved in an accident? (even though I wasn't at fault). The other thing is that I didn't get any witnesses and I forgot to even get the officer's name. He just told us to exchange info then he left. As you can tell, I've never gotten in an accident before and I didn't really know what I was doing. I'm just wondering if its worth the hassle to even file.

Answer
Hi Brendon,

The decision to file a claim or not is purely up to you. If you do file a claim, it should be directly against the bus company. The damnage may be minimal but it is still damage and they are responsible for it. As you said, the side marker lamp is inexpensive and the scratches on the bumper are minimal. So it is simply our choice to file the claim or not. If you file the claim directly through the bus company there will be no affect on your insurance nor on your vehicle's history.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh