I had someone bump into me at a stop light earlier this year. My car at the time was just one year old, and in immaculate shape ( washed every week, waxed every three months, clayed twice a year, wiped down with quick detailer/wax after every wash, no eating or drinking allowed, parked under a carport every night, etc.) The damage was very minimal, the paint on the rear bumper wasn’t even chipped, but if you felt the bumper cover there were small indentations. Needless to say, I was pissed, but I didn’t go off on the guy or anything. The guy who hit me pulled over, and I called the police-non-emergency number, the cop came out looked at my car, said there wasn’t enough damage for it to be a reportable accident, he gave me his card, and had us both fill out contact information and exchange it. The guy that hit me was apologetic, and said he’d pay for the damage out of pocket, and to get an estimate and he’d get a money order for the amount. I got three estimates (they were all close, I want to say the lowest one was $630 and the highest was $680. I met up with him and he gave me me a check for the estimate/shop I decided to go with. I gave him a receipt saying the had paid me and the matter was settled.
Now, if the guy had hit me had been a jerk about it, or had attempted to weasel out of it. I would’ve sent my insurance company after him, and additionally hit him up for diminished value and the time it took to get the estimates.
It’s not unreasonable or trifling at all IMHO to summon some personal responsibility and make the person whom you inconvenienced whole. I will say that a lot can depend on the vehicle that got hit. If it was a 20 year old car with 200k miles on it, then a lot people probably wouldn’t care too much, but it was a new car or a valuable car, then it would be a bigger deal.