hit and run - now what?

[mrbaxr6t]

Hello firstly its with much sorrow that I post this here and I apologize if there is already a thread somewhere on this topic, now on to it :

My car was hit in a parking lot and the person whom hit it decided to POQ without leaving any details or anything - I know A**hole yea, but my questions in regard to this are the following

can this be claimed on insurance even though I do not know whom did the damage to my vehicle and if so will I need to pay my excess to claim

have you been the victim in a similar way and what actions did you take, did you claim on insurance or just cough up for repairs or something else?

now for sake of completeness here is a description of the damage my car has sustained - multiple scratches some red in color others down to primer on the side of the back bumper behind rear drivers' side wheel, damage extends from rear wheel to part way around the curve under tail light - estimate of repair cost is between $500 and $1500 (very loose estimate I know I am still working on things)

needless to say unfortunately we share this planet with some real selfish scumbags and to say that I am not happy is a gross understatement

any advice or suggestions from the wise AFF will be greatly appreciated