Why to Insurance Companies need this information, I can give it to them myself?
If you apply for insurance online you would expect a rate quote within minutes. To do this insurance companies need to have access to your information instantly. To provide this kind of service insurance companies need access to DMV information so a direct pay-per-search service has been provided to companies. They are able to check your driving history and therefore provide you with a quote almost immediately.
What if my driving history is not correct?
If you feel the information is not correct you would have to purchase your driver record and send it to the insurance company before they could issue you with a quote. This practice would slow down the process and probably be very inconvenient.