Dear Mr Campbell,
It's only when you apply for credit and give permission for a credit check, or search, that a 'footprint' appears on your credit report — and its too many of these credit application checks that can affect your rating or score.
Although credit reference agencies like Experian do not hold information about insurance policies, insurance companies and other financial organisations are sometimes able to look at the public information we hold to help confirm your identity if you ask for a quote. They can't see any of the shared credit account information on your report, but they can see the electoral roll data, for example. You would usually be told that a check was being made. A record of this type of search is kept — and you would see it when you got a copy of your report — but it is not made available to companies checking your information when you apply for credit.
I would guess that the companies you got quotes from didn't do a check with us. Good luck with the streamlining.