I would say that literature does in fact give insight, but that it is a different type of insight that a historical account is meant to give. For a piece of literature shows you how your emotions will be affected by hearing or seeing different circumstances; it allows your brain to develop causal models about how emotions are generated. History lessons do not do this, at least not in the same way; thus literature fulfills an important role that history is missing.
I would say that literature does in fact give insight, but that it is a different type of insight that a historical account is meant to give. For a piece of literature shows you how your emotions will be affected by hearing or seeing different circumstances; it allows your brain to develop causal models about how emotions are generated. History lessons do not do this, at least not in the same way; thus literature fulfills an important role that history is missing.