Insurance companies have been slow to adopt nontraditional ways of communicating with their clients. But as customer demand for new avenues of communication increases, those companies who meet that demand first will likely have a competitive edge.

That's the message from a FICO global insurance customer survey, which queried 2,200 people in 15 countries about their insurance communications preferences.

Overall, the results weren't surprising. People today want to receive notifications by smartphone or email, and younger people are much more likely to expect to be communicated with in that regard. Perhaps of more significance was the sheer number that are requesting information in ways other than snail mail. A full 55 percent across all nations and ages essentially told FICO they wanted carriers to "send me an email or a text about my policy renewal and stop chopping down those trees."