Allianz : The Rolling Stones

Andy Bryant's job is the envy of any sport fanatic. Every four years, he's on the sidelines of the Olympics, filing copy for wire services. In between, he covers the Winter Olympics, the Rugby World Cup, the Commonwealth Games and some of the bigger cricket tournaments. Occasionally, he works at a FIFA World Cup. If not, he's just as happy being a spectator.

Andy is an incurable nomad. A wordsmith-for-hire, he works around the world, not settling anywhere. Home is Sydney, Australia but you will rarely find him there. He picks up short-term work in places as far apart as Abu Dhabi, Barcelona and London.'I've pretty well been living out of a suitcase for the past 16 months,' he says, when we catch up with him in Beijing, where he is editing a magazine for the next year. 'Occasionally, I hit my storage unit in London to swap my two sets of winter clothes for two sets of summer clothes, but that is the closest thing I've had to a base for a while.'

While he enjoys this lifestyle, it wasn't a choice he made. 'These are just the type of jobs I am offered, so it keeps me moving.' His bugbear is health insurance. The Australian scheme doesn't cover him overseas and he rarely remains in another country long enough to qualify for local insurance - at least at a reasonable price. 'In Germany, they wanted me to pay 1,600 euros per month as a freelancer. What was my option? Keep moving!'

A 55-year-old, Andy is reluctant to ignore the risk of hefty medical bills. In the past, he bought travel insurance for coverage against sickness or accident but such products are usually designed for short-term trips.

So now he shops around. When heading to the 2016 Olympics, Andy found a pan-America health insurance that covered him when he traveled through Canada, reached Miami and worked at Rio before visiting Argentina and Chile. In China, he has taken out an annual international health insurance that includes day-to-day coverage for medical expenses such as doctor visits, planned surgery, emergency treatment, outpatient care and dental work.

Allianz Worldwide Partners (AWP) is among the few insurers offering global plans for expats living abroad for an extended period. Plans also include cover for chronic and congenital conditions and a wide range of pre-existing conditions, often without any additional costs.