Can loans taken by my NRI relatives through PoA affect my credit score?

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My sister and brother-in-law are NRIs and have taken multiple home loans to invest in real estate in India. They have given me the power of attorney (PoA) to act on their behalf for these loans. Can these loans affect my credit score or have any legal implications for me? What steps can I take to avoid any such risk?

Rajat Dutta Founder & Initiator, Inheritance Needs Services: The lenders have extended loans to your NRI sister and brother-in-law on the basis of their financial standing and capability to service loans. Additionally, lenders mortgage the assets financed as security. As you are not the borrower, your financial health is not evaluated by lenders. Hence, your credit score will not be impacted due to any financial breach by borrowers, even though you may have signed the documents and deeds as a PoA holder representing the borrowers. While the contents of the PoA need to be read in detail, prima facie, you are merely representing your sister and brother-in-law to sign documents and deeds, and deal with matters related to the upkeep and maintenance of properties.


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My daughter is a non-resident Indian (NRI). She has taken a home loan, for which the EMI is Rs 1 lakh per month. She wants to take term insurance to cover this risk. I understand that very few life insurance companies offer term plans for NRIs. I would like to know which term insurance schemes are available so that my daughter can be covered.

Sarbvir Singh Joint Group CEO, PB Fintech: India’s term insurance market has evolved significantly and all top insurance companies offer term life insurance to NRIs. The features of these plans are designed keeping in mind the needs of NRIs and their financial obligations. These plans are often 30-50% cheaper than those available abroad, with an additional 18% GST waiver if the premium is paid via an NRE account. The NRIs can also get a coverage as high as Rs 5 crore, with telemedical check-ups, which means they don’t have to visit physically, unless required. For someone like your daughter, who only wants to cover the risk of paying a large EMI of `1 lakh per month, a life cover equivalent to the total liability of EMIs, that is, Rs 12 lakh per year, for the specified number of years, is advisable. Insurers such as ICICI Prudential, HDFC Life, Axis Max Life, Tata AIA and Bajaj Allianz have made these policies easily accessible to customers online.

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