Endowment is the most common form of traditional life insurance in India. It combines life cover with a savings element — premiums fund both a death benefit (paid if the insured dies during the term) and a maturity benefit (paid if the insured survives to the end).
Most endowments are 'participating' — they earn a share of the insurer's surplus as Simple Reversionary Bonus + Final Additional Bonus. The implicit yield is typically 4–7% — meaningfully lower than equity, but stable and tax-advantaged through §80C and §10(10D). LIC's Jeevan Labh, Jeevan Anand and New Endowment Plan are the most popular Indian examples.