An endowment is life insurance payable to the policyholder if living, on the maturity date stated in the policy. This same amount would be paid to a beneficiary if the insured dies prior to that date.
This could be term life insurance policy up to age 10 that would offer the option of taking the face amount of the policy as a cash payout at age 100 if the policyholder is still alive. This would pay all resulting income taxes on the amount received or leaving the policy to pay out upon death whereupon the payout is tax free.
An endowment can also be an amount left to specific beneficiary, such as a charity as part of a life insurance policy or the whole of the life insurance policy.
Talk to your agent or broker about the different possibilities.
Endowment