Yup but that's not the point. Point is capital protection with growth. If endowment is not better than SSB, what's the point? Not to forget the liquidity of SSB.
Seriously endowment doesn't make much sense to me. What ways exactly is it better than SSB? Slightly higher potential gain with higher potential loss of that gain too? After 20+ years? Most common folks don't want to know their $$ is doing nothing after 20+ years. Not to mention losses.
After such lengthy discussion here, none of the agent can provide a strong case to pick endowment over SSB. A strong advantage, not a potentially.
Or is there anything I missed?
Well I share your thoughts as well. Just do note that in the past (back to the days where the policy was bought 20 years ago), there was almost zero financial literacy, there was no low-cost "safer" products like SSB/ETFs. I personally might even recommend that for the illiterate (yes education level may be that bad then) is to take up endowments.
For those who are more interested in DIY nowadays, I would agree that endowments, or in fact any investment scope from insurers are irrelevant to such people. But there are caveats to these investment alternatives as well, and there are no TnCs worded at all (yes legal documents of insurers suck, but at least there is a reference point).
Some of these caveats include
1. the time and effort needed to purchase, keep track of these investments, compared to having a document sent to you yearly, and having someone you can call to enquire
2. reinvestment risk
Off hand I have some friends who are entrepreneurs that may be better off spending their "investing DIY" time to focus on their works. But at this time and age where information is so readily available, and financial instruments are low cost, i believe the % of such people will be smaller
