It became common in the United Kingdom after with-profits endowment policies were sold to support mortgages in the 1980s and 1990s.
[1][2] In the United Kingdom, with-profits endowment policies were aggressively sold for many years, especially during the late 1980s and early 1990s, by UK insurance companies.
The projected endowment returns used in selling these types of products was often in excess of 10%pa.
[4] Now, many companies offer to buy the with profits endowment policy from the holder for more than the surrender value.
Members of the public can either contact these companies directly or they can use the services of a Traded Endowment Specialist.