I got a late start. I started them when they were just hitting their teen years and I did accelerated contributions for the first 4 years of $10k per year (I figured that's about what BYU or a Utah state school costs per year) Then just the base premium which was about $2700 per year after that. When they started college at age 18 they all had over $50k in their accounts.

If they need tuition or housing I do a policy loan for that amount. The policy keeps earning as if the money never left the account. when they graduate, I give them the policy as a graduation present and they can either pay back the policy loans or not. My only promise was to pay for their college.

If they pay it back and keep it going they will have a great start on a retirement plan that could potentially create $80-100K in tax-free income when they reach retirement age.

There is NO WAY the account will go down in value so I chose this over a 529. It's steady and predictable unlike the market. Also, if the kid doesn't want to go to college, I can use the money in the policy for anything, unlike a 529 that can only be used for college expenses. If you use 529 money for anything else it's like taking money out of your 401k and the penalties and tax eat you up.