If you have owned a whole life insurance policy for at least a few years and you need more insurance, try not to replace your current policy. Add additional insurance instead. For one, you may lose all the premiums you paid, and you may have to pay new fees as well. Plus, some clauses in the policy may reset. If your personal or family situation has changed, and you need more insurance, get another policy, preferably a term policy, since rates are cheaper. After a few years a whole life policy starts to gain in value, so don’t throw that money away.