I am certainly not an insurance agent or attorney and I recommend that you consult both for the most accurate information regarding title insurance.  However, here is what I do know that might be helpful for potential buyers out there.

There are 2 kinds of title insurance: Lender and Owner's.  The lender will require you to get Lender's title insurance; which protects them if there are title issues down the road.  Insurance that protects you (Owner's) is technically optional; but I think it is very foolish not to get it so you should consider it required.  It is a one-time cost paid at closing and protects you for as long as you own the property.  The easiest way to get it is to buy it from the closing attorney right at the closing.  Technically, you can buy your title insurance from another party and shop them for rates because the closing attorney is technically acting as a reseller for the insurance company and different closing attorneys might price it slightly differently.  The lender's is calculated on the loan amount; so the more you put down, the less you pay on that.  Yours will be calculated on the property value.  I just looked at a recent closing for one of my clients that bought a house for $580K and borrowed about $300K - theirs was about $1,000 for the owner's portion and about $600 for the lender's (total of $1,600).

 Not all title insurance policies are identical.  Make sure your title insurance coverage comes with "full exceptions".  Some policies could have exceptions that are NOT covered such as open deeds, liens, etc.