I don't know if it's the same in the US, but it is better to do taxes and insurance separately here in Canada. If it is included in the mortgage, the bank "borrows" (or lends it to you) the money to pay your taxes up front and charge you the interest so we always opted to pay the taxes ourselves when they were due on a quarterly basis.
In the U.S., you generally pay your insurance and taxes with your payment. In fact, you are paying 1/12 of your next year's insurance and taxes each month. That way, when it comes due, the money is there and it gets paid. A good reason for that is that way, the mortgage company can be sure you're not going to lose your house to a fire or a tax lien and leave them holding the bag.
In fact, when you close, you usually have to buy a year's insurance and pay 2 months taxes in advance.
There are laws governing how much the mortgage company can hold. Our payment has fluctuated a little. We just got a letter saying our payment would be going down $50 per month starting next month, and a check for $600 for the excess escrows they were holding, to get them back under the limit.