What is the difference between a “paleosink” and a sinkhole?

The most common presentation of this issue is when the insured is told that “sinkhole activity can be excluded, but that conditions of paleosink or ‘karst environment’ have been found.” Sometimes the reports will state whether or not the property is in a “state of reactivation.” Sometimes, rather than call these paleosinks, you will see them referred to as “relic sinkholes,” which is a lot easier to understand. The idea here is that the property was built on a lot where a sinkhole condition had existed some time ago, some times even tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago.