Where an injury has been notified to the insurer and there is insufficient information to determine the claim or there has been a significant delay between the injury and the notice of injury, the insurer will have a ‘reasonable excuse’ not to commence provisional liability payments. A ‘reasonable excuse’ may include the following:

• Insufficient medical information
• The injured person is unlikely to be an employee
• The insurer is unable to contact the worker
• The worker refuses to release information about the injury
• The injury is not work related
• The injury is notified two months after occurring
• The injury is not a significant injury

If a reasonable excuse notice is provided the insurer has a further 21 days to make a decision as to whether they will accept or decline the claim.