Assessing building damages post-disaster is the preferred method for making substantial damage determinations and offers a number of benefits that should make it easier to administer the Substantial Improvement/Damage (SI/SD) requirements. One benefit is to provide property owners with information about the requirement to bring buildings into compliance before they get very far along with their plans to repair. Another benefit is that owners that have Federal flood insurance policies will more quickly receive the community’s substantial damage determination that they need in order to submit a claim for ICC coverage to their adjuster. Waiting for repair permits to come in poses a challenge to the community because many people begin repairs without getting permits. In addition, by the time owners apply for permits, they may have hired design professionals to develop plans for repairs and improvements that do not take into consideration the requirement to bring SI/SD buildings into compliance.