Akebono Brake Corporation Adopts BENEFITFOCUS HR InTouch

**Charleston, S.C. -- November 13, 2012 **-- Benefitfocus, the nation's largest provider of healthcare and benefits technology, today announced that Akebono Brake Corporation, North America's leading supplier of advanced brake technology, has selected BENEFITFOCUS HR InTouch(tm) to streamline benefit enrollment, administration, communication and wellness education. Headquartered in Kentucky, Akebono has more than 3,000 associates with multiple locations across the U.S., including an R&D technical center in Michigan and plant operations in Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee.

HR InTouch is a cloud-based portal that provides a consumer-centric shopping experience and a better way for companies to manage benefits and healthcare costs. An advanced rules-based engine ensures Akebono associates enjoy a personalized enrollment experience that displays only the plans for which they are eligible. The company's associates also have access to the Benefitfocus Plan Shopping App, allowing them to compare plans and estimate out-of-pocket costs based on industry averages. The 280 educational videos and rich content libraries available within HR InTouch further empower Akebono's associates to make more informed decisions about their healthcare and benefit elections.

"Our decision to adopt HR InTouch was based on its sleek design and sophisticated decision support tools that captivated our team when evaluating providers," said Karen Cyrowski, Senior Manager of Compensation and Benefits at Akebono. "Rolling out this user-friendly system helped expedite the enrollment process and will provide our associates with a better understanding of their benefits moving forward."

HR InTouch was introduced to Akebono's workforce at the beginning of their 2012 open enrollment period in October. Benefit administrators were able to approve benefit elections and changes within a single online portal, rather than managing thousands of paper enrollment forms. By replacing the paper-based enrollment process with HR InTouch, all benefit and HR related information is consolidated in one place so the benefits team spends significantly less time on manual data entry and updates to disparate systems.

"With a steadfast commitment to quality and innovation, Akebono is known for their unmatched investment in product development and a corporate culture that values the health and success of their associates," commented Shawn Jenkins, Benefitfocus President and CEO. "We are excited to work with Akebono as we honor the same commitment and values at Benefitfocus. Akebono recognizes that a successful benefit administration strategy is not built around a single goal or event like open enrollment, but rather an ongoing dedication to employee engagement and education. We focus our efforts on delivering technology solutions that meet those larger needs and look forward to helping Akebono and their associates navigate the evolving healthcare and benefits landscape."

About Akebono Akebono Brake Corporation, North America's leading supplier of advanced brake technology, is a leader in advanced brake and friction material development and production, with a focus on noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) analysis and control. The Akebono Group operates technical/R&D centers in Japan, the United States and France, with 30 wholly owned or affiliated manufacturing facilities worldwide. Akebono launched U.S. brake sales and production operations in 1980. Worldwide, Akebono employs 8,100+ people, with 3,000+ in North America. For more information, visit www.akebonobrakes.com.

About Benefitfocus Benefitfocus is the largest benefits technology provider in the U.S. More than 18 million members, 300,000 employers and 60,000 brokers use our cloud-based platform to shop, enroll, manage and exchange all their benefits in one place. From consumer engagement and education to enrollment, communication and billing, Benefitfocus is helping companies find a better way to manage their benefits. For more information, visit www.benefitfocus.com. Benefitfocus -- All Your Benefits. One Place.

Contact: Benefitfocus Public Relations Department 843.849.7476 pr@benefitfocus.com