Which of the following is an example of a circumstance where an individual is NOT considered a consumer?

An individual is not considered a consumer when they are a beneficiary of an employee benefit plan because being a beneficiary does not involve a direct transaction or purchase of services or products by the individual themselves. In this context, a beneficiary is simply someone who receives benefits from a plan based on someone's eligibility, typically without any financial decision-making or direct contractual relationship regarding the benefits.

In contrast, the other scenarios involve direct consumer actions: purchasing homeowners insurance or signing up for life insurance both involve an individual actively entering into a contract, while participating in a family policy means that the person is part of a policy that was purchased for the collective benefit, establishing a consumer relationship in the process. Thus, being a beneficiary of an employee benefit plan distinguishes itself by the absence of a transactional consumer role.