Paying deposit by bank transfer

headpin

If he is a private individual how is the insurance being managed?

All sounds a bit iffy. Bank transfers are a well known way to scam money. You say it is someone local. So presumably you can get some background and references from others locally who have used this service? How did you find this rental service?

What is this deposit for? If to reserve it sounds like this is being run as a business to me. So as others have suggested there should be another option to pay. Credit Card is the best option as you then get the protection afforded by that too.