Molecular dipole moments for 24 haloalkanes were calculated from the solvatochromic responses of three well-established Kamlet-Taft probes. For polychloroalkanes, a simple MO model requires that the apparent dipole moment (mu(i)) of the solvent be resolved into contributory terms assigned to an unperturbed dipolar component (mu(i)(0)) and the composite polarizability-hyperpolarizabilities of the solvent species. The first term is related to the Kamlet-Taft pi* number and the second to the Onsager reaction field parameter O(n(2)) in the index of refraction. An approximately constant contribution from O(n(2)) for most of the polychloroalkanes investigated, including three weak hydrogen bond donors (HBD), is in contrast to the regular trends in polarizability for the substituted benzenes accompanying changes in structure.